OTT Day #1- July 13, 2018- "We're doing it!" Our Grand Departure of The Oregon Timber Trail

Overlooking Goose "Lakeview" Lake

Before I continue, it's important to mention that the photos here are a collection taken by all of us. Thank you Karey Miles, Aliza Richman, Deann Garcia, and Bill Garcia. It's fun to look back at these months later!

As promised, Wes was in the parking lot of The Maverick Motel at 6:00 to get us loaded up. He got our text about arriving super late and brewed us a big mug of coffee to share. What a fella! We stopped in Lakeview for breakfast. You should stop at Tall Town Cafe and Bakery. The lady working is hilarious and serves up a hearty breakfast. I mean, where else will you get 5 perfect slices of bacon? And Wes's breakfast burrito was big enough for at least 2 meals.

Eventually we to an obscure trailhead. Really, it was a place to pull out along the road. Wes hung out while we got all put together and then we were off, somewhat unceremoniously, except for the expression, "WE'RE DOING IT!" which would be repeated throughout the entire trip.

Bill and Deann

This first day was a hard start. We coined the term "Nap and Rally" for the day, as we were running off of our 2-hour naps. We also didn't start with enough water, which got to be a problem at the end. The ride was beautiful, as well made our way far above Goose Lake (where Lakeview gets it's name.) The highest point on the entire trail is at 8200 ft. over Crane Mountain. After a stop for lunch, we came across the scraps from an old plane crash! 

Are we there yet?

Eventually, we started to head downhill for a while, which came as a relief, from the high altitude. The last few miles were pretty rough. We were rationing our water. At a certain point, near Rogger's Peak, we decided to split up, so that Aliza and Bill could go ahead to where we thought we'd find water and start filtering. A little while later, the trail split. The OTT route was to the left with 2.5 miles to water and to the right, the trail would cross the same stream but at 2 miles. It was like two sides of a circle. Deann went left. Karey and I went right. Everyone found the trickle of water and soon we were fresh, excited humans again when we met up at the Rogger's Trailhead. 

From there it was a mostly paved handful of miles to Cam and Christine Newton's oasis, the Back of Beyond Resort. They were nice enough to allow us to camp on their property and have all of the artesian water we could drink! And Coors Light. This was the start of our three-time offering of this refreshment born in the Rockies.

Our first day was 27 miles, about 3500ft of elevation gain, and took about 5 hours of ride time. Details are here on Strava.