The picture hardly does it justice but we pulled in a huge Willamette hops harvest today fearing a thunderstorm this evening.
Day 3: 49.37mi 7hrs 7.0mph avg. Nice warm up out of camp to Barlow Pass. Everybody else was complaining but I felt great. Today butt butter was key. Barlow down to Trillium was surprisingly fast and the lake was gorgeous. Too cold/early for a dip so we took some pictures and moved on to Govt Camp. From there the Crosstown Trail and Pioneer Bridle Trial were awesome singletrack. Epic really. A brief three miles jamming down the road and we got fresh fruit, phone charge, hot pizza and a warm shower thanks to Paula Shaw. From there a long grind up Lolo Pass found us at another hut with no ice, basic boxed / canned food, and plenty of water. We lugged a slice of pizza each and warmed it for a snack upon arrival. Hopefully I’m not the horribly congested snoring guy like last night (double decongestant tonight). Each day I’d say I’ve ended the ride feeling better than the previous. Tomorrow I’ll skip the alt route. The Post Canyon sounds awesome, but it’s like the last run syndrome when snowboarding…bound to lead to injuries. And now that I’m back on the bike, I’ve got the motivation to head up to HR on occasion and do some riding. This evening is cool, the weather’s clearly changing and I’m glad I’ve packed warmer for the ride down to HR tomorrow.
Day Four. 3:15hrs 10.5mph avg 33.48mi. Very misty at top but jammed down toward HR. Stopped at Apple Valley Country Store late morning for berry pie a la mode. Beautiful sunny day with a gentle cool breeze. Then more rolling up and mostly down, got to shower thanks to Tom’s household and now a brewery is in the cards.
Day four and it’s all down hill from here. Literally. Well, maybe. Depends on whether we hit Waucoma Ridge and Post Canyon…if we do that there’ll be some uphill, but the reward will be some additional singletrack. Though that will mean a 45mi ride instead of 30mi. We’ll see what happens. Either way we’ll have both Full Sail and Double Mountain at the end of the road. And I’m sure we’ll be in need of those calories.
If all goes according to plan we’ll have arrived back in Hood River after riding somewhere between 130 and 200 miles in four days, almost entirely off-pavement with a healthy dose of singletrack mixed in there. This and the three earlier blog posts with profile and terrain info have been automatically pre-scheduled to publish each morning. If there’s mobile phone coverage anywhere along the route (ie: Day 3) then I might have actually managed to also publish a few additional pictures from during the ride (and hopefully that wont have been from an ER while somebody’s collarbone is set). Otherwise there should be some come in the next day or two as my body recovers and I get around to posting things.
We’ve jammed down to Trillium Lake already!
We’ve made the top of Barlow Pass and have a easy enough remaining morning, plans for a shower and warm lunch. Then a big slog up Lolo Pass to Hut 3.
Day three brings us past Trillium Lake and a chance for a cool morning swim. Plus as we head around the south side of the mountain and Government Camp we have the chance to pop into an actual residence with running/hot water for a shower, stove for a hot meal at lunch, and a cell phone / GPS charge. We’ve left a stash of supplies with friends so we can carry a bit less on the first days. After the shower and with fresh clean clothes we head up Lolo Pass to the third and last hut.
Today wasn’t exactly grueling, just long. I measured it at 38.65miles. We were 7hrs and 20minutes door to door. I flatted three miles in. We all ran out of water and were very glad we had a filter pump when we hit the White River. This hut has a better pantry but has no ice. There is at least a very cold stream for tired legs and chilled beverages.
The second day of ride will include downhill sections. The profile image here is confusing. There are some route options and the profile shows the two possible ways one might choose to spend the day. Hopefully the downhill portions give some respite since today will be at least 36 miles compared to the minimum 26 on the first day.
It took us five and a half hours to do thirty one or so miles. The hut could be stocked a bit better with ice and food. It was an uphill, hot day. But we made it and are alive…
I’m off for a four day mountain biking loop trekking around Mt. Hood from Hood River around back to Hood River. We’ll be doing anywhere from 26 to 50 miles per day. Day one is all up hill. But once we get to the hut, we’ll have an optional single track add-on in case we’re tired of going just up hill. Or maybe we’ll just be tired.
