2 Months Later... What Still Amazes Me

I'm still amazed that my body let me do this for 2 weeks straight. There were few times on the route that I was really tired and the pace kept everything manageable. I want to finish the Oregon Timber Trail next summer. Although I recently rode the first 15ish miles of the next section and I'm not so sure I want to redo that part with gear. It's straight the hell push-a-bike UP!

I get asked a lot, "Would you redo it?" Or, "What part would you want to re- ride?" The answer is NOPE and none with bike bags. There is something magical about a once in a lifetime experience- you do it once. I feel like I would never have the same reaction looking over Fremont Point for the first time. I will never be as thrilled to come across a 3 inch deep, 18 inch wide creek, after rationing my last 8 ounces of water over the past 2 hours. I will never react tot he same surprises. Honestly, there are parts I really don't ever want to ride again. The Earth is too big to take time to relive the unpleasant parts. And the stuff I would re-ride? Of course I want to, without bike bags. There is some fun trail between Crescent Lake and Sisters. 

I have 3 goals for next summer. 

1. Mountain Bike Trip in Peru (already planned, deposit placed)
3. Finish Oregon Timber Trail 
3. Backpack all or part of the Washington Pacific Crest Trail

Who's in?

OTT Day #14- July 26, 2018: Sisters to Fish and Clear Lakes... and Trout In My Mouth

Breakfast was as planned. Oatmeal and coffee and anything else we didn't want to carry on this last day. We popped by Blazing Saddles Bike Shop for Evan to fix a pedal issue, and to sign the OTT log book and air up the tires. Then we were rolling along the 

Heading out of Sisters

The first 10ish miles was flat and mellow- a perfect way to warm up, wake up, and gear up for the big day. Everything between Sisters and Suttle Lake was a nicely groomed single track or well worm gravel road. We must have been quite a sight to the fancy folks enjoying their weekend day at the lodge, as we leaned our bikes along the deck and ordered a beer and curly fries. I admit I was a little jealous of the visitors in bathing suits, playing in the water. That's OK, I can just soak my jersey and bandana in the cool lake. 

Not more than a couple miles after leaving Suttle Lake, things turned unpleasant. We had a steep hike (not ride) from Dark Lake up, up, UP to a gravel road. This road started innocent enough, but soon the "gravel" got softer and softer and looser, and eventually was just... sand. All three of us were on and off the bike constantly, due to the deep sand. And we were tired and we were hot. And SAND! It was the hardest I ever had to work to ride my bike along a mostly flat road. But hey, it was the Santiam Wagon Road and it was all historic and shit, so I should be proud and enjoy it, but... all the damn sand.


I had one melt down. It lasted about 4 seconds. I yelled a sigh of profanity. 


And when the Earth insults couldn't get worse, we came to a cute little interpretive sign welcoming us to SAND MOUNTAIN [quickly bring palm to face]



Finally, after a short water refill and a visit with a camper at Big Lake, we slowly road out of the sand, into some lava rocky sections, and finally back to the big woods. We were all pretty quiet the last few miles to Fish Lake at the McKenzie River Trailhead, and the end of our ride at Clear Lake.

Bill talked us into the trail ride option to and around Clear Lake to where Deann and Karey had set up camp and had cold beers and snack waiting. Deann caught us each a trout for dinner, cooked over a campfire. She also brought a solar heated camp shower and I used more than my share! We stayed up late. We drank plenty. We had NO plans to ride bikes the next day.

The next morning, we drove IN A CAR to the lake lodge for breakfast and later I took a kayak around Clear Lake. It's geologic history is pretty cool. Before too long, Karey and I were in the car, headed back toward civilization. Re-assimilation would be hard for a couple days, but I was ready for a rest.

The End For Now

For more photos, see the link on the right or... HERE

OTT Day #13- July 25, 2018: Random Flat Logging Site to Sisters!

Before we tucked away to sleep last night one of us joked about the logging trucks showing up early in the morning of a forecasted hot day to finish their job. Oh, and we were not pressed for time, so we could even sleep in, which in the summer means maybe 6:30 if you're lucky.

Beep! Crash! Motor of large vehicle... as foreshadowed, the log picker uppers came just after dawn. Rather than stick around for breakfast, we quickly threw our gear together and rode the 5 miles left to 3 Creeks Campground for coffee and breakfast. Even at 8:00am, it was already hot. We were in for a scorcher. 

Fed and ready, we hopped back on the Metolius- Windigo trail heading for Peterson Ridge, just south of Sisters. Due to a recent burn, this section was so eerie. The heat of the flames had scarred the trees to a grey ghost forest, creating a perfect setting for the next Tim Burton movie. It was also beautiful and the only vegetation besides some high  mountain grass, were some wildflowers poking out along a very small creek. In the video below, I mention Mt. Hood. It was actually Mt. Jefferson

Getting through the burn in the late morning heat finally gave way to woods that had escaped the fire the year before. It was a great place to have some lunch. 

The next section of trail, was pretty rocky and surprisingly technical, but again gorgeous... and still hot. Eventually our decent down Peterson Ridge took us to Sisters. 

At some point, I felt that the air hitting my face, hooked up under my glasses and I felt hot air on my eye balls. The last few miles were long and flat. I was a bit surprised to not see many people out riding and hiking, but again... hot. How hot we wondered. When we finally made it to town and 3 Creeks Brewing, we passed a bank sing. And in the shade, the temperature reading was 97. The funniest part of the day that I can remember was the hostess at the brewery asking us if we wanted to sit outside.

NO!

More great food and more great beer and we quickly decided that we would be sleeping indoors that night. We needed showers, air conditioning, and beds. A couple of great friends in Bend tried to connect us up with host housing in Sisters and even offered to come get us to stay the night. But for convenience, we decided to to just grab a close hotel room for the night. 

My treasures collected at the grocery store included sushi, chips and salsa, coconut cream pie, cherries, and canned wine. We bathed. We laundered. We watched action movies and felt luxurious.

Tomorrow's forecast was another hot one, over 95, and it was going to be a long last ride. Our LAST RIDE on the Oregon Timber Trail this year. 

July 2018: OTT Inventory and Lessons Thus Far

Flats: 0
Chipmunk: 738
Coors Light Offers: 3
Mosquitoes: 4, 592
Deer: 3
Cows: 10-15
Punctured Sawyer Filter Bags: 1

* Never underestimate the last 4 miles. Like NEVER. You are never almost there. You'll know you're almost there where you are rolling around the campground, picking out a sleep spot

* End all sentences with "so far." Things change.

* My tent is too big for 1 person and too small for 2

* Pack your items in your bike bags according to when you will need them, not by what they are

* Always say hi to the camp host.

OTT Day #12- July 24, 2018: Cultus Lake to... A Logging Site via. Mt. Bachelor

Whew! Truth time. I'm writing the blog posts for day #11-14 about 3 months after this trip. It's been emotional reliving this experience. In 2 weeks, my group mates and I are doing a short movie presentation and Q&A with our local community. I'm excited and it's gotten me thinking about finishing the OTT next summer.

Anyway... today we knew we had a lot fo uphill miles to cover. We headed toward Mt. Bachelor Bike Park with hopes of a burger and beer. The first 5 or so miles were along an old gravel road to Lava Lake Store. Yes, there was a beer at 10:00am and it tasted pretty damn good while we charged our devices and chargers.

New lesson- always make a plan for where to meet, even when going to the bathroom. About 20 minutes were lost as we lost each other at the small campground Oh man!

Finally, we  hopped on the Metolius- Windigo trail to start our uphill pedal to Mt. Bachelor. We were pretty quiet in our personal journeys this morning. We didn't chat too much. 20 minute or more would go by without us speaking at all and giving each other mental and visual space. I know I was feeling a little sentimental reflecting on the past 10 days and being almost finished. I was also pretty tired. We all were. I easily zoned into a somewhat meditative state with a repeating mantra:

I am strong

I am powerful

I trust my body. 

I also distracted myself my singing OKGO's "I won't let you down" over and over. 

I also made a mental list of things that are harder than this. I later shared this mental list with the boys and it would serve as giggle fodder for the next 2 days. Whenever I looked or acted complainy Bill would just mention something that was worse- and some were very creative. It was worth the crack up. Turns out, our ride wasn't so bad. Again with the realization that we were riding our bikes most of the way through the state, healthy and free enough to accomplish such a thing.



Finally, we made it to Mt. Bachelor Bike Park, at the same location as the resort and man were we ready for those burgers!

Airlift. 
What!?! Bill found the first person who looked like they worked at the resort (ski/ bike patrol) where we could devour some lunch. He told us that the cafe was at the TOP of the chairlift. This was not good. Luckily, our new friend could tell we were hungry and thirsty with credit cards, and knowing that we had no interest is shredding the brow pow in the bike park, he subtly walked us on to the chair lift to take us to our late lunch destination. Here we all enjoyed elk burgers with fries, salad, and a cold beer. I guess I haven't mentioned yet that the temps were in the high 90s that day, but it was a bit cooler at the resort. 

We ended up hanging out there for almost 2 hours, just cooling off and relaxing, and drinking much much water. They eventually had to kick us out when the cafe closed. Our's were the last 3 bikes waiting at the bottom of the chair lift.

Onward and upward we headed about 10 miles along a primitive dirt road.  This was actually a very pretty ride, with amazing views of Broken Top Mountain. We were trying to make it to 3 Creeks Campground, but we were running out of sunlight. After finding some water for the evening at a stream, Bill found us a nice flat place to sleep. You could tell by the soft dust imprints left that logging operations had occurred that day right where we were camped. We were feeling pretty satisfied about our 37 miles, and 3800 feet of elevation gain. Soon we were nestled in our tents, looking for to a lazy morning and nice descent to Sisters.

OTT Day #11- July 23, 2018: South Waldo to Cultus Lake

30 miles were on the menu for this day. We were on day 11. Wow. We only saw one other rider on our morning ride along the west side of Waldo Lake. The burn area near the campground is coming back nicely.

Over 300 miles riding my bike so far across the state and I twisted my ankle today- walking on pavement to the bathroom at Waldo Lake! I taped it up with Gorilla Tape and hoped it will be OK the next day.

Charlton Lake Trail is some amazing single track and mostly flat. We stayed within the same 100-200 feet for a few miles. I must return to this area to actually camp at the campground and explore beyond the lake without bikepacking gear.

We made it to Cultus Lake by 5:30 to another beautiful lake and quiet campground. I did some laundry off the end of the boat dock and only got a few raised eyebrows from families bring their boats in. I even shampooed my hair... what a treat! We enjoyed an amazing sunset punctuated by the wildfire s

We have a hard day planned tomorrow. It's going to be 36 miles to 3 Rivers Campground. So, we won't be able to take too many breaks.

Oh Hey! Another offered up Coors Light!

OTT Day #10- July 22, 2018:Bunchgrass My Ass!

And then there were three. Bill, Evan, and I took an easy transition morning. The whole crew had an breakfast at a local spot across from the motel. Deann took Aliza to go ride while the three of us that were continuing got packed, to head out. Late morning, Deann and Karey drove Bill, Evan, and I to the Bunchgrass trailhead, after a quick stop to pick up my bike. 

With a hug goodbye and an "I'm proud of you" from Karey, we pedaled away. 

The south/ west end of Bunchgrass Ridge somewhat sucks. A recent wildfire burn made for a rowdy ride, with plenty (too much) push-a-hike-a-lift-a-use-as-walker bike section. The overgrown trail, rocky, burned section looks less than 10 years old, it was already pretty hot, and we could smell wildfire smoke from somewhere south.

It took us about 2 hours to travel less than 4 miles. I struggled. Bill struggled. Evan hadn't ridden the day before, so he was a bit bot spry. As our new friend, he waited at the top to a beautiful view. The descent was full of California Corn Lily (somewhat like beargrass with different style blossoms.) fireweed. Seriously Fireweed to go with the smoke smell.

We finally made it to a road that took us to a small pond to refill our water. Bill wasn't feeling well, so we took a little longer break, but not too long, due to mosquitoes. It was at this point of the ride, we just kept our mosquito nets on our heads. They are surprisingly comfortable to ride with!

 

Another 2 miles of gravel up to the next trailhead. We finally got the reward of a gorgeous, trail, thick with trees, and many small lakes. And mosquitoes. At some point, we got off the official Oregon Timber Trail and on a trail headed straight to Waldo Lake. Oops! And... score! We made it to the Waldo Lake [mosquito] shelter. 

The mosquitoes were bad! We very quickly ate and hopped into our tents and in bed by 9:30. I took some time to read and not be eaten by.... those insects.

So now, by awesome accident, we are 12 miles from tomorrow's planned end at Waldo North Campground. We are planning to make it there now by lunch. Then it's another 18 miles to Cultus Lake. The terrain looks to be mostly flattish.

Oregon Timber Trail- The Album (Dropping.... Never)

Singing parodies make the miles go by. 

*All the Single Lupines (All the Single Ladies) 

*My V_____ taking a beating, yes it is (sung to: "She'll be coming around the mountain) 

*Moooooove Cow! Get Out the Way (Move Bitch) 

*Ohhhhhhh.... We're Half Way There... Hope there's not a bear...Karey's legs are on a tear...Wish the was a doughnut in my chair... I need another layer... Really Nappy Hair.... (Living on a Prayer) 

*Oh Karey.... Our Ride... is Sooooo Long... So Long.... (Oh Sherry)

OTT Day #9- July 21, 2018- Sacandaga Campground to OAKRIDGE!

We all left Sacandaca Campground around 9:00. The rest of Middle Fork Trail was so great, mostly downhill, and full of greenery. The final 15ish miles on the road around the reservoir to town was a bit tedious, but not bad and we. were. almost. there.

Karey had taken the road back into town. With a couple of injuries over the past two days and a bike needing a part, she headed to the Oakridge Bike Shop. Here she made the difficult decision not to continue our trip. Without the desire to go on solo, I decided that I would be done as well....

While at the bike shop, Karey met fellow OTT rider, Evan. He has his own set of bike issues, having hitchhiked from Chemult to Oakridge and was getting himself sorted out. We all met here, chatted with the shop staff, bought some t-shirts and celebrated our finish, along with Evan, who we adopted into our group right away.

Off to the Brewers Union Local 180 for burgers and beers... and ice cream for Bill.
 Carina and her wife, Jenn were also in town and met us. Somewhere in the middle of beer #2, Bill and Evan got to chatting. A plan quickly got organized for Bill to take Karey's resupply food and supplies and the question was posed, "Well, why don't you keep going, Heather?" No reason not, so Carina followed me back to the bike shop to drop off my sled for a quick brake adjustment and look over. She gave me a ride back and just like that, I was going to keep going 5 more days with just Evan and Bill. With a finish of our beers, we left in jolly spirit.

The next part of the plan was to check into The Blue Wolf Motel. I've stayed here a few times and for the price, it's a great no-frills, yet clean joint. It turned out that I made our 2 room reservation for... the next evening. As I was starting to stress out, the manager, Candis sternly said, "You just take a deep breath and let me figure this out." And did she ever. She gave us 3 rooms for... an undisclosed, amazing price. She wanted to get the rooms occupied for the night and head out to the music festival. Thanks Candis.

After 6 thorough showers, and donning our brand new t-shirts and clean underwear, Abra came to pick us up and take us to Westifr for the ever-famous MBO (Mountain Bike Oregon Festival) luau. More beers and wine and beer and wine and pizza and beer were consumed. It was also fun to see friends from various mountain biking aspects of my life- racing... riding... my roommate Forest.... To be honest, it was a little bit of a social overload, being in the woods for over a week. So the beer helped.

Bike Packing- The "I'm so Jealous" post

If you've ever spent a few consecutive days with a group of friends bikepacking or backpacking, you are bound to be jealous of some things. Here is a short list I compiled. 

*A beef stick that a friend pulls out with no plans to share with you 
*The person sleeping solo when you're sharing a tent 
*A carbon full- suspension bike riding on Winter Rim (oh wait... that was the other's jealousy!) 
*Others with 2.8-3.0 width tires on sandy trails/ roads...

OTT Day #8- July 20, 2018-Crescent Lake to Sacandaga Campground

Well, not that I'm writing these blog posts a month later, the memories are fainter. I expect the posts to be shorter. On this morning, I casually laughed at the condition of my legs. Between the bug bites, the mysterious bruises, and scratches from claw-like shrubs, they are quite a sight! This morning, I was a bit of a mental mess. I slept very hard and it took a lot of effort to get out of bed. On one hand, my body is getting tired. But also, my body is really getting used to this. It took me a long time to get ready. I was the one everyone was waiting on to leave.

Check out our legs. This is one of our many "album cover" poses.

The trail away from Crescent Lake and Springs Campground is one of the loveliest on this route. It's a buggy climb up to Summit Lake, where we stopped for lunch, but it grade is gradual and the ground is... dirt. Yes, we were approaching hints of trail that I love the most- buff, dirt, and trees! 

Summit Lake

If you've never been to Summit Lake, find away to get there. So beautiful, with barely a soul around. We saw a "flock" of dragonflies hanging on to grass poking out of the water! 

Summit Lake Crew

From here we rode the access road around the lake and worked our way to the Timpanogas Lake and Shelter, where we stayed for about 47 seconds. It's an adorable enclosed shelter, but not our destination and the most aggressive mosquitos, so we got out of there fast! 


Then we finally got to....Middle Fork Trail. Our excitement could not be contained as we rode technical, switchbacks on our loaded bikes. There was dirt on the trail. There were ferns all around. And trees. Oh, how I missed my big fat trees.


We made a quick stop by Indigo Springs to see about camping. Not impressed, we decided to skip more trail riding and coasted down the paved road to Sacandaga Campground. So much nicer. The next day would be the last together.

August 21, 2018- Goodbye My Rubi

By now, you may have noticed that my tense jumps all over the place. This is because I'm writing this blog, a month now after finishing the Oregon Timber Trail Ride. I'm sad and unmotivated to blog because a few things are pretty shitty and it's hard for me to compartmentalize such an amazing adventure, mixed with sadness.

Part of Winter Rim is on fire. As I write this, a month after being in the Paisley, Winter Rim, Fremont- Winema Forest area... it's on fire. Some of what we rode on days 3 and 4 is... gone. It's sad to me that folks who were so generous to us are in danger. It's sad that others who are planning to ride the Oregon Timber Trail next year won't be able to or will be riding through the scarred remains of this devastation. 

Many of you reading this knew my Rubi dog. If not, you should have. This was my Facebook post last night.... Miss Rubi Grace VanValkenburg crossed the rainbow bridge this afternoon. She had been hiding a very large mass from all of us. She was a candidate for surgery, but that would have only been the first very expensive step of many. It was very likely cancer, based on its size and quick growth. At 11 years old, she was tired and in pain from this, and some arthritis and spondylosis. She let me know it was time to say goodbye. She loved you all. She knew if you were sad. She knew if you were sick (she would check your eyeballs to diagnose.) She knew if you loved her. She knew if you kinda liked her, but needed time to warm up. And she certainly knew patience and love like no other dog I've known. She loved to chase her buddy Rascal, even when she was tired. She loved camping, hiking, and even "swimming." She was very comfortable in her last couple of days and I am very relieved that I was with her when it was time. I will miss her.

This is the second time I've had to say goodbye to a dog. No break-ups, no life or career disappointments, no race losses, no human deaths... nothing has been worse. This hurts more. I feel guilty that I left her alone so much this summer, not knowing that a very large mass was growing in her abdomen. But I know she had fun with her buddy during summer camp and in a fucked up way, I think she knew to let me finish all of my summer plans of adventure and bike racing before she let us know that it was time to go. She knew I had a chance to experience all the things from Moab, to Whistler, to the Oregon Timber Trail, and more. She also knew school was starting and if she could just make it to last weekend, she could let the pain surface and stop eating while I was enjoying my best race of the year. It was such perfect timing that she let me know when I went to visit her and she didn't want to snuggle, a day before I was due to return to school. She knew I'd be distracted and busy the rest of the week. She knew a lot of things.

It's the Little Things: Small gestures that make bikepacking in a group that much better

*Trading Skratch Labs flavors with another rider 
*No Internet- you think you will miss it... you don't. 
*Q-tips in your re-supply box 
*Getting to a campsite before dinner 
*CBD mint at mile 40 of a 55-mile gravel slog 
*Epic Wipe (or other wipes) bath just before snuggling into your sleeping bag 
*Fixing a creak or squeak all by yourself 
*Learning others' camp hacks 
*Having others to scratch an unreachable mosquito bite 
*Bill chasing a chipmunk (seriously)
*The Check-in from another rider. Just a simple, "You OK?"

OTT Day #7- July 19, 2018-Spa Day!: Chemult to Crescent Lake

Whatever you choose to do on this trip, be sure it includes an afternoon swim and overnight at Crescent Lake! Ok, we woke up on Dawson House Lodge, refreshed(?) and ready to crank out another 50 miles. 

JUST KIDDING! We decided to make it a short day, because really... we weren't totally refreshed and were all pretty stinking tired. We planned on 27 miles for the day on mostly gravel roads. Not a whole lot to report about that. It was a mellow day as promised, with a lovely water/ lunch stop along a creek and we couldn't have been more excited with our decision. We arrived to our destination around 2:00pm. The tent spots at Springs Campground on Crescent Lake were right on a clean, pebbly beach with easy access to the lake.

The afternoon included bathing and swimming in the lake, doing a small batch of laundry from the day, napping, enjoying the breezy, yet very warm afternoon, and trying to play text tag with our friend Carina who was working at the fire lookout nearby. That evening we were SO VERY LUCKY (I might have cried a tear to two) to have her bring us some beer and hang out for a visit. She drove over an hour to us and had to work the next morning. A real friend from the outside!!! The scene was outdoor-magazine- photoshoot perfect as well. The tents, the hanging laundry, the bikes propped against trees, the people napping, sitting, hanging out, the chipmunks that lived under our fire pit, that kept trying to steal food and get into the tent with Bill.... all just glorious.

Some thoughts... I want a ponderosa pine tree added to my left shoulder tattoo... and some wildflowers... and some snowflakes. I was tired today. I didn't have a grand melt down or bonk, but my "V6" legs of the past week were more like "1.8L Geo Metro legs today. At one point, I stopped to adjust something and was left a little behind. I thought, "No biggie. I'll catch up." It took a very long time for me to catch up.... This adventure has been a lot of fun so far. I think I'm doing fairly well so far because we are taking many small brakes.

OTT Day #6- July 18, 2018- We rode... the road: Silver Creek Marsh Campground to Chemult

Today wasn't very hard as much as it was super long... and got pretty hot. We left our campground this morning in new spirits. We decided to do all road to get to Chemult, because we knew it was going to be over 50 miles. We did learn later that the trail was pretty hard and one rider even mentioned a "trail closed" sign, so we dodged another rough day. 55 miles


Once we finally got to Chemult in the early evening, we stopped right away at Loree's Chalet for another round of burgers, beers, and Cokes. There's something about a Coke at the end of a long day in the saddle that just... yea. After eating, we rolled to the Dawson House Lodge for our resupply boxes. Since the impromptu hot springs cabin accommodations worked out so well, we decided to try to get a room here. There was one. room. left! We super lucked out here. Aliza, Karey, and I would sleep here, and Deann and Bill got a room at the Chemult Motel 2 block away. After settling in, opening our resupplies with much joy, and jumping in the well needed shower, we were off to do some laundry... at a laundromat... with detergent! Karey treated us all to a bottle of the worse champagne we've ever had, and we drank this sitting in and outside the laundromat. So far I've learned a few important tips or lessons on this trip. When you are doing a trip this big... Treat yourself to a bed, electricity, and plumbing every 3-4 days. This is best on days when you are sending yourself a resupply, so you have room to organize and the ability to send what you don't need home. You also have space to throw away packaging you don't need. I'm sure as the OTT becomes more popular, places will probably host rider boxes for folks to donate what they are not using. Also if you can plan to have a long day on your last day before the resupply, a bed, a kitchen-cooked dinner, and such, that makes for a light bike on the big days. And visa verse, be nice to yourself on the days right after resupply when you have more to carry.


Also, EAT! I was eating all the time. We all were. Every time we stopped, we were stuffing something into our mouths. You burn so many calories, you want to stay fed, and never feel hungry. This ride is hard enough with bonking. You will get tired because it's long and because it's hard. Don't get tired because you food bonked! You will get sore. My hands, my back, and sometimes my shoulders were sore. This is hard enough without getting hungry! Use hydration mixes, like Skratch Labs or similar. Use electrolyte tablets. Treat this as a stage race because really it feels a lot like that.


Our course was almost all gravel. You know how in the northwest, we have multiple words for types of raining and cyclocross racers have multiple names for types of mud? Well, there are many types of gravel. We had rocky gravel, sandy gravel, washboardy gravel, red gravel, orange gravel, grey gravel, purple/red gravel, white gravel. We were so tired of it by mile 50, we actually chose to ride on paved highway 97 for 2 more miles than necessary in order to avoid more sandy gravel frontage road.


Chemult is an interesting little place. You can hold your breath while driving through the entire town on Highway 97, south of Bend and not lose your breath. You get the instant feeling that the entire town knows each other well. I did not get an overwhelming feeling of welcome from the various folks, but more of a polite tolerance. Maybe it was more of an eyebrow-raising curiosity. My favorites, however, were the fun 2 ladies working at the Double D Mountain Market. Everything we bought (bug spray, Benadryl, laundry soap), one kept saying, "If only I knew, I have some of this at home!" Eventually we joked about just staying at her house that night. She also gave us the intel on the laundromat situation and who to talk to if we needed more quarters after we left, since they were our last customers. There is a Pilot truck stop in town for your travel needs too, but I'd prefer a visit with these ladies!

OTT Day #5- July 17, 2018- You're Never Almost There: Fremont Point to Silver Creek Marsh

A clue to the wrath of this day is evident in the lack of photos any of us really have. I used to have more photos of this day, but I think even my phone knows that some parts just shouldn't be remembered.... (OK, so I deleted them before getting wifi to backup to Google Photos. Oops. As we were getting ready in the morning, another rider came through. We had some "where did", "how are", "can you believe" exchanges and he was gone. We named him "Michigan" because that is where he was from.

We started all excited for our "downhill" away from Winter Rim and re-entrance into the woods. We hit 10 miles by 10:00 and thought we were pretty rad. Guess what the terrain was like in the morning? More rocks in the trail. I tipped over into a bush (foreshadowing), rounding out the 100% female tip over rate. 15 miles went by quickly and we did eventually start heading downhill. 

At about mile 13 or 14 some were needing a break. Karey and I went ahead to the "water hole" listed on the route. This turned out to be a farm well/ small pond and we ran into "Michigan" again. He was just finishing up his rest. Although covered in some small plants, once you skimmed your hand over the top of the well, the water was clear and... wet. We had made it through the driest part of the Oregon Timber Trail and not died of dehydration. Score. We decided to make this our lunch spot.



Well fed and full of energy and laughter, we rejoiced in having the whole afternoon to ride just 10 more miles. Uh... except it started with a few miles of steep uphill single track and it was HOT! It was the push 5 steps, rest 5 seconds and repeat kind of hike-a-bike, with a few riding spots. It was about 1200 ft. of elevation gain over 4 miles. And the heat got to all of us. The 2 very large logs we had to lift our bikes over got to us. We pushed, we rested, we swore... a lot. We finally made it up and over Hager Mountain, with a wave to the fire lookout. We giggled in delight on our fast descent to Silver Creek. We got in for a swim.

YEY! Just 4 more miles to go and it's only 4:45. And then the manzanita and other shrub bushwackiness began. This. Took. So. Long. To. Get. Through. It was uphill. We could barely see the trail. The branches stabbed and poked and scraped and laughed at us. Luckily "Michigan" had already been through it, so we could sort of figure out where to go. We were not giggling anymore during that half mile. After then, we hit more intermittent groves of bushes, and lost and re-found the trail 3 or 4 times before finally getting to the Silver Creek Marsh Campground. Check out our mileage and stuff here. Remember, Strava does not show downed logs and bushes!

We didn't talk to one another for a long time. I grabbed my empty water bottle, fanny pack, and dirty clothes and made my way to the well. "Michgan" was also there, well before us, and came over to help me pump iron rich water from the well. His name is Ken and he was a little further over the day than I was yet. Ken was doing the ride solo. He had started with a group in Lakeview, but was now on his own. About the time I was done with laundry, Deann came over and we visited a little with Ken. He assured us that it was OK to do alternate routes. We decided to ride road tomorrow. He also told us not to give up the overall goal. Take each day at a time. Good advice. Tomorrow was going to be a big day- 50+ miles, but at least all road- mostly gravel.

OTT Day #4- July 16, 2018- Lumpy Bumpy: Paisley to Fremont Point via Winter Rim

This morning, our group would have slightly different starts. Deann and Bill needed to pick up their resupply box and Karey decided to join them and avoid the 10-mile gravel climb up to Harvey Pass and a nearby trailhead. This was a treat for us as well since they were also able to pick me up replacement electrolytes, sunscreen, and... Desitin (if you know, you know.) And, with limited water the next couple of days, they also brought water to our meeting spot. This gravel road is not the proper OTT route, but we knew that we'd be getting a late start and we didn't want to feel rushed later in the day.

As planned, Aliza and I left the hot spring and rode up a nicely graded gravel road up, up, up to where the trail met the road. With some bag putting on and gear adjustment, we entered the trail. Before too long, we got our first view from Winter Rim. It is amazing. You can almost imagine the ancient lake that once took over this expanse. From here, we did have to take an offshoot trail to Currier Springs, our last water for the next 20 or so miles.

This trail is rocky- like, a 15 mile, mostly exposed rock garden, with a few breaks. I was very happy to have flat pedals and full suspension. Loaded with all of our gear, plus extra water, the flat terrain wasn't as easy going as you would think. Oh but the views. I had no idea that Eastern Oregon was so... big?

We also had another thunderstorm break, which ate up a little ride time. Trying to find a hideout in the middle of an old wildfire burn... fun. Thank you, Karey for the trail report in this video.

We finally made it to Fremont Point and the trailhead, near the shelter. The shelter rents out months in advance, but we were happy to camp at the trailhead. Fun fact about most of the trailheads in the Fremont National Forest is that they have nice vault toilets. Magically, they don't smell and it's nice to not have to dig a hole after your morning coffee. Most of the trailheads also have at least one picnic table, making them great places to disperse camp. The view from our camp spot was unreal. Looking over Summer Lake and as far as the eyes can reach of eastern Oregon is a fantastic way to spend the evening. With my tent set up in an open area and a warm evening, I did without the tent fly and slept under the stars following a great sunset. Here's where we went and how long it took and stuff.

Again, I was feeling good and actually had fun riding through the rocks that day. I reflected on the funny fact that I willingly rode my bike 10 miles uphill on a mountain bike. I was reeling in the surprise that my body was still up for this. I kept wondering when I'd have my bad day, my breaking point, my meltdown....

OTT Day #3- July 15, 2018- Hiding from Thunderstorms: Mill Flat to Paisley and Summer Lake Hot Spring

We woke up to clear skies. They turned purple just as we were getting ready to roll. I wasn't too sad because clouds might equal some rain and that would be a nice change on the trail. It would keep the dust and temperature down. And since I live in an area that often rains without visual and audio effects, I didn't think we would encounter any danger. We began with about 13 miles of single track, mostly uphill, but doable. And the light rain really was nice.

This opened up to a view, with the route almost making it to the fire lookout on Morgan Butte. The exposed meant we were definitely in danger of lightning that followed each thunder boom. The views were gorgeous! And the smells.... oh my. Imagine fields of sage and cedar shrubs, with some juniper. Then soak it in a warm rain.

The drama for the day was the thunderstorms. We had to ditch our bikes and hide under some shrubs to wait out passing storms. These storms brought lightning strikes that started over 20 wildfires in the southern Oregon area. At least one of these fires created smoke which we met up with later in the week.

Once safe, we headed down, down, down to Paisley, finishing with about 10 miles of pavement from the Chewaucan River crossing to Paisley. Finally, we would get the Cokes, and beers, and candy bars we had been looking for.

Paisley is pretty small and on this Sunday early evening, the mercantile was closed. And purple clouds of doom and danger were rolling upon us again. So, we settled for beers and burgers at The Pioneer Saloon. They don't have a website, but I like this little write-up and learned that it is one of the oldest saloons in the state! As we inhaled our burgers and enjoyed our well- deserved beers, Aliza called Summer Lake Hot Springs to let them know we were still coming. And... to find out if there were any cabins left to rent instead of our camping spot. Owner, Duane said he would "hook us up" and that he would come to pick us up, so we didn't die from lightning.

As promised, about an hour later, Duane showed up in his truck, where we loaded ourselves and bikes and were taken to our Oregon outback oasis. He let us rent the Ranch House Cabin at a steeply discounted rate, with a private "grotto piazza with private soaking pools." We were in heaven. What a treat to have plumbing, electricity, and space to do laundry and organize our re-supply packages that we had sent there. Except for Deann and Bill... their package was still at the post office, due to a miscommunication. But Duane offered to take them to the post office in the morning and drive them to a spot to meet the rest of us the next day. Of course, we enjoyed a soak with a gorgeous sunset, after the avoided thunderstorm.

Check here for route and stats on the day. The miles and elevation don't matter. We were riding our bikes across a state with a lot of hills, mountains, and high deserts!