The feeling of submerging in a hot water for the first time after plenty of days on a bike, where a warm shower is a luxury, is surreal. My legs were literally ecstatic from that sensation. 😅 I am really glad I stumbled upon some locals who recommended me going to these public hot springs. Not as well maintained as the ones we experienced in Iceland (google Hveragerdi) but hey, a hot spring is a hot spring. I ain’t complaining. Didn’t stay there too long because didn’t want to get dehydrated and still didn’t have a camp spot but nevertheless I enjoyed every single minute of it. In particular given that the day has finally come. Today it was raining! 😱 In all seriousness it wasn’t that bad either - just a tiny drizzle every now and then. Didn’t even have to use my rain pants, just the jacket.

Road wise I am slightly disappointed - plenty of people were hyping up the pass which was ahead of me today but in all honesty it wasn’t that great. Maybe because I didn’t reach the real deal (McKenzie Pass) but the one before it was meh. Or rather the southern slope I was climbing - descend was really cool with forest covered hills stretching over the horizon. Unfortunately I have to subtract some points for extremely heavy traffic which makes it rather a mediocre col on my private list of top passes to climb by bike. 😅 The up rolling hills right after Detroit were amazing tho! One of the most beautiful forests I’ve seen thus far, placed right in the valley cutting deep into the Wester Cascades.