Bikepacking Overnight: McKenzie Pass Version 2.0

With Spring in full swing and Summer just around the corner, it was time to shake out the bike touring gear to get a little training in before the Idaho Hot Springs Tour, lest my Troll (aka "The Tank") think she had been abandoned.  I decided to upgrade the McKenzie pass tour I did last year with my buddy Ryan as something easy to plan, familiar-ish, just with more climbing and better hot springs.  We would start in Sisters, Oregon, bike 53 miles over the McKenzie pass to the Cougar hot springs and back again.

On a whim, I decided to post the trip to a 20s and 30s hiking and biking MeetUp group for which I am an organizer.  Well, it wasn't so much a whim, but rather a scheme to find more crazies like me to bike tour with, since Ryan done got himself a fancy schmancy tenure track professor job in Los Angeles and will be moving in a few months.  Lo and behold, I reeled in, er, someone foolish enough to follow me across a mountain pass and back again!  We welcomed Derek into our club and we started up the steep climb across the Cascades.

First views of the Dee Wright Observatory and the first time hitting this summit.

Despite NOAA telling us that we had a 20%-30% chance of thunderstorms and rain, we had perfect weather the whole time... enough cloud cover on the climbs to stay cool, and just enough blue skies for picture perfect views at the summit.  Everyone, including two friends just out for a day ride, made it to the top in good spirits.

Lunchtime at the top of the Dee Wright Obsevatory.  Can't talk, too busy eating.

Obligatory summit glamour shot.

After a glorious descent down the west side of the mountains, we detoured to the iconic Proxy Falls to stretch our legs and to get cozy with the cooling mist.  We hopped and skipped over mossy logs, dunked our heads in the water, and basked in natural beauty of the falls.

Klassy.  So klassy.

Even klassier.

After relishing the last bit of descent to the McKenzie River, we made a resupply stop at the McKenzie Bridge General Store.  This store stocks a surprisingly large selection of craft beer (in a walk-in fridge, which felt glorious) and other gourmet supplies like agave syrup (yes, really, agave syrup... no less than 3 kinds!).

The General Store, aka, the last place to stock up on beer and water before our campsite.

Happy hour consisted of these delicious local beers and some banter with the locals.

It was a good thing we were fortified with liquid carbs for the last 10 miles because half of it was unexpectedly straight uphill.  Silver lining?  It was straight uphill one of the most scenic roads in Oregon, Aufderheide Road.

Steep cliffsides, green-blue reservoir, wildflowers, vibrant jungle green foliage?  Check, check, check, and check.

Our reward was to end the day in a natural hot spring!  We soaked our weary legs in the various pools and emerged grime and dust free.  It was hard to tear ourselves away, but as it grew darker, so did the hunger in our bellies.  The ranger at the hot springs had offered to deliver wood to our campsite, so we were in high spirits as we zoomed to our campsite.

Best parking spot.

Sexiest hot springs in all the land, clothing optional, so be prepared for lots o' folks in their birthday suits.

A short bike ride later, we arrived at the Sunnyside campground as the sun started to set.  Fortified by a quick swig of beer and wine, we set up camp and prepared to replenish all the calories we burned climbing over the mountain pass.  The stars came out one by one and we stayed up far past our bedtime talking about life, the universe, and everything.

Necessity is the mother of invention... Ryan forgot his pan so voila!  Grilled perfectly medium rare.  Pro tip: get the pre-seasoned steak from the grocery store, freeze it solid, and it will defrost as you bike to camp!

Campsite #10 looks like a jungle... an amazing jungle with lots of privacy.

The bubbling river was just across the way.

This campfire was made possible by the friendly ranger at the hot springs.

The next morning, we awoke to the birds chirping obscenely loudly.  Breakfast was a leisurely affair, complete with coffee and mounds of food that we refused to carry back over the mountains.  We set off with a bit of fear and determination for the 4600 feet of climbing ahead of us.  We made a quick stop at the McKenzie Bridge General Store, bid our farewells to the zany locals, topped off our water, and off we went.

Derek works his way up switchback after swithcback.

Ryan and our new friend Dave, who just started his trans-america bike tour, keep each other company as they climb.

New friends on the road.

Resting at the top of the climb as the others catch up.

Celebrating at Three Creeks Brewing before heading back to Bend.

We survived in good spirits, legs still pumping, and ready to crush hamburgers, beers, and whatever else we could get our grubby hands on.  All in all, it was a quintessential tour of the Cascades, complete with lava rock fields, snowcapped mountains, roaring rivers, peaceful lakes, scenic waterfalls, wildflowers, hot springs, and everything in between.

A few travel notes for cyclists:

• The McKenzie Pass is closed to cars every winter, but there is sweet spot at the end of May and beginning of June where it is open to bikes, but still closed to cars.  This year, the pass will reopen to cars on June 14th.  Keep an eye on www.tripcheck.com for updates.  You can bike the pass at any time after this, but its not as fun because you can't go full steam down the descents due to safety concerns sharing the road.

• The closest campground to the Terwelliger hot springs (aka the Cougar hot springs aka the Naked hot springs) is Cougar Crossing campground.  However, that campground is full of RVs and trailers and the campsites are fairly open with little privacy.  

• Less than a quarter mile up a gravel road towards the Slide Creek campground is the much more private and peaceful campground is the Sunnyside campground.  This campground has just 13 sites, of which #10 is the most shaded and private.  You can reserve this campground in advance, although when we went, there were still a few open spaces.  There is NO potable water here, but you can either (a) carry water from the McKenzie Bridge General Store... they have a spigot outside to get free refills; (b) filter water from the reservoir, but the access point isn't super close; or (c) go up the gravel road a mile to the Slide Creek campground which has potable water.  

• The Sunnyside campground does not have signage until you get to the actual campground, so follow the signs to the Slide Creek campground and then the Sunnyside campground will be on your left.  If you don't want to pay for a campground, you could just go up the road a bit and wild camp.