Bicycling Around the Tetons

When Scott, Jen, and Doug suggested a mountain bike ride circling the Tetons covering Adventure Cycling's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) through Idaho, parts of Wyoming, turning West back into Idaho, and then turning North to complete the circle around the Tetons, I jumped at the chance. Since retiring about 9 months ago, I've been thinking a lot about riding the GDMBR, but frankly, I'm afraid of multiple days away from resupplies as well as the lack of water from the Great Basin south. I feel more qualified for road bike touring with daily stops for groceries or even cafes.  This would let me sample the GDMBR with good company and the excellent food these guys always come up with.

Day 1-  27 Jul 13
Island Park, Idaho to Polebridge Campground, Idaho  
43.7 miles 4:40 riding time
About noon we left Curt and Diane's who are Scott & Doug's friends who live about 2 miles from the MT/ID divide.We sped down SR 20 and hopped on the route about 10-15 miles into its Idaho section riding quiet backroads in the the timber, and by Big Springs, where the North Fork of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River suddenly springs forth from old rhyolite lava flows.   I found the springs fascinating, but the others have been here before, and the area was crowded with tourists, making us rush off to the undeveloped Polebridge Campground (old fashioned out houses only), but with the not so warm Warm River to take a dip in.

Day 2-  28 Jul 13  
Polebridge Campground Idaho to undeveloped campground, Wyoming 
 45.8 miles  5:56 riding time
 I think there's some beautiful scenery here, but I'm too busy negotiating the loose trail to notice

We discussed at length whether to take AC's main route down the old railbed to near Ashton or take the alternate route over another mountain.  AC's map advises that the railbed is extremely soft.  What they don't say is this rail-to-trail is open to motorized vehicles, and ATV's have torn up the bed making for a 4 to 6" layer of small gravel mixed with sand that was difficult to descend and which would be nearly impossible to ride up.

At the side of the "rail trail" Scott changes his brake pads unloading only the rear panniers - assisted by Doug

We struggled with the dug up gravel/dirt.  Just after Scott said, "I think there's some beautiful scenery here, but I'm too busy navigating the loose trail to notice", we left the trail for nearby roads.  ATV's are everywhere here, on the "rail-trail", on the many ATV trails which frequently parallel the rail-trail, and on the nearby roads. When the road did a big "S" shaped blind corner, we heard ATV's.  Doug didn't like the something in the sound, and suggested we leave the road bed.  Just in time as two riders paralleling each other came round the corner taking the entire road bed and parts of the shoulders.   Narrow escape, and the rider taking his half out of the left side of the road slowed slightly and temporarily.  By the time they reached the next part of the "S" turn, they were completely parallel to each other again taking the entire road and parts of the shoulders as they nearly took out Scott and Jen.  You'd think this irresponsible driver a teen with an undeveloped sense of self-preservation who was lost in the joi de vivre, but you'd be wrong.  He was  at least 30 without a smile or upraised countenance. I can only hope if these guys hit a big pickup, the pickup driver isn't injured.

The trail enters a canyon, and about half way down it, the dug up nature of the trail moderates, making it enjoyable- just in time for the best scenery of this "rail trail" - if "trails" opened to motorized vehicles qualify for that term.  Both Scott and I had wanted to ride this short tunnel which had been built to avoid the falling rock of the earlier route.  The tunnel is now closed and riders are diverted to the earlier railbed which is still subject to "falling rock".

Doug just before we reach the tunnel

Jen at the mouth of the closed tunnel

Scott on the tunnel diversion

The Warm River looking down from just outside the tunnel

Just after the tunnel the route is finally closed to ATV's. It becomes pleasant for the mile or so down to Warm Springs Campground. There, we inadvertently left AC's trail to climb an extra mountain, but we were soon back on route. The road narrowed and got rough as we reached the Wyoming border.  Here we met our first GDMBR rider- carrying only a tent in the front, a sleeping bag in the rear, and a backpack on his back!  Talking to this guy, I fell behind the group, and as I tried to catch them occasionally wondered if they'd found a campsite I couldn't see.  Finally I caught them waiting for me at the top of a steep grade, and we soon reached our beautiful, undeveloped, but only mosquito infested campground of the trip.  Mosquitoes had us all in bed by 2000 hours.

Scott builds a fire in our "undeveloped" campsite- note the benches someone has built- photo by Doug

Day 3-  29 Jul 13  
Polebridge Campground to Lake Jenny Hiker Biker Campground  
46.1 miles 4:21 riding time  Our Wilderness Experience is over

Most of the campsites posted on AC's map in this area are being shut down by the USFS making our last night's camp decision a very good one.  It was a pleasant downhill to where our quiet backroad met the main highway between Yellowstone and Teton Parks.  We were in a nearly 2 acre parking lot of tourist complex when 6 large Harley's drove up- one playing Lay Down Sally loud enough to "entertain" the entire complex (at least the speaker quality was excellent-   the best I've ever heard on a motorcycle or car/pickup- so loud with no distortion), and Doug competing with the music announced, "Our wilderness experience is over".

the crew: Doug, Scott, Jen, & Steve in front of Jackson Lake

From there shoulders were wide and traffic fairly heavy to Jenny Lake.  On this section we met Chris and Heather bicycling from their home in central B.C. to SLC.  Our combined group almost immediately ran into construction with us bicyclists told to immediately follow the pilot car which would probably go a little slower than we'd like.  I thought we were in a sprint going 15-20 MPH on loaded touring bikes- mountain bikes at that. I determined the group wasn't going to drop me.  We dropped Chris and Heather.   The pilot car finally pulled over and told us to ride ahead, and she'd follow us- relief.  We arrived at Jenny Lake Campground to find all signs read  "Full".  We decided to see if the site contained a hiker biker section, which it did with only one cyclist, Roberta, (her blog was never finished, so it's more an introduction than a blog) camped in the section.  As soon as we had camp set up, a heavy 15 minute thundershower arrived.  Chris & Heather arrived, and we caught up on the day's activity, and Doug and I went for a quick swim in Jenny Lake.  Dinner was started, and a heavy 45 minute rain arrived turning our tent pads into wading pools.  Scott carries a very nice tarp that protected our dinner table!  Roberta finally showed up- she was taking a rest day- alternating naps with trips to the nearby convenience store for snacks.  Cycle touring can do that to a person!  She's inspiring- 59 years old, all of 110 pounds, a roadie racer who decided to buy a mountain bike this year, and then took off on the GDMBR solo!

camp in Jenny Lake Hiker Biker Section

Doug takes advantage of the rain- polishing off any dirt the rain missed

Roberta, Steve, Chris, & Heather in front of one of the Tetons- meeting & getting to know fellow tourists is a highlight on tour

Day 4- 30 Jul 13:  

Jenny Lake to Wilson, WY 

27.9 miles 2:31 riding time

The morning greeted us with views like this:

morning view of the Tetons across Jenny Lake- from our campsite

We rode a bikepath out of the park and caught a twisty little road into Wilson with views like this most of our short day:

Doug, Scott, & Jen on our way to Wilson, WY

Each of the 4 of us had brought 4 sets of cycling clothes, and Teton Pass awaited us, so we took a half day of riding, enjoyed a great lunch at Nora's, and washed clothes. Dinner didn't work out so well for Doug and me. We went to a "nice" place. Doug and I ordered the waiter's suggestion of portobello something or other, and got a nice appetizer in lieu of dinner. So, we filled up on Scott's pizza as well as dessert! We should have gone back to Nora's for a more of a home cooked dinner suitable for hungry cyclists.

Day 5- 31 Jul 13  

Wilson, WY to Tetonia, ID 

37.7 miles 3:38 riding time
Teton Pass at 8,431 ft starts on the edge of Wilson and provided our challenge for the day.  Fortunately for us, the old highway has been turned into a bike path (no ATV's allowed!).  It's steep, but about 1/3 of the way up we started meeting supported tourist from Bike and Build
and the conversations mostly made me forget about the climb.  Most of these cyclists weren't really cyclists when they started; they each raised $4,500 in pledges for affordable housing and were given a Giant racing bike to ride across the country.  Some in the lead, whom we never met, brought their own bikes.  They stay in churches and community buildings each night.  I believe there were 21 in this group.  Many were pushing up the hill, and doubtless could have used a third chain ring that even a light touring bike would provide.  Maybe a touring bike is the right bike for a cross country ride?  Ask those pushing doubles up Teton Pass!

Steve, Doug, Jen, & Scott at the top of Teton Pass

We had lunch at a nice campground on the WY/ID border and rode into Victor where the high desert started.  With Dandi of "Bike and Build" we rode a great paved bike path from Victor to Driggs where we stopped for groceries and lost our Bike and Build companions who were headed for Ashton's Lutheran church, and on to Missoula for a "build day".

Early in the afternoon we checked into the camping area of the Teton Mountain View Lodge.  The owner is hard working, conscientious, and keeps a clean nice looking place.  However, after we checked in he informed us the sprinklers would go on at 2230 hours promptly, and we should choose a tent site along the fence where little water sprays!  That took the wind out of my sails.  I've never read a cycling blog with middle of the night sprinklers that ended well for the cyclist!  I decided to sleep on a pic-nic table under cover while Scott and Jen took the dry back corner, and Doug squeezed his narrow single person tent along a barbed wire fence on a dry spot on the edge of the property. I've met a couple of cycle tourists who regularly sleep on pic-nic tables to avoid time spent on tent set-up and take-down.  It didn't work so well for me.  The site has a big bon fire area that wasn't used until after bed-time when 4 loud drunks showed up.  They stayed there a while and then moved to the hot tub turning on its flood light- which was in addition to the 100 watt equivalent CLF bulbs that were everywhere.  About 0200 hours the drunks retired, and I finally fell asleep.  I never heard the sprinklers come on, and everyone stayed dry, so the effort to stay dry was likely futile.

Steve's pic-nic table bed- photo by Doug

Day 6- 1 Aug 13

Tetonia to Warm River Campground 

35.0 miles 3:42 riding time
The route was planned on various gravel roads, but we soon spotted a rail trail (a real one- no ATV's allowed).  It's great to have adventurous companions who will take a chance on an interesting trail that goes our general direction but wasn't in the plan.  Old rail beds which are generally built on ridges have much better views than most roads, and this one gave us some great views.

Jen, Scott, & Doug on the Ashton Tetonia Rail to Trail

Scott, Jen, & Doug head into a forested section of the Ashton Tetonia Rail to Trail

Doug on a trestle crossing

With such a short day, I was soon looking for something to do with the afternoon.  Warm River is a very nice campground, and children float the river through the campground throughout the heat of the day.  I had no inner tube, so I found a fishing dock in the deepest part of the river where I could jump in on one side and let the current carry me 15 feet before climbing out.  While I was doing this, Jen was trying to talk Scott or Doug into floating the length of the campground on their sleeping pads.  When I got back to camp, Scott immediately suggested I take his sleeping pad and float the river with Jen to which I quickly agreed.

Jen & Steve floating the Warm River

The sleeping pad survived several brushes with the round river rocks in the shallow river, and the float was fun until we went under the bridge.  Suddenly the back 2/3's of Scott's sleeping pad was flat.  The front section would hold me up, but I decided to check it out.  A 10" cut in the middle of the pad apparently from a sharp rock had ended our fun, so our floating trip and Scott's compfy nights were over.  I offered Scott my 3/4's thermarest, but Scott politely declined.  He and Jen spent most of the afternoon attempting to patch his mattress, and got it to where it would hold air for an hour or so before needing a middle of the night blow-up.

Day 7-   2 Aug 13
Warm Springs Campground to isolated spot near Island Park, ID 
53.9 miles 6:09 riding time
Faced again with the choice of GDMBR's main route up the ATV trail or over an additional mountain, we chose the over the mountain option.  It's amazing how many miles of almost unused paved road are here.  Coming off the mountain we enjoyed a couple of great vistas. Once on the bottom, we met a young couple excited to be in the USA for the first time and on the GDMBT- my guess is they're from the North of England, but their accent threw me.  We failed to get their names or home.  They, like everyone else but us, had heard what shape the former rail to trail was in.  After leaving them Scott took us on 1/4 mile of rail-trail (ATV trail) just to remind us how good it was not to have ridden it today. 

Doug, Steve, and Jen at the final campsite- photo by Scott

Scott and Jen knew this area and took us to a spot the moose had trodden badly this spring making a poor sleeping surface for a guy without a mattress and even a guy with a thermarest.  We'd taken it fairly easy on this trip, and this was the only day I'd call a full day of cycling, but you take the camp spots as you find them.

Day 8  3 Aug 13  
isolated spot near Island Park, Idaho to Curt & Diane's 
25.1 miles 2:37 riding time
I'm sure Scott was glad last night was his last night in the tent without a reliable mattress; I with a thermarest thought the moose prints somewhat uncomfortable!  We were going to finish up back on the GDMBR- at least to just before Red Rock Pass takes its route into Montana.  For a short while the route had us on single track which was a treat.  All too quickly we were back at Curt & Diane's who had stored our cars.  They provided showers, a great burrito, melon salad, and home-made chocolate chip cookies.  Thanks Diane & Curt!  We promised not to list them as "Warm Showers hosts" to passing GDMBR riders!

Doug, Jen, Scott with the celebratory beer, and Steve at Curt & Diane's

Summary:  

315.2 mile riding time 33:34 over 8 days
It was a beautiful ride combining a sample of the GDMBR, the bike path over the Tetons, and the Ashton to Victor rail trail. This was the least demanding mini-tour I've done with these guys, but each day was varied and fun. I've tried to convince them to do the entire GDMBR with me next year, but work gets in the way of their personal lives. For other Pacific Northwesters or those just east of the Divide, this is a good route to give it a preliminary try!

Doug takes great photos always and here's most of his work.


Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!


Steve

Cottonwood Creek Hike a BIke with the LT

Roughly 23 miles with riding time of 4:20


"I'll choose a route in the mountains that will let us escape the 100+ degree heat this Saturday" suggested the LT. Despite his questionable history of route selection, I agreed-  with the provision that he'd select no motorcycle trails.

This blog would be much better with 3 photos we didn't take- the fancy bridges at the bottom, an angry coiled 3' bull snake, and a deep creek crossing,  - but those photos weren't taken.

After about an hour and half of driving we arrived at the Cottonwood Creek trailhead.  There were 3 steps to start- a questionable welcome for mountain bikes, and within 100', an aggressive bull snake was coiled, raising its head, and hissing loudly at us- giving us a "welcome" or a warning about the ride we should have heeded.

Steve on the wide pleasant section

Will enjoying the views of the bottom section

The first 3 creek crossing were on wide expensive bridges (no photos). At the 4th crossing, there was suddenly no bridge. The water was about 2' deep, and the LT, despite his instinctive dislike of water, was quickly taking off his shoes and fording the stream. I tried pushing my bike through just downstream while balancing myself on two broken logs, but I gave up when the front wheel was completely submerged and the first broken log threatened to roll me. I couldn't find a shallow place (we were hemmed in by the brush), so, I followed the LT's lead fording the 2' cold water. There would be no more bridges, but the other creek crossings were only a few inches deep. Most of this mountain had been burned a few years ago.  Trees haven't sprouted yet and brush is taking over where the USFS hasn't maintained the trail, which is most of the ride. Soon we were riding in conditions like this:

Steve, still riding through the brush!

We were only about 2 miles into the ride when the brush overtook the trail, and I suggested to the LT that we might turn around. He seem shocked at the suggestion. "Of course we would continue through the brush to the top of the mountain" was his attitude.  The brush continued to thicken, and soon we were both forced to push- riding only short sections in thinner brush here and there.  The brush had lower dead branches that were very adapt at grabbing my stirrup style pedals, and bringing my pushing to a miserable end until I was able to disentangled the branch(es) from my pedal.  Unknown to me at 4.1 miles the brush pushed my odometer's magnet all the way to the rim.  When the mileage stayed at 4.1 miles with no mileage gain as I put forth great effort, I thought I'm really not enjoying this route which the LT had chosen. I'm used to magnets turning slightly or even sliding down the spoke an inch or two which is easily adjusted, but my magnet appeared to be gone. After about 2 miles, the LT noticed the same problem with his odometer, and found his magnet had been pushed up against the wheel by the brush.  My magnet had done the same thing, so I slid the magnet back where it belonged, and it started recording mileage again.

Lest the brush wasn't enough, stinging nettles do well in recent burns, and many got us going into or out of the brush. Mosquitoes and cockleburs also left their mark on our insulted legs.

Crossing one of the wet bogs in the brush, the LT saw me step on a little water snake that in response apparently struck at me in my lycra protected legs, but it missed me, and I missed seeing the little serpent.

The plan had been to eat lunch where the trail meets a mountain road, ride up to the old lookout, and then enjoy a fast descent on the USFS dirt road.  We were hungry and I was tired, so we ate lunch at the first shade where the burned area met the remaining forest. Here we both drank the last of our water.  The LT keeps saving weight by not carrying his filter, and I always think I can rely on that water filter that stays on his shelf!  The cool small stream below us was tempting, but there were beaver dams below, and I believe beavers are a source of giardia, so our mouths began to dry.  Here there was no brush to grab our bikes and scratch our lycra clad legs, but it was generally too steep for our tired bodies to ride.

The LT nears the top on a rideable section

we finally reach the USFS road!

The plan to ride from 4,000 ft to 7,000 ft did take us into the cooler air, but without water, we decided not to continue up what was probably another 1,000 ft to the fire tower. Views from the height we reached were great.

View from the top

The LT at the top on his downhill racing bike

enjoying the descent

Nearly all descents are fun, and this one was no exception- meeting no cars on this dirt road with the green grass strip down the middle, it was a great descent. A few short steep climbs kept it interesting, and soon we were back at the hot pickup. I had suggested bringing a cooler with cold water, but the LT thought two quarts of hot gatorade would be sufficient. That drink reminded me of drinking hot jello when a child, but it beat a continued parched mouth. Cold water would have been great, and I believe we'll take a cooler for the pickup next time, and maybe get that filter off the shelf where it looks so outdoorsie!  In a few days our scratched legs should be recovered!

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!


Steve

Old West Scenic Bikeway - Back to the Blue Mountains

While mountain biking in the Blues last August, Doug mentioned he'd be interested in a short tour this fall, and with my retirement scheduled for 30 Sep, we quickly worked out a plan to return to the Blues on road bikes- we ended up on RideOregonRide Old West Scenic route beginning and ending in John Day. A cold dry front arrived the day before departure bringing cold and steady Western winds that weakened a bit each day.

John Day Oregon to Bates State Park 33.7 miles 3:00 hours riding time
We met in John Day where we had lunch and headed up the John Day River passing through Prairie City (all services) before beginning the steep climb to about 5250 feet elevation, and dropping back down slightly to Austin Junction. Camping and showers were available, but we decided to ride on down to the new Bates State Park only 1.5 miles away.


Setting up camp at Bates  

We rode back to the Austin House for dinner- salmon for me and some fish medley for Doug. We rode back to camp at dusk. Temperatures were falling rapidly, so we both crawled into out tents preparing for a cold night.

Day 2 Austin Junction to Long Creek, Oregon 52.8 miles 4:30 riding time
It got colder than we expected falling into the mid teens. I stayed warm curled up in my sleeping bag, but the cold kept me there for nearly 12 hours- nights are long this time of year. Doug suffered a bit in the cold. We both got up shortly after dawn and walked back to Austin House which doesn't open until 0800 hours PDT. The temperature was 18 as we were finishing breakfast. It was still below freezing when we stuffed the sleeping bags and loaded up the bikes. We stayed bundled up and took off with a steady but mild head wind.

Bundled Steve departing Bates

Fall Colors had begun with arrival of the cold front that characterized our ride


Bates is near the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the John Day, and the route followed its winding path down into the steady head wind. When the river met highway 395, we turned south to follow the state highway with minimal traffic but with another steep climb. We crossed some high desert arriving in Long Creek in late afternoon. Although camping was available, we headed to the Long Creek Lodge to avoid another night like the last one. I had no desire to lie in a warm sleeping bag for 12 hours to stay warm, and Doug had no desire to chill for 12 hours in his. The town of Long Creek doesn't offer much, a motel and a convenience store where they'll fry hamburgers- but be warned it closes at 1800 hours PDT- pretty early for cyclists. The motel worker warned us the store didn't open until 1000 hours, so we bought breakfast foods to add to the instant oatmeal Doug was carrying. The convenience store clerk said they usually opened by 0900, but that too sounded too late.

Day 3: Long Creek, Oregon to Dayville, Oregon 61.2 miles  5:02 riding time
The temperature was again below freezing with ice on the side of the road as we left town, but it was much warmer than the night before, and unlike our tents, the motel had heat.  The motel clerk warned us the route would be busy and the road winding.  The latter was true, but we saw only a couple cars between Long Creek and Monument.  Most of the ride down was windy and steep, but that makes it fun.  Oddly the temperatures were colder at the bottom, and I added a sweatshirt to what I was wearing as we left Monument's grocery store.


Steve departs Long Creek     Doug enjoys the descent to Monument   Steve beginning the climb up the South Fork of the John Day
The huge well maintained Kimberly Orchard added to the interest of the ride about noon.  At mile 42 we arrived in Kimberly, but were disappointed to find both the store and restaurant were closed- with the appearance the closure was permanent. We stopped by the Fossil Bed National Park and the Cant Ranch Museum which are only about 100 feet apart and enjoyed the break, the sights, and then riding through the Painted Canyon.  When we arrived in Dayville, we had the choice of an RV Park, or the Presbyterian Church which has allowed bicyclists to stay for free since touring took off in 1976.  I'd never stayed in Dayville despite riding through the Oregon section of the Trans Am several times, and reading some recent blogs made we want to check out the church.  It turns out they were having a "harvest auction" that evening to raise money for the assistance they give the poor of Dayville.  The harvest auction includes fruits, vegetables, and baked goods; stuff a cyclist would really like- except where will it fit in the panniers?  They assured us we wouldn't be in the way, and invited us to their pre-auction chilli feed and auction.  Small town activities always entertain me well on tour, so this just added to the adventure for me. I think Doug enjoyed it too; it beat watching PBS and old sitcoms the night before or the first night's huddling in the tent to stay warm!


Goods to be auctioned at the Harvest Auction- fuzzy photo by Steve  

Our Bikes where they spent the night in Church    

A stained glass gift to the Church from a previous bicycle guest

Day 4 Dayville, Oregon to John Day, Oregon 31.5 miles 2:46 riding time
Despite the cold which still hadn't left the area, we left early- not wanting to stay for church or be underfoot when the first members arrived.  Finally, we had a slight tail wind  pushing us up the valley to John Day.

It was a great October trip that would have been better without that cold front, but still definitely worth doing. Here's a hotlink to Doug's photos.

Happy Cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!

Steve

15,000 Feet of Climbing in the Blues

The major forest fires in Colorado in June forced us to change our mountain biking touring plan from a week on the Great Divide Route to one on the Salmon River.  In July South Idaho had more acres burning than any other state, so, Scott and Doug went to work planning a revised ride in Oregon's Blue Mountains. I don't believe I even got a copy of the last pre-ride revision, but that last minute route was changed freely enroute with the aid of USFS and chamber of commerce motorcycle map obtained enroute.

Day 1: La Grande to a Camp on the Edge of the Road 30.3 Miles 5:20 Riding Time

Doug, Jen, Scott, and Steve ready to depart La Grande

We met at 1000 hours PDT in La Grande and were underway by 1100. The gravel route up the mountain was steep as expected. When we reached the first fork in the road, Scott assured us it it would get less steep; it didn't. We continued up to an old log cabin where the gravel ended and the climb became less. The surface was dirt with some large naturally occurring rocks that had recently been dry graded leaving a lot of dust to disguise the rocks. The county or USFS apparently decided the naturally occurring rocks  weren't enough, so they hauled in 3" to 4" sharp rocks that were difficult to ride over and posed a danger to all bicycle tires making the riding almost as difficult as the climb had been. Eventually we rejoined the gravel road that we'd left 3/4's of the climb out of La Grande. We soon reached a ridge, and soon afterward Scott was bonking and out of water. A ridge is a bad place to look for water, and though we looked, we found none. When primitive camping on bike tour, I like to set up camp by about 1700 hours, but dry camping is a poor option- especially when we're out of water. By 1900 hours we did find a small pool of water with no place to camp. We thought there was a USFS site within 2 miles, so we rode on to a wide spot where people had occasionally camped. A cold spring was nearby where we could filter water, and with a 2' x 3' hole a cold bath could be had. Tents were rapidly thrown up, water filtered, and dinner cooked by dusk which happens about 2000 hours here in Pacific Time.We were all in our tents by nightfall.

First Night's Camp on the edge of the road

Day 2: Side of the road camp to USFS North Fork Campground 27.9 miles 3:30 riding time

The next morning saw a quick breakfast of oatmeal and a variety of nuts and toppings and a quick cleanup.
Jen, Scott, Jen, Steve on a ridgetop


Steve descends from the overview
The early morning ride was pleasant, but soon we reached a road surface like powder 3" to 4" deep. It was surprisingly easy to ride through, but it hid rocks and other hazards, was filthy, and was somewhat demoralizing.


Two cyclists in the light dust before it thickened
Anthony Lakes was the relief we had promised ourselves, but when we got almost there, we saw we had considerable descent to get there followed by a U turn and climbing back up to where we were. Lake Grande Ronde was just slightly offroute and roughly at our elevation, so we headed there for lunch, and to clean ourselves and our bikes a bit.

  Grande Ronde Lake where we had lunch

Doug enjoys soaking in Lake Grande Ronde

We were now on pavement for the ride down to the North Fork John Day USFS Camp where we arrived mid afternoon and enjoyed a another dip in the North Fork of the John Day. Doug was sent to some town 2 miles away according to Scott's GPS, but he came back without any treats.

Day 3 North Fork John Day Campground to Olive Lake 21.6 miles 2:41 riding time
We repeated those two uphill miles that Doug had done the previous day, verifying there was no store or town, then down about 7 miles miles to Granite, a village with a small convenience store that offered some Cisco meals they'd heat up. We all had a sausage/egg sandwich.

Doug, Steve, and Jen enter Granite
From Granite it was a mild climb up to the powerhouse where water in years past was piped from Olive Lake to the power house to generate power for the mines and this part of Oregon until 1967.


Jen and Steve tour the old powerhouse


The pipe that carried water from the lake to the powerhouse

It was a steep climb on up to Olive Lake, a mostly man made lake built to store water for power generation. When the powerhouse was abandoned, the reservoir became more lake and less storage reservoir.

View of Olive Lake

We arrived at the lake fairly early, so we did laundry, hiked around the lake, and Jen and Doug read. We met a friendly neighbor who provided us with fresh cherries from his orchard at Hood River, and provided us with a lesson in cherry growing and cherry types.

Day 4 Olive Lake to USFS Gold Dredge 38.2 miles 3:29 riding time
Day 4 was our easy day. It was down hill all the way to Dale, a rural convenience store, where we had hoped to eat in a restaurant. There was no restaurant, so we settled for a frozen breakfast burrito cooked in their micro-wave and eaten at their pic-nic table. Here we turned to go slightly uphill, and we picked up a tailwind! I was riding strong when we reached the fork in the road, up a water grade to a campground or up the mountainside for camping somewhere on top. We settled for the campground on the river and a short day.

Just before reaching Gold Dredge Camp Ground

Doug with the beer carried up from Dale and freshly filtered water

Jen with Doug seated at her right foot- at the Gold Dredge Campground

My favorite dinner of the trip

Day 5 Gold Dredge Campground to North Fork John Day Campground 38.1 miles 4:44 riding time

The reason for the early stop yesterday was soon evident as we started up the mountain side- steep and long, yet never a killer hill.

Scott, Jen, and Steve start up the mountain

Scott and Jen near the top of the mountain

View from the top looking back down on Gold Dredge Campground

Just after reaching the pavement on top we were surprised to meet a cross country cyclist- always a highlight for me. She was headed from Wisconsin to California via Portland. She headed on to Ukiah for the night, and we headed on to our 2nd night at the North Fork John Day CG. The road was mostly up and down with a steep downhill for the last 2 miles into camp where we set up camp exactly as we had 3 nights earlier. This was Scott's birthday, so he added an quick unloaded ride of unspecified miles to give him his age in miles.

We'd seen a couple of salmon pass by in the shallow river the first night, but this afternoon there were two males and a female in the shallow section of water at the campground.  The large male was probably 3' long and a master of the shallow water, easily sailing through water only half as deep as his body in this section of water they obviously knew well.  From watching documentaries I expected flailing and was impressed by the smooth movement these giant fish had through the shallow water.  As we stood perfectly still, they'd come within a couple feet of us, and we spent some time studying them. 

Day 6 North Fork John Day Campground to La Grande, OR 49.8 miles riding time 3:34
It was back up those steep 2 miles of pavement and then off onto a paved side road. Then over a hill, and down to the Grande Ronde River. We had planned on spending the night at a state park about 15 miles out of La Grande, but with the down hill and a mild tail wind, we decided to head back to La Grande a day early and celebrate with pizza.

Scott, Jen, and Doug on the paved road nearing I-84

It was another great ride- minus some of the issues of day 1 and 2, but it got us out of the smokey skies of Southern Idaho. Doug, Scott, and Jen had the meals well planned, and Scott's new water filter is nifty! All photos but the last are by Doug or Scott!


All Doug's Photos
 
Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation,

Steve

A Three Hour Tour- On Two Water bottles

"I'll have to skip church, but I have time to do a three hour ride beginning at 3:00", said the LT.  "That's no problem at all", I thought, as three hours in the foothills allows my favorite rides as well as the LT's.

I arrived about 5 minutes late with a freshly waxed bike, and we were able to skip what has become our routine before beginning a mountain bike ride; adjusting or replacing disc brakes on departure, so we were probably ahead of schedule.  Since the LT last week had diverted me to a bunch of soft bottomed motorcycle trails from his favorite ride, I suggested one of my favorite 3 hour rides- the Corrals & Freeway a route that wouldn't easily allow him to divert me onto those loose motorcycle trails again.  He was agreeable to that route, and we headed up Bogus Basin Road. 

Just before we reached the turn off to the Corrals trail, he suggested we ride on two more trails where he suggested a trail would take us up to Hard Guy, and from there we'd ride back down to the Corrals.  That was a surprise since I usually can't talk him into riding onto the next trail which adds a nice hill before rejoining The Corrals, but I was agreeable though totally ignorant about this 2nd trail.  My first impressions of that trail wasn't good- a 6" wide trail on the edge of a cliff which made me do some pushing while the LT rode on.

Steve after the trail widens enough for him to resume riding   Will climbing in the desert section   Will reaches the first tree  
 We started crossing the clear small stream every few hundred yards, and I drank my first water bottle wondering when we would climb out of this canyon up to Hard Guy. For the LT's "three hour tour", I had brought along 2 water bottles and had forgotten my orange- not a big deal on a "three hour tour"; that's a good after work ride near mid-summer's day.  Have I mentioned that the LT is too young to remember Gilligan's Island and its "three hour tour" that led to years of their being shipwrecked?

It was hot, so the LT suggested taking a break and cooling off in the shade. I soaked my feet and thought how much cooler and likely satisfying that water was than the hot stuff in my water bottles, but I'd just today finished reading a blog on the Great Divide  with the author taking similar action which led to 12 hours of puking. With that thought fresh in my mind, I refrained. Anyway, I was sure the LT knew what he was doing, and we'd soon be out of the canyon.

Steve at one of the many stream crossings- it was easier than it looks here  By the time we reached the first pine tree, I had drunk my last water bottle, and was thinking a lot about drinking from that cool stream. Even the LT was giving up on the idea that his route would loop back to Hard Guy. We thought we knew where this trail would come out- about 3/4's to the top of Bogus Basin Road. Neither one of us wanted to turn around- I knew I'd successfully climbed (or pushed thru) the 6" wide trail near where it left Bogus Basin Rd, and I had no interest in pushing DOWN that trail.

The LT reaches the first pine tree  Soon we were in the timber with some pleasant climbing in the shade, but the trail kept narrowing and getting steeper. We were reduced to pushing- on a trail too narrow to fit a pusher at the side of his bike. The LT's cell phone eventually regained service, so he tried mapping us. He suggested we abandon the trail- pushing our bikes through the brush up the steep mountain side in our lycra and bare lower legs! He ran out of water about this point, and I wondered if that lack of water was making him hallucinate- lycra through the brush pushing a bike up a hill nearly too steep to climb on trail?

By the time we reached the top, I was thinking about nothing but water, or a cold Coca-Cola. We were at the top of that trail- but we weren't 3/4's the way up Bogus Basin Road.  It took us a few minutes to realize we'd climbed to the top and were on the Boise Front Road that we'd ridden just a couple weeks ago although it took us a couple 100 yards to figure this out. It was 8:30; the LT's "three hour tour" should have ended 2 1/2 hours ago! We'd been hoping to turn left and descend Bogus Basin Rd, so we turned left, and started climbing to almost the peak of Deer Point. We met 2 downhillers screaming down, and suddenly the LT decided he'd like to turn around, and head for Hard Guy. Turn around? By this time I was really tired of trails and my technical skills had been pushed to their limit, so I wanted to stay on the road and zip down Bogus soon. The problem was, we had nearly 1,000 ft to climb before reaching the edge of Deer Point where we'd begin that zip down.

Once at the bottom, the first place I knew to get that Coca-Cola was the M&W Market, but to my surprise it is closed and had taken its pop machine with it. A convenience store 1/2 mile further on would have to do. It's nearly mid-summer's day which means light until 10:00 pm here on the western edge of Mountain Time, so neither one of us had headlamps, but to be seen we turned on our rear light there. We arrived back at the LT's just before 10:00 MDT. I drank 2 large glasses of water there and borrowed the LT's headlamp for the ride home. Dusk had turned to night by the time I arrived home where I drank 8 more glasses of water, and slept thru the night without getting up! Take plenty of water with you if the LT invites you on a "Three Hour Tour- a three hour tour".  LT, wha'd I ever do to you?

Total Miles: 41.7 Riding Time 5:24
Happy Cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation,


Steve