Last week (July 2016) I finished a mountain biking trip in Bend, Oregon. The trip included seven days of riding, camping in a hammock, and exploring the town of Bend.
It was a spectacular trip!
I biked 277 miles, rode 18 of the trails in the Bend area (just a small fraction of the mountain biking trails in the Bend area).
The trip was filled with spectacular mountain trails, high desert landscape, challenging climbs, and thrilling descents. The entire week was a refreshing break.
Here is what I learned…
Bend, Oregon is one of the best places to ride in the USA. Hundreds of miles of well-marked trails and a large number of rainless days allow for a wonderful mountain biking ecosystem. In my seven days of riding, I only rode a small fraction of the vast number of trails available in the Bend area.
Hats off to Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) and to the many organizations and individuals that support its initiatives. COTA develops and maintains the Bend area mountain bike trail system in cooperation with the US Forest Service. COTA rocks!!!
People in Oregon are kind and helpful to visitors. I always received a kind greeting and a helping hand wherever I went.
God gave me good health and allowed me to the encounter another small slice of the vast universe he created. I am thankful to God and acknowledge his wonder, power, and creativity. It is his world, and he allows me to live in it.
Below are my daily experiences, filled with photos, maps, and descriptions of my rides. I hope that you use my experiences to gain a perspective about Bend and that you benefit from my experience …
Woke at 7:00 am and packed up to check out of Motel 6. I am moving to a hotel that is close to the bus stop where I pick up a bus that goes from Bend to Portland. Checked out of Motel 6 at 8 am and biked through the town of Bend. It was cool (about 55 degrees) and sunny. Stopped at a local restaurant to fuel up with a bean, egg, and cheese breakfast burrito.
Climbing fuel – breakfast burrito.
I am completely excited about my last day in Bend. I planned to ride TiddlyWinks trail (the 7.2 mile trail on which I fell two days ago), and Storm King trail (4 miles). They are both super fun trails and I begin the day with unbridled anticipation. Rode out of Bend up the Cascade Lakes Highway, 13.5 miles, to Wanoga Snow Park. The trailhead for Tiddlywinks is there. Arrived at the Tiddlywinks trailhead (about 5,500 feet in elevation) at 10:40 am.
Rode to the most challenging section of the trail and stopped to rest and get a drink. The challenging section had danger warning signs, but riding this section of the trail is mountain biking at its best.
Danger ahead – thumbs up!
Loved descending the challenging section of Tiddlywinks trail. The big-time downhill curves and switchbacks were super fun, leaning into the banked berms while riding the disc brakes to keep a safe speed. Zig-zagging through pine trees, flying through the jumps, and nailing the landings was super fun. I rode with a heightened sense of awareness – using all my skills, balancing efforts, quickness, and agility to negotiate the downhill course.
Downhill section of Tiddlywinks trail near Bend, Oregon. Bumps, jumps, banked berms, and fun!
Rock section of Tiddlywinks trail – near Bend, Oregon.
Stopped at the bottom of Tiddlywinks trail for lunch (granola, trail mix, and water). While eating lunch, I noticed a bike about 20 feet up in a tree and took a photo. I wandered, “Did the rider get some big air on a jump and met the tree mid-air? Or was this a rider who met a tree when the snow was so deep that 20 feet up was ground level (snow melted in the spring)?”
Lunch spot at bottom of Tiddlywinks trail.
Bike in tree at bottom of Tiddlywinks trail – near Bend, Oregon.
Saddled back up after lunch and rode the flowy and fast Storm King trail. The ride was mostly downhill and was invigorating.
After riding Storm King trail, I connected up with the Deschutes River trail and rode it downriver towards its end near Bend.
Rode into Bend and checked into my new hotel. Then I returned my bike to the bike shop – loved the sign outside the bike shop. It was late afternoon and was sunny and 80 degrees F.
Walked to dinner and then walked about 2.5 miles to the hotel. Cleaned up and packed up to leave Bend via bus early the following morning.
It was a superb day – a perfect day – the best way to end my mountain biking adventure in Bend.
I rode 38 miles today and topped out at 5,500 feet in elevation.
Woke up at 6:30 am and got on the bike at 8:30am. I planned on making this an “easy day”, spending some of the afternoon exploring the town of Bend.
Rode out of Bend ascending up Skyliner road. It was 57 degrees F when I began riding. Took Skyliner road until it turned into a dirt road that leads to Tumalo Falls. Rode the dirt road to Tumalo Falls and climbed to the top of the falls.
Tumalo Falls – near Bend, Oregon.
Rode the Tumalo Creek trail (2.9 miles) to Skyliner trail (3.2 miles). Stopped to eat lunch (granola bar and trail mix). Cruised on to what has become one of my favorite trails in the Bend area – Lower Whoops trail (1.8 miles).
Blew down Lower Whoops, taking the air and cruising the banked curves. Lower Whoops is super fun! I am very thankful for the health and the coordination with which God has blessed me in order to ride trails like Lower Whoops.
Flew down Phil’s trail (6.1 miles) loving its fast, flowing curves and easy-to-negotiate hazards.
Stopped at the bottom of Phil’s trailhead and played on the Slalom Loop trail. Rode the most difficult (black diamond) part of the trail. It had lots of jumps and curves.
Slalom Loop trail at Phil’s trailhead – near Bend, Oregon)
Rode back to Bend and cruised downtown. Downtown Bend had colorful hanging flower planters on each street corner. Bend is beautiful in the summer.
Hung out in Drake Park on the Deschutes River, near downtown Bend. People are floating the river in groups. The park is filled with walkers, bikers, river floater, families, and others outside on this beautiful summer day. It is a warm 87 degrees F.
Then ate dinner at Bend Burger Company in downtown Bend.
My bike is named Marianne. The bike shop from which I rented names their bikes so that renters in groups may easily identify their bike when many bikes are parked together. Marianne is a Specialized Rockhopper 29’er. She is a hard tail (meaning front shock/suspension, but no rear shock/suspension), 29 inch wheels, 24 speeds, and hydraulic disk brakes.Marianne has been a good bike – handling the stress of up and downhill riding, clattering over rocks and roots, carving S-turns through banked berms, braking my speed with disc brakes, flying off earth mounds through jumps into the air, complete with bone-jarring landings.
Marianne – the Specialized Rock Hopper hardtail 29’er mountain bike.
Woke up at 7:30 am, temperature was about 55 degrees F when I left the hotel and will go to 82 degrees F today. It is a beautiful, sunny day. Began riding at 9 am.
Rode out of Bend on the Cascade Lakes Highway towards Mt. Bachelor. Took about 3 hours to climb 18 miles to the Swampy Lakes trailhead at 5,800 feet altitude. I was exhausted by the time I arrived at the Swampy Lakes trailhead (the altitude gets me every time). It was noon, so I ate lunch (granola bar, trail mix, and water), laid down in some mountain grass, and took a nap in the sun.
After a brief nap, I mounted up and ascended Swampy Lakes trail (2.1 miles) and hit 6,000 feet altitude. Took several wrong turns, backtracked several times, and finally found South Swede trail (3 miles of up and down). Then i connected with Sector 16 trail (3.3 miles). Then i rode down Upper Whoops trail (2.1 miles), followed by the super-fun downhill Lower Whoops trail (1.8 miles). The last trail for the day was downhill on fast and flowy Phil’s trail (6.1 miles). I was beat from all the riding and was dehydrated, even though I had been drinking all day.
Ate dinner at Taco Salsa on the route between my trail’s end and my hotel. Drank four huge glasses of a cold soft drink – hit the spot as I was feeling dehydrated.
Rode to the town park (Drake Park) and laid down in the cool, green fescue grass and enjoyed the evening sun.
Lots of teenagers and young adults were walking thru the park looking intently on at their phones. They would walk a certain direction, then look at their phone and change direction. I asked if they were geo-caching. One girl answered, “Kind of – we are finding Pokemon characters all over the park – geocaching for 90’s kids”.
A brown rabbit hopped up to me while I was at the park. He hung close to me for about 30 minutes. His owner came by and told me the rabbit’s name was Houdini. Drake Park in Bend is a happening place!
At dusk I rode back to Motel 6, showered, and cleaned up, and fell asleep. It was another good day and I fell asleep feeling blessed.
I rode 42 miles today, ascending from 3,500 feet to 6,000 feet in altitude (and back down again).
Woke up at 5 am, but laid in my hammock until 6 am. It was 47 degrees F for a low last night. Wore wool socks, gloves, hat, and fleece pullover while sleeping. My shelter included a sleeping bag placed on top of a thermal pad inside a hammock covered with a rainfly.
Hammock with rainfly.
Ate breakfast – oatmeal, nuts, dried fruit, and hot cocoa.
I made an animal-proof canister to store food and to store other items that contained a scent (soap, shampoo, etc). Had a problem on last year’s bikepacking trip with chipmunks chewing through my storage bags to get to my food. Not this year – I built an animal-proof canister out of heavy duty PVC pipe. Cut the PVC pipe to desired length. Put an endcap on one end of the pipe and placed a threaded endcap on the other end of the pipe. Chipmunks and other animals (bears, raccoons, and cougars) can’t unscrew the threaded endcap. Take that, you little rascals!!!
Animal proof food container.
Geared up and got biking by 8 am. Biking weather was cool (overcast and 55 degrees F with no sun to warm me up). High temperature for the day was 61 degrees F. Started off biking without a jacket, thinking I might warm up once I got cranking. It was cool enough that I put on a jacket after 30 minutes in the saddle.
Skyliner trailhead sign.
I biked from Tumalo State Park into the town of Bend, then upward in elevation to Skyliner Road, heading up to the massive number of mountain biking trails west of Bend. Biked Skyliner trail (3.2 miles) from the trailhead to Lower Whoops trail (1.8 miles), to Phil’s trail (6.1 miles), to Kent’s trail (4.2 miles). Then back to Bend and to camp. Rode 40 miles, beginning at 3,500 feet elevation, up to 4,900 feet, and back down again.
Lower Whoops trail – earth berms create banked turns for maximum traction and speed.
Riding a challenging trail like Lower Whoops trail is a work of art for me – similar to a musician playing a composition. Each rider rides the trail differently, with his own style. Riding Lower Whoops trail is a rush for all senses. My eyes constantly scanning for obstacles, my brain determining the best line to ride, wind whistling in my ears with the sound of sand, rocks, and earth crunching under the knobby tires, the smell of fresh pine in the air, the feel of the shake, rattle, and roll in my feet and hands as they respond rapidly to changes in pressure.
My body leans from side to side as I lean into the banked turns that provide maximum traction. I take the high line on the left-banked earth berm, swoop down into the trough of the trail, shift your weight and lean right hitting the right-banked earth berm on the high line, scream down the earth berm to the next obstacle. My body feels the shake and rattle as I feel the knobby tires seeking purchase on the hard packed trail turns.
Skyliner trail – typical rock obstacles.
I look ahead and see a earth mound. My being prepares for the jump as the mound launches me into the air. Move the body weight towards the rear tire, positioning for the launch. Hit the mound and explode into the air, balancing as I fly. Prepare for impact, and take the shock as I land, rolling on to the next obstacle. This is one part of the art of mountain biking.
Skyliner trail – bike parked for lunch break. Sunset on the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon.
There is definitely an art to getting into a hammock and situating your bed for a cold night. The low for tonight is 39 degrees F. So I got in the hammock, leaving my shoes on the ground directly below me so I can get out in the morning without getting my feet dirty. I am dressed for warmth with wool socks, tights, shirt, fleece jacket, gloves, hat, sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag, Thermarest insulating pad, and an extra blanket. Getting all that gear situated in a normal bed is not hard, but takes some effort in a hammock. Lots of wriggling and turning side-to-side to manipulate all the insulating items.
Here is a summary of my week of mountain biking in Bend, Oregon…
I took a bus from Eugene, Oregon to Bend, Oregon this morning. Traveled with an Osprey hydration pack and a duffle bag holding a week’s worth of camping supplies and mountain biking gear.
The bus ride from Eugene to Bend was filled with the exquisite beauty of God’s creativity found in the Oregon Cascade mountains. We rode up the McKenzie River valley, following the river as we ascended. I thanked God for the towering fir trees in the dense forest, draped in moss, tops disappearing in the fog. What a creator!
Arrived in Bend, Oregon at noon and hopped off the bus, ready for adventure! Ate lunch at a sandwich shop in downtown Bend. Then walked to the bike shop to pick up my rented mountain bike. I rented the least expensive mountain bike – a Specialized Rock Hopper 29’er.
Rode to REI to get a last minute item – a sleeping bag liner. The weather forecast was cooler than I had anticipated – lows at night in the low 40’s (F). And there is a chance of rain the first couple of days. There is nothing worse than being wet and cold, so I got a sleeping bag liner to add to the warmth of my sleeping bag.
Rode from downtown Bend to Tumalo State Park, located on the Deschutes River, about six miles northwest of Bend. Set up camp – a sleeping bag in a hammock with a rainfly. Had a rain shower while setting camp, so I got a bit damp. Finished setting up camp, then went down to the river to check it out.
Deschutes River, near Tumalo State Park, near Bend , Oregon.
Ate dinner (granola, nuts, and dried apricots). Took a shower (washer my dirty clothes in the shower), and got ready for the nights sleep.
I talked with the park ranger and she informed me that I could only stay three days in the state park (some rule they made, but failed to place in their website). This was unexpected news – I had planned on staying all seven days, and had not outfitted my bike to carry gear from camp to camp. So I will need flex my plan. Grrrrrrr.
Dusk brought the sounds of children playing in the state park camp, the river bubbling by, and the birds chirping as they got ready to roost for the night.
This week’s trip will be much easier than last year’s bikepacking trip to the Middlefork River, Crater Lake, and North Umpqua River. Here is why…
Supply points – Last year, I had to carry all my supplies for the week because there were no supply points. This year, I can ride into Bend whenever I need something.
Camp set up and break down – Last year, I had to spend about two hours each day, one hour breaking down camp to load it on my bike, the other hour to set up camp. This year, I am operating out of a base camp and leaving camp set up at the base camp for the entire week. I will ride out of the base camp each day and return back to base camp each day.
Packing less weight – I will only need to carry the essentials for the day on my bike – water, a lunch, weather gear, and bike repair gear. Last year I was carrying an extra 35 pounds of gear. This year it is just about 20 pounds – water being the majority of the weight. Every ounce makes a huge difference when cranking up those mountains.
Cell coverage – last year I was out in remote back country with cell coverage only about 10% of the time. Thus, I could not use cell phone mapping functions to navigate. This year there is cell coverage in almost every area where I am riding. If I can keep my phone charged with the solar charger, I can use it to navigate.
Showers – Tumalo State Park (my base camp for the week) has showers – something I did not have last year. No sponge baths or cleaning up in ice-cold rivers. Yay for showers!!!
Versus last year’s trip, I feel “footloose and fancy free”! I am cruising with relatively light weight and I won’t get lost (knock on wood).
Went to sleep to the sound of soft rain on the tarp covering my hammock.
Finished my last ride in of 2015 today – rode 2,500 miles on my mountain bike in this year. Not a record in the biking world. But a significant personal milestone for me. I carried extra weight on my bike and backpack for most of those 2,500 miles – good for the cardio health.
Given that one of my daughters ran 3,000 miles in 2015, my 2,500 miles on a mountain bike is not a big deal.
Nevertheless, I thought about the significance of this personal milestone.
God has blessed me with good health. I do not take this for granted – life is precarious and many are not able to exercise as I have been able to do. I am thankful for that health. Thank you Jesus!
Crater Lake Rim – Oregon Cascade Mountains – July 2015
Ozark Mountains at Table Rock Lake, Missouri – August 2015
My family encouraged me as I rode all those miles. They gave me bikepacking gear as gifts, encouraged me, and prayed for me as I rode. Susan, my wife, allowed me to spend the hours riding and was always interested in my activities (preparing for trips, training, riding).
I met some good people along the way. And friends have encouraged me along the way.
I rode in a wide range of temperatures – from 100 degree F temps to 30 degree F temps, through rainy, dark days and sunny bright days, and through all kinds of wind and weather.
The journey was good – though challenging – I enjoyed the journey.
2016 is a new year – I plan to return to a different part the Oregon Cascades for another mountain biking trek near Bend, Oregon. And I look forward to the new year with anticipation, joy and a grateful heart.
I completed a week-long, 215 mile, solo mountain bikepacking trek in the Oregon Cascades in July 2015. At the end of the trek, I added another 40 miles of mountain biking on local trails, making my week’s mileage 255 miles.
It was an epic adventure for me (a mountain biking “disciple of dirt”) – sleeping in a hammock, biking through the Oregon wilderness, drawing drinking water from streams and rivers, climbing in mountainous elevations, dealing with an unseasonal heat wave, skirting a forest fire, and meeting many kind people.
Here is what I learned:
1) The Oregon Cascades are gorgeous.
To a Texan, the 10,000 shades of green and the varied foliage in this lush forest area are incomprehensible.
2) Oregon people are kind and generous.
Wherever I went, people were always interested in my bikepacking trek (my route, how I camped in a hammock, carried my food, got water from streams, how I navigated, how I powered my phone, etc), and helped me along the way.
3) Plan ahead for a bikepacking trek, and be prepared to adjust for the unexpected.
A few things happened that I did not expect…
A week-long heat wave: The actual high temperature (90’s to 100 degrees F) was much higher than the average high temperature (high 70’s to low 80’s degrees F) found in historical temperature databases for this time of year in the Oregon Cascades.
Forest fires can wreak havoc on your plans. The Bunker Hill forest fire almost wrecked me (see Day 3 and Day 4 blog entry for more on the Bunker Hill forest fire).
…but I adjusted my plans and moved on.
4) Be fit – train far ahead.
Being a flatlander from Plano, Texas, heading to the Cascade mountains, I began training six months ahead of the bikepacking trip. The training involved riding hill repeats on a bike overloaded with weight (loaded with more weight than I would actually take on the bikepacking trek). This hill repeat weight training paid off in the higher elevations (and less oxygen in the air) found in the Oregon Cascades.
5) Enjoy the journey.
How you get to your destination is important – enjoy the trek along the way. Take photos, stop and talk with people, and find the small joys.
6) God blessed me.
God gave me a healthy body to ride the mountain biking trek, and a sound mind to navigate in the Oregon Cascades. He created some amazing wonders and blessed me through the trek.
Below are daily entries regarding my bikepacking route, along with maps, photos, and my experiences. A gear and supplies list is found below the daily entries.
Day 7 is the final day of the epic bikepacking trip.
I woke up, ate breakfast, but did not break camp, or load all the gear on my bike. This day I will enjoy mountain biking on local trails around Oakridge without the added weight and bulk of bikepacking gear.
Stopped by the local bike shop to ask about the Alpine trail – I had heard that the Alpine trail is a classic Oakridge area trail. It is located on the Westfir area, so I rode to the town of Westfir.
In Westfir, the Office Bridge spans across the North fork of the Williamette River and leads to a park with a place to start some local mountain bike trails. I crossed the picturesque wooden bridge and arrived at the park.
A fellow mountain biker was at the park mounting up to ride. I asked him how to get to the Alpine trail and he gave me verbal instructions towards the trailhead. They include instructions to proceed up the North Fork trail, to take a gravel road up the mountain, and that the signposts do not have any signs on them, “When you get to a place just off the road with two signposts off to the left, with no signs on them, take the trail left, and that is the Alpine trail.” I don’t give the phrase “two signposts off to the left, with no signs on them” much notice. My fellow mountain biker took off up a trail, and I took off in search of the Alpine trail.
I rode up the North Fork Trail that follows the North Fork of the Willamette River from Wesfir on upstream. I took the gravel road several miles. I began to notice a lack of signage on most of the roads, and lack of signage on what appeared to be trails leading off of the road. Due to lack of signage, it was difficult to gauge where I was. I had not downloaded the map to my phone, so was riding without a sense of direction (other than the sun and my last google map view).
Just when I thought I was in the wrong place, a van filled with people, and with multiple mountain bikes latched to its roof, from a local shuttle service, passed me on the road. “Good”, I thought, “I must be in the right place, headed in the right direction.” I continued my long trek up the gravel road, but at each juncture with another road or trail, there was no signage.
Everywhere else I had been on my 276 mile bikepacking trek through the Willamette National Forest, the Umpqua National Forest, and Crater Lake National Park, the signage had been very adequate and useful. Roads and junctions of roads were clearly marked with signs. Not so here in the Oakridge/Westfir area. Signage in this part of the Willamette National Forest was almost non-existent.
Sensing that I might make a wrong turn, or might choose the wrong dirt trail, and get lost, I gave up trying to find the Alpine trail, turned around and backtracked my route. I was by myself and needn’t get lost in the forest. Better safe than sorry. Back down the mountain I went, following the gravel roads, frustrated with my inability to ride the Alpine trail. I made it back to the North Fork river trail, followed it back to the Office Bridge, on through Westfir, and back to Oakridge.
I continued past Oakridge and went to visit the Willamette Fish Hatchery, just outside of Oakridge. The fish hatchery produces more than 7 million salmon and trout annually, which they introduce to the Oregon streams and rivers. I was glad to have visited the Willamette Fish Hatchery.
Willamette Fish Hatchery. Oakridge, Oregon
It was a good ride that day – I got more uphill cardio, and enjoyed the North Fork trail along the river. Not the ride I intended down the Alpine trail – that opportunity was missed due to the lack of trail signage. I had a good meal in Oakridge that evening.
Later that evening in Oakridge, I talked to two local business owners. They asked what I was doing in Oakridge and I told them about my six day bikepacking trek and my one day riding local trails in the Oakridge/Westfir area. With regards to my local Oakridge/Westfir ride, one asked, “Did you ride Dead Mountain Trail?” I said, “No, I was trying to ride Alpine Trail, but could not find it. There were no signs anywhere.”
A frown appeared on the local business owners’ faces, and one said, “We have a local shuttle service that takes down the signs so that out-of-town riders will buy their services.” They went on to say that the local riders know the local trail layout and geography, but that non-locals and tourists did not. According to the two local business owners, the local shuttle business uses this lack of signage to sell their “guide services” to non-locals. My mind flashed back to my conversation with the local biker giving me directions to the Alpine trail, who used the phrase “two signposts off to the left, with no signs on them.” Red flags went off in my head.
The two local business owners went on to say that the local trail stewards, called the G.O.A.T.S. (Greater Oakridge Area Trail Stewards), were wired in to the trail signage issue. I expressed my dismay and my displeasure about my inability to find trail signage on the local Oakridge/Westfir trails. I let the two business owners know that I had successfully navigated a 215 mile bikepacking trip through the Willamette National Forest, the Umpqua National Forest, and Crater Lake National Park without a hitch. But that I could not find a popular trail (the Alpine trail) within a stone’s throw of the Oakridge/Westfir area. The two business owners understood that I had appropriate back-county navigation skills.
The two Oakridge business owners agreed that the lack of road/trail signage was a significant issue, but commented, “The G.O.A.T.S. run the show on trails around here, and they run the organization like a clique.” My sense was that the two business owners were not one of the “in crowd” of that clique. And my sense was that the G.O.A.T.S. organization was a part of the trail signage issue – the organization knows the local shuttle business, knows the status of road/trail signage, and know who uses the local Oakridge/Westfir trails on a regular basis (shuttle service operators, local riders, and visiting riders). I appreciate any volunteer-based trail maintenance organization such as the G.O.A.T.S., and the lack of resources in which such organizations often find themselves, but cannot understand the lack of trail signage for trails the organization claims to maintain. The statements made by local business owners seemed to cast a cloud over the organization’s stewardship of these local Oakridge/Westfir trails.
The next day I took a car from Oakridge to Eugene, Oregon and flew from Eugene to Portland, Oregon. In Portland, I had a layover before my flight to Dallas, Texas. Waiting for my flight at the Portland airport, I met Cynthia, who lives in Bend, Oregon and is a mountain biker. She was interested in my bikepacking trek, and we discussed mountain biking in Bend, Oregon. We talked for some time. She reached into her bag and said, “I want to give you a gift – a Spoke Bracelet. It is made from a bike spoke.” She told me about how she created Spoke Bracelets and talked about all the wonderful people she knew as a result of making Spoke Bracelets. I put the bracelet on my wrist, right next to my Road ID, and thanked her for the special gift – a meaningful material symbol for my bikepacking trek. Oregon people are kind and generous – this gift was yet another example of that kindness.
Road ID and Spoke Bracelet.
As we talked, I brought up my experience regarding the lack of road/trail signage in the Oakridge/Westfir area. She said, “Bend has an extensive off-road trail system. The trails are very well-marked with signage. Come to Bend, Oregon to mountain bike, and you will find well-marked trails.” She was amazed at my experience mountain biking without trail signage in the Oakridge/Westfir area, and commented regarding keeping the trail signage useful for visitors, “In Bend, we are concerned that visitors might get lost, and getting lost is serious business in a rugged mountainous area.” I agreed with her statement, and it added to my sense of shock that the Oakridge/Westfir area mountain biking establishment allows road and trail signs to be taken down, and to not being replaced when taken down. Getting lost is serious business in a rugged mountainous area, and lack of trail signage can contribute to getting lost in a rugged national forest area.
My sense is that it is a crime to tamper with road and/or trail signs on National Forest lands. I am at a loss to understand why trail sign tampering in the Oakridge/Westfir area has not been reported, documented, investigated, and prosecuted. My sense is that there is a reason for the lack of investigation and lack of prosecution for the apparent trail sign tampering going on in the Oakridge/Westfir area. And that the local Oakridge/Westfir mountain biking establishment and local culture are involved. Whatever the “explanation” for the lack of signage, it is not good for visiting mountain bikers.
I recommend that bikers visiting the Oakridge/Westfir area gain a heightened awareness of the lack of physical signage for gravel roads and biking trails in the immediate areas surrounding the two towns…
Avoid the mountain biking trails in the Oakridge/Westfir area (a great alternative is Bend, Oregon, where trails are well-marked).
If one chooses to ride the local Oakridge/Westfir trails, buy a local trail map to use as a guide when there is missing signage.
Be wary of any bike shuttle business that removes trail signage to increase profits. If a business acts in this way, what are the prevalent ethics of its agents? What else are they doing that might effect you unfavorably? Do you want to be associated with such a business?
I finished my week-long solo mountain biking trek in the Oregon Cascades with a sense of accomplishment, with a sense of an adventure well-taken, and with thanks for health during the entire trek. It was a great week. And no one could wipe the big grin off of my face as I returned back to Texas.
Tough day of climbing ahead – climbing from about 1,500 feet elevation at Steamboat Falls to 3,900 feet elevation at the Calapooya Divide. A real grind.
Woke up at 5:30 am, eat breakfast (dried fruit and nuts), break camp, pack gear on bike, saddle up, and head out about 7:30 am.
Began climbing up Steamboat Creek, following the creek’s path as it flows down the Calapooya mountains. No fishing or mining is allowed in the Steamboat Creek valley – it is spawning grounds for the Umpqua River steelhead trout population. Many signs posted along the route remind the public that fishing is not allowed and or mining is not allowed (in order to protect the steelhead trout spawning grounds). Beautiful, happy purple flowers are in bloom along the road.
The creek diminished in size as I climbed higher and higher. Eventually the creek disappeared and the real steep inclines began. I felt the effects of a bike loaded with 35 pounds of gear, the going was slow. Cranked and ground up gravel roads that lead over the Calapooya Divide near Bear Bones Mountain in the Calapooya Mountains. I made it to the top and enjoyed the view of the valley of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River below.
Handlebar view of the morning sun.
The view down into the Middle Fork of the Willamette River valley in the Calapooya mountains in Oregon.
The sun had risen high in the sky and baking the temperature into the 90’s. The elevation near the ridge below Bear Bones Mountain was 3,916 feet. It was generally downhill from there to the Middle Fork River at about 2,000 feet elevation. The ride down was fast. I rode the brakes most of the time.
Looking down the valley of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in Oregon.
I passed over the Middle Fork River at about 2 pm and was near my planned campground for the night (the Sand Prairie campground near Hills Creek Lake. But I decided to push hard and ride to Oakridge, where I began the trip. The lure of a burger, a cold drink, and a shower drove me to push on. Also, if I get back a day earlier than expected, I can ride some of the local Oakridge are mountain biking trails like a regular mountain biker – without the 35 pounds of bikepacking gear.
The day was blazing hot, the heat cooking off the blacktop road to Oakridge. I was running out of water, and I was hurting from the climb over the Calapooya Mountains. The sun beat down on me. I was overheated. I stopped on the shores of Hills Creek Lake to get water from the lake and to wet my bandana. Met a family camped there at the lake for the weekend. They kindly offered me a cold Mountain Dew. I had never had a Mountain Dew, but it was cold and wet, so I drank it while visiting with the family. I thanked them for the cold drink, wished them well, got back on the bike, and pushed on.
Arrived back in Oakridge at about 5 pm on Day 6 of my bikepacking ride. I rode to the local Dairy Queen for a cheeseburger, fries, a shake, and glass after glass of of ice water. I sat inside enjoying the shade and the air conditioning. Lots of people at the DQ getting cold drinks and ice cream on this hot day.
I found the Oakridge RV Park, my camping spot for the next two nights. Unpacked, hung the hammock and rainfly, and hit the showers. That night I had pizza and iced soft drinks at the local pizza shop. I camped next to Salmon Creek, with the sound of river rapids whispering all night long.
I rode 215 miles in six days, completing my bikepacking trek through the Oregon Cascades.
Mark Updates 