Bikepacking Overnight: McKenzie Pass 5.0 (Ladies Ride Redux)

The McKenzie pass has become a tradition that I'm happy to share with anyone and everyone (see 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017). It has everything bike tours are made of... no cars (at least during that sweet spot at the end of May and beginning of June when it is closed to cars), sweeping views of the Cascade mountains, whooshing switchbacks into lush green forests, hot springs to fit every personality, snowmelt fed streams, and an endless supply of camping options. With challenging climbs and proportionate rewards, if riding the McKenzie pass can't make you fall in love with bike touring, nothing will. After the resounding success of my last presentation to introduce women to bike touring and bikepacking, I put together a motley crew of strong and amazing women ranging in age from 29 to 52 this year to bike from Sisters to the McKenzie river and back again.

Looking mostly normalish... at least as normal as this group gets.

Our fearless mascot Bandit. It is possible to pull a 30 pound trailer and a 60 pound dog up a mountain pass... though Bandit was able to run parts of this route because there were no cars.

The gang rolling out of Windy Point.

Everyone made it to the summit!

Lunchtime on top of the Dee Wright Observatory... we are sitting here mostly to get out of the wind!

Detour to Proxy Falls.

Remember that time we find a free bundle of wood by the side of the road?

Happy hour tapas!

After a brief thunderstorm, the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy our campfire, the 6 liters of wine/beer/cider that we collectively brought, and each other's conversations.

Deer Creek (aka Bigelow) hot springs are kinda magical looking in the morning.

A roadside pullout is as good of a lunch spot as any. Except for the mosquitos. They liked me too much so I hopped on my bike and sped away.

Nearly three times the climbing to get back home!

Apparently it wasn't too much climbing because we had enough energy for a silly second summit picture.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• The McKenzie pass re-opens to cars the Monday after Father's day every year. There is a supported bike event that happens every year to make this ride accessible to everyone that has aid stations and group camping in Sisters on the Saturday before Father's day. Expect waves of bikes if you happen to ride on this weekend.

• This also means that all the best campsites are booked out in advance... I was not able to find a campsite at my favorite site, Limberlost. So I had to settle for the still incredibly charming Ollalie on the McKenzie campground. Limberlost is a gem because it is still on the 242 and doesn't require you to bike on the much more trafficked 126. Ollalie on the McKenzie has amazing sites, especially on the lower river loop that sit right on the McKenzie river, but requires a 7 mile slog slightly uphill with a minimal shoulder and a few too many RVs that don't want to give a lot of passing space for bikes. 

• With a group as big as we had, I didn't want to risk trying to find a dispersed campsite, but there are some really great ones right next to the Deer Creek (aka Bigelow) hot springs. This is just a single gorgeous pool that can get busy at night, but if you soak in the morning, you are much less likely to find crowds.