For the most part, bikepacking helps me reconnect to the little moments in life that bring joy, the kindness and humanity of people in far flung corners of time and space, and a healthy level of discomfort. Some routes I ride are highly curated from resources I trust or are the product of someone else's well written trip report. And some, like this trip, I completely made up, did the best I could with my research, and hoped for the best.
Planning only takes you so far, and even the trips that look like they will be the best on paper can be thwarted by bad intel, someone getting sick, bike mechanicals, or in our case... shitty local residents putting up "private property" and "no trespassing" signs on public roads and then being threatening about it. This is where getting good at having a healthy level of discomfort and the tools to problem solve come in handy!
Our original beautiful route from the Klamath area, up into the Cascade-Siskiyou, and finish through Copco Lake.
What we ended up actually doing...
Bill and I have got to be pros at rolling with whatever a bikepacking trip throws at us... especially Bill because he has been on exactly three bikepacking trips and all three had some kind of thing to overcome. This trip was particularly bittersweet for me because it was supposed to be an epic couples bikepacking trip with Aparna+Jamie, Elisa+Chris, Ani+Jordan (standing in for Mark), and Bill+me. But the weather kept us on our toes and we kept trying desperately to find somewhere in Oregon it would not be raining.
One by one, folks decided not to go due to timing, family emergencies, weather, and everything in between. Bill and I decided to try to do an overnighter over the two days that looked the least shitty. I redesigned this route half a dozen times, as it was originally supposed to be a 3 day/2 night trip... and eventually turned into an overnighter. And even with all that, we had a blast, managed to find one of the most beautiful campsites, found a newfound appreciation for each other, and also bagged a high peak on two wheels.
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| We barely took any pictures the first day due to the rain, hail, cold, and shitty residents along Copco Road. So here's when we got to camp. |
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| Morning vibes in the tent. |
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| Morning sun makes Bill happy... especially almost getting hypothermia the day before. |
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| Crazy morning tortilla cheesy eggy thing makes LeeAnn happy, especially when it doesn't stick to the pan. |
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| Cat's ears with sleepy morning visitors also makes LeeAnn happy. |
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| My lawyer brain going into full swing as we figured out that the road being blocked is PUBLIC and getting all the information to make a report to the Oregon State Police. |
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| Buuut, without those assholes, we never would have made the jaunt up to this lookout with 360 views of the Cascade-Siskiyou. On bikes. Ouchie climbing legs. |
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| Bombing down. |
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| Oh look, it's the Klamath River. |
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| Also, there are ticks. Check yourselves. We think this one visited my helmet overnight and then embedded behind my ear while riding. |
A few tips for cycle tourists:
- Google Maps, RWGPS, and may other mapping tools will allow you to map through areas officially designated as federally managed Wilderness Areas. It is important to note that bicycles are not allowed in them, even though Google Maps will actually try to create routes for both cars and bikes through them on what may have been old forest roads. We discovered this the fun way when looking for an alternate route and ended up going in circles and then back the way we came.
