I could see putting this one in the bucket list. I have never spent any time in that part of the country.
I was up there for the first time in 2002 and fell hard for the area. Unfortunately, it wasn't until last Fall that I got to return. In 02, I planned on spending 2 weeks up there, I spent over 2 months going down the coast and into the interior of Central Oregon!
It's a wonderful area and the scenery changes greatly throughout the journey. Big vistas, big, exposed peaks, volcanic areas, killer lakes, ridgelines to the horizon, old-growth, moss-covered forests, etc... I need to scan some of the photos I took from my 02 trip. Didn't take as many pics this last trip and some didn't come out so great, otherwise there would be more posted on my central oregon Picasa pics.
Just so many people you see out doing every outdoor activity; biking, hiking, climbing, kayaking. Plenty of visitors, but the locals know what they have and truly appreciate it and are continuing to expand the opportunities.
It's kind of amazing that I did get to put the course together; just hope I can get up there to ride the complete route! Started thinking about this course once I discovered bikepacking. Knew there had to be a route. Was planning to go to Idaho, instead of Oregon last Fall. But, changed plans and bought all new maps when I got to Bend. Saw the route and decided to ride to map, actually blowing off some pure enjoyment rides I planned to do. Spent the week riding on a stuck-down Fox Triad and even blew out a tire out at Waldo Lake, which had me fixing a flat, hiking to camp (doughnut emergency tire wasn't going to do on the last couple miles of dirt road), tearing down camp, bikepacking back to the car and returning to Bend late on a Saturday night to get a couple new tires on Sunday morning. Thank goodness for WalMart, cause they still have Blue Laws in Oregon!
What is the approximate break down of road, 2 track, single track etc etc. In general how ‘rideable’ would you judge the single track to be with a loaded bike? Looks like lots of lava rock in some of the pics. And the profile shows some truly impressive climbs.
Check the map pic I attached. It will give you the visual you need on the breakdown. Yellow is ST, Red is DT/FR, and Black is pavement.
It's made to ride! I won't make a course that is BS HAB! Now, just like on the Apache course, there may be a short section here or there that can't be avoided, but that's it. My thoughts on courses are that it should be rideable and enjoyable, and give you a nice challenge (though even on a course as such, there may still be times when you ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"). But, it shouldn't be made to just screw with you to see how long until you break!
Yes, there are some volcanic areas, but nothing nasty to ride thru. I've avoided the technical lava at the top of the McKenzie River Trail. You'll go thru a lava area on the road to Sun River, but it's just the scenery. The shots with the lava were actually around Sparks Lake, at the West base of Mt. Bachelor (actually the area, Sparks Lake/Soda Creek, is where the shool and church were located in the original, JW, Rooster Cogburn movie).
Oh, yes, there are some impressive climbs on the route! But, those 10-12 mile, 3-4,000 ft. climbs out in the Oakridge area are all on forest roads. You'll enjoy the 15 miles coming down the Apline Trail though! Old-growth ST down to Waldo is killer; it was stellar too, doing it as a night ride with just a helmet light!
Thanks. Need to do more on it though. A little here and there gets done, but I just haven't been able to find and keep the motivation to do everything I've planned to do. Also doesn't help that Google is screwing around and dropping features that I need. And I just really don't want to dive so deeply into programming again.
