Vancouver Island Tree to Sea Mini

My friend Aparna rallied us all to meet up on Vancouver Island for some mountain biking. She and her husband already had some plans to climb and ride in Banff, and welcomed us to join on any or all of their plans. At one point, we had our whole crew and our respective partners in on the trip.

• Aparna and hubby -- doing an epic with a trailer to Banff and then to Vancouver Island
• LeeAnn (me!) and Patrick -- preferring to keep our whole trip on Vancouver Island and bringing so many bikes for bikepacking and mountain biking
• Ani and Mark -- Ani was going to join me and Patrick for bikepacking, and then Mark was maybe going to join for the mountain biking
• Elisa and hubby -- joining Aparna and Jamie for their whole shebang
• Nicole and her boo -- coming up just for mountain biking

Team Ani and Mark ended up feeling like the logistics were too complicated and backed out. Then Elisa's husband broke his wrist mountain biking just a week before the trip. And we were down to Aparna, Nicole, and me with our partners.

One of the epic Vancouver Island bikepacking routes is the Tree to Sea route, that typically takes well over 2 weeks to finish. Whelp, we did not have that kind of time. We had 3 - 4 days max. I saw some mini versions and created a route. I loved this 3.5 day route so much. It was hard, it was magic, and it made me fall in love with this corner of Vancouver Island. 

Patrick and I had only done a few easy overnighters together and always with other people. This would be our first bigger bikepacking trip just the two of us. I knew this guy loved me when he was excited for this part of the trip because it would be really romantic to get sweaty and struggle through some Type 2 fund together.

Magical paths in the rainforest.

Waterside biking.

We actually didn't get rained on too much, but we did find this tiny shelter at our first campground. Ha.

Little Bear Bay magic. It rained like the dickens overnight, but was magical both the day before and the morning after.

OMG bear fishing! Apparently at night, the salmon sleep in the bay and the smart bears come early morning for an easy meal. We were told this is a "good local bear" and just comes to eat without messing with campers.

Steep steeps.

We figured out how to securely strap a pizza onto Patrick's bike!

Last night camping!

One of a gajillion farm stands.

When you run out of space in the panniers.

The infamous salsa battle.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• The caretakers of Kin Beach Provincial Park were so lovely -- the guy was also a bikepacker and was so excited to host us and talk bikes with us. They let us park our car there for free. There is also hiker/biker camping as well. We camped there our first night. It's right on the water and we missed some whales passing by just a few hours on our return.
• The first 15+ miles of the route and the last 15+ miles are the same, but those miles are dotted with farm stands that are a joy! Including competing salsa makers. 
• Dispersed camping is hard. Why? Because the undergrowth out here is dense. Luckily, people are nice. We relied on two first come first served campsites (Upper Campbell Reservoir Campground and Little Bear Bay) and while both were full, we managed to find a space to camp. The third campground had first come first served campsites and reservable ones (Miracle Beach), and while it was booked up, we were able to find a site that had been vacated early. If you want to rely on Miracle Beach, I'd recommend making a reservation in advance.
• If you stay at Little Bear Bay... and you absolutely should... it was a GEM, you will need to explore a little to find a water source. My research showed from a kayaker report that Pye creek was a reliable source and it wasn't too hard to find since there was a use trail there.
• Chonky tires recommend.

Bikepacking Overnight: Sisters to Smith Rock

One of my bikepacking besties has a goal to ride every single Oregon Scenic Bikeway and so I designed a mixed gravel route that incorporate the Sister to Smith Rock scenic bikeway for her birthday! This was party pace bike riding in its finest, complete with a coffee/beer stop at Redpoint Climbing in Terrebonne and easy resupply just miles before camp so you don't have to carry much food if you don't want to.  

Sunset was magical, the company was the best, and sometimes the adventures closest to home are the ones we need most.

Dirt roads heading out of Sisters.

Sometimes short people need a help from their taller friends!

Survived and getting ready to climb out from the creek.

Rolling into Smith Rock state park.

We stretched our legs and walked the rim at Smith Rock.

Bivouac camping area! It was cold!!!

Alpaca joy!

The paved road home.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• If you do this route in the Spring, make sure to check the Wychus Creek water gauge to get an idea of what that water crossing looks like and if it is feasible. Under 160 CFS is about 18" deep with a moderate flow and is pretty safe for most folks (I am 5'2" so it was easy for my friend and harder for me as it was up to my knees). Over 200 CFS, would not recommend! 
• Camping is ample in the Smith Rock bivouac ad I'm told they will not turn away bike tourists. 
• Ani scored some mini creamers from the gas station!

Bikepacking Overnight: Klickatat Maryhill Loops (Not Recommended)

While I have gotten pretty good at route planning, sometimes, I get the intel wrong for all my best intentions and research. I am posting this SOLELY because I did not find much on the private property closure on the top of Maryhill Loops and I had seen other trip reports where people minimized the risks of trespassing.

Ani and I were craving Spring Columbia River Gorge wildflowers and the Klickitat trail was also on our bucket list. So off we went. We braved 25+ mph headwinds, 14% grades, and navigated some challenging conditions.

This is a route that I would NOT recommend as designed for several reasons. Trespassing at the top of Maryhill loops have clearly become an issue. The residents have put up a lot of signage and we did not feel comfortable with others who decided to just jump the gate. 

If I had to do this again, I would camp at the Maryhill State Park and do the Maryhill loops as a day ride and not incorporate it into a bikepacking trip. I'd also be curious to re-route this counter-clockwise and find a different way to do the loop!

Some gnarly doubletrack straight up a hill.

Gorgeous views!

Peak flower season on the Gorge!

We got to push this button on the road to go through the tunnel... its a take the lane situation sharing with cars.

Klickitat trail joy!

Our sweet dispersed campsite right on the water. Our neighbor? A goat. Like the guy brought his goat out camping.

Maryhill loops!

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• The Canyon Market in Klickitat is a gem and the staff were super nice!
• From what we could tell by other cyclists we saw, people tended to ride the Klickitat trail the opposite way we did.
• While the wildflowers in the Gorge in April are magical, holy crap the wind is not to be f*cked with!
  
• We camped out Friday night at the Deschutes Recreation Site (one of our favorites), and then did the mad dash on the highway over the river. It also has free parking vs paid parking at Maryhill State Park.
• If you do want to bike Maryhill loops, check out their website to make sure it isn't closed for a special event (e.g. they do a longboarding event there!) - https://www.maryhillmuseum.org/outside/historic-maryhill-loops-road.