Bikepacking Overnight: Cool and Shady a la Dirty Freehub

Once upon a time (also known as August when Central Oregon was blanketed in wildfire smoke), I panicked that I might ever go on a bike tour again in 2021, and so in a fit of optimism, I put 3 bike tours in a row on my calendar. One of which was a serendipitous coming together of rad ladies from different parts of my life: 

1. Aparna, who is the same line of work as I am and lives in Eugene. We have some clients in common and met through Zoom early this year to connect over equity and social justice work.
2. Nicole, who is an alumnus of my bike touring talks and also happens to know Aparna. Nicole got Aparna hooked to bikepacking.
3. Elisa, who I met through the board of directors of Bend Bikes and accidentally said yes to all 3 bikes tours I put on the calendar.

After throwing a hundred different options out to each other and wildly guessing what the weather and smoke would be doing, we settled on a sweet, short, and steep overnighter based on the Cool and Shady route by Dirty Freehub. Aparna had some intel on what creeks might be running after a historically dry summer and a single hard rain... and so we settled on some dispersed camping off of Swift Creek. 

This short overnighter came at a much needed time for me. With some heavy events that impacted both my personal and professional life, it felt so good to be with kindred spirits grinding it out in the middle of nowhere. And while we almost broke Nicole and Elisa with all the climbing on the first day, the descent on the second day ranks as one of the best I've ever ridden and it ended up being just about a perfect overnighter.

Riding along the reservoir!

This route gets its name from all the trees that line the route... perfect for hot summer days.

The creek was flowing here, but we definitely made sure not to camp too close to this sweet shot up sign.

Such a quiet side Forest Service road that we camped right next to it with no worries.

Joy is fresh hot Asian-inspired soup at the end of a long day on the bike.

The whole crew with Diamond Peak in the background.

Joy is also also a cheesy grilled veggie sandwich, mushroom gravy poutine, and beer! 

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Swift Creek WAS running this late in the season after a dry year, but it was very low... just know that anything higher up will require dry camping. 
• We looked for and found decent camping off a small Forest Service road that crossed Swift Creek, and it was really the last place to camp. There was ample dispersed and established camping along the middle fork of the Willamette River, but breaking up the climb was really essential for a positive experience.
• The brewery in Oakridge, which is now called 3 Legged Crane Pub and Brewhouse, serves up great beer and food with ample outdoor dining and I highly recommend it to refuel post-ride!