Bikepacking Overnight: The Dalles Mountain 60-ish

Spring has almost sprung. I say almost because Mother Nature keeps teasing us with promises of sunny 60 degree weather, then sends snow flurries just days later. But I managed to find the perfect window to do a quick overnight bike tour to break in my new touring bike Kung Fu Panda. I've been looking to explore new gravel roads and after doing a little research, set my sights on the Dalles Mountain 60, a sixty mile mixed pavement and gravel route. Wineries, orchards, replicas of Stonehenge, historic Oregon Trail sites, campgrounds, solitude, Columbia and Deschutes river vistas galore... it had it all. There were even two state line crossings from Oregon to Washington and back to Oregon.

Distracted by the prospect of views of the Columbia river, I rode through a neighborhood of honeybees at an orchard in Maryhill.

Who knew, a miniature scale Stonehenge overlooks the Gorge. It was built by a rich guy named Sam Hill as a WWI memorial. A Mexican rock band was setting up to film a music video... all a bit surreal.

Horsies! And Mt. Hood.

My kind o' road. Good gravel and no traffic.

Those views of the Columbia river are just ya know, okay.

A little too early for wildflowers, but you can see what is to come from the lush banks of this stream.

After an early detour to Waving Tree winery and a tasting of a lovely award winning Sangiovese with Terrence, I made my way up the big the climb to get to Columbia Hills Historical state park where I planned to camp. I made it to the park by about 5:30 pm but realized, much to my chagrin, that it was not yet open! I had done a little research beforehand and thought that it was open, but that the sites were first come first served and reservations could not be made until later in the season. Whoops. I decided to bike by the "closed" signs and at least take a look around and then assess whether or not I had enough energy to bike 25 miles to the next campground. I was pretty tired since I had gotten up at 6 am to make the 2.5 hour drive to the Gorge and then spent the better part of the day climbing.

The water hand't been turned on yet, but luckily, I had nearly 2 liters, plenty to get through the night and to refill in the Dalles. There was also a clean porta-potty available and a picnic table. Done and done. I figured I would be a steward of leave no trace and ask forgiveness if busted. I decided to set up camp near the river and out of sight of the road for safety.

My home for the night... Washington State rangers, I left some money in an envelope in the self-pay station!

Sunrise from the tent... a good night's sleep except for being occasionally woken up by the train.

It just happened to be the full moon, which I admired along with the few visible stars that shone through the moonlight. I woke up with the sun, packed up, made a warm breakfast, and rolled out by 8:00 am. As I was biking up the long road out of the park, a ranger drove by me and gave me a quizzical look. I smiled at him and pedaled on.

Morning views over Horsethief Lake.

Back on the Oregon side of the Gorge.. land of farms, turkey farms, and orchards.

Yup. Empty gravel roads carved into hillsides.

Bombed down a sweet descent back to the Gorge to the confluence of the Deschutes with the Columbia.

Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in our comfort zones. The thing I love about bike touring is that nothing goes quite as planned in the best of ways. There is a great value in change and positive stress... finding that perfect campsite at the last minute, that first bite of dinner of burning 8000 calories tasting like unicorn tears, or navigating a particularly tough route and to find yourself exactly where you needed to be no matter how many times you thought you were lost.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• I rode this loop counterclockwise because I wanted to camp at the Columbia Hills Historical state park, which has a few hiker/biker campsites and the mileage and climbing worked out well for that. This is primarily because I already knew there was great safe overnight parking at the Deschutes River State Recreation area and didn't feel like researching my options in the Dalles. 

• I'm not sure why the Dalles Mountain 60 route bypasses the infamous Maryhill Loops road, but take it, preferably downhill. The beautiful thing is that it is usually closed to cars. Be aware that it does close to public on certain days and you can check out the Maryhill museum's website for information on that.

• Keep an eye on the weather... this area can get a lot of wind and there is nothing worse than have 30 mph headwinds and a tent that flies away.

• The two major bummers of this trip are crossing the Columbia river at Biggs on Highway 97 and again in the Dalles on Highway 197. Luckily, they are over quickly but if you don't like having to take the lane because there is no shoulder and holding up traffic, it would be easier to create loops that just stay in one state or the other. 

• While this route is beginner friendly, folks must be comfortable with steep climbs and steep descents on gravel. Most of the gravel (about 30% of the route) is in excellent condition, but a few spots have deeper areas of gravel that could cause wipeouts. 

• Other camping options along the route include the Deschutes River State Recreation area and Maryhill State Park, which is just a hop and a skip away from the excellent winery, Waving Tree. Biggs and the Dalles are two great spots to stock up on water and food, but you could get away with just packing everything you need and not make any stops at all!