During the latter half of August we took a trip to Oregon to do some mountain biking and hiking. We did a similar trip last year and enjoyed it so much we had to repeat it this year. And, even after a second trip there are are many trails that we missed. So, perhaps, a third trip might be necessary. Here is a brief chronology of that trip with some of our favorite photographs.
Day 1-2: After a day of driving we spent the night at a Forest Service campground near Austin, Nevada. In the morning, we backtracked a few miles so that we could take a brief soak in Spencer Hot Springs. The expansive views of the Nevada desert are worth the side trip. Another long day of driving brought us to south-central Oregon. What a nice change from Arizona!
Day 3: We arrived in Bend, Oregon, in the early afternoon and wasted no time in getting in a bike ride along the Deschutes River Trail. We did this trail last year and it’s worthy of a repeat ride. The tempo of the river ranges from smooth water to rapids and rafting companies take folks down a stretch of this river. The trail is mostly easy — with a few difficult sections as it moves through ancient lava flows.
Day 4: We set out for a longer ride today. We started up from the Skyliner Trailhead then moved onto the North Fork Trail. This is a steady, moderate climb but makes up for the hard work with a number of wonderful waterfalls. We continued onto Flagliner Trail and then descended on South Fork Trail. It seemed that there was more climbing than descending but this is a loop so that’s not possible. But it sure feels like it!
Day 5: I managed to break a spoke on the rear wheel while climbing North Fork Trail yesterday so the bike was in one of the local bike shops today for repairs. Instead, we went hiking around Smith Rock State Park. It’s a rock climbers paradise — and not too bad for photographers, either.
Day 6: Next up was riding the McKenzie River Trail. We did this as a shuttle with Cog Wild Mountain Biking Tours along with eight other riders. We wanted to do this last year but were unable to schedule it so we were happy that things worked out better this year. This is a long ride (26+ miles) and there are many difficult sections — although most of the trail is easy to moderate traveling. There are even a few hot springs along the river (Deer Creek Hot Springs and Belknap Hot Springs) but there was no time for soaking — we had a deadline to make for the return shuttle!
Day 8: We left Bend and headed for Oakridge. It rained long and hard that day and made for an interesting drive across the Cascade crest. Between rain showers we were able to hike alongside the McKenzie River on the opposite side of our bike ride a few days earlier.
Day 9: We decided to use the Oregon Adventures shuttle service so that we could ride Alpine Trail. Without the shuttle it’s a long, uphill climb on forest service roads to the start of the trail. Better to use the shuttle and save our energy for the ride down. This trail has been described as the Crown Jewel of Oregon mountain biking — so we had to try it. Oh yeah — it was great!
Day 10: A more mellow day as we rode the Middle Fork of the Willamette River (MFWRT). We started by riding up the paved Forest Service Road for about 10 miles then crossed the river and began the descent on the MFWRT. It starts out with several steep sections but mellows as it descends. We finished the ride with a swim in the river and ate our fill of blackberries. Great day!
