Bikepacking Overnight: Klamath Cascade-Siskiyou Loop

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.

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.

Morning vibes in the tent.

Morning sun makes Bill happy... especially almost getting hypothermia the day before.

Crazy morning tortilla cheesy eggy thing makes LeeAnn happy, especially when it doesn't stick to the pan.

Cat's ears with sleepy morning visitors also makes LeeAnn happy.

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.

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.

Bombing down.

Oh look, it's the Klamath River.

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.

Oregon Stampede Redux (aka Aparna's 46th Stampede)

Aparna asked for a bikepacking trip for her 46th birthday, so I gathered some of our favorite people -- Ani, Elisa, and Nicole -- and that's what we gave her. We scoped out a whole bunch of 3 day-2 night routes but the weather basically told us that staying in lower elevations in the rain shadow of the Cascades would be our best bet for a weekend bikepacking trip. And so even though I had just done the Oregon Stampede with Bill, I offered it up as an option because sometimes a route is so good, it feels like your lucky day when you get to ride it again... even if it is just a month later! Plus, I was itching to camp in the amazing dispersed site that Bill and I saw in the wildlife refuge and everyone was sold. 

There isn't much to say here that wasn't said last time, other than if you are lucky, you can time it like we did and accidentally overlap with the Gorge Gravel Grinder and a special women's gravel camp so that as you bike through and around Dufur, you get to see a gajillion rad women and femmes on gravel bikes and they will cheer you on with so much gusto, you feel like it's your birthday. Oh wait, it really was Aparna's birthday!

A cool old abandoned church right outside Grass Valley made for a great "getting started" photo.

Bike joy.

There are no pictures of beautiful descent into this canyon because it hailed on us. It hurt. That is all. 

Ani goes shopping for a book... a surprisingly robust and progressive selection!

The beginning of so much climbing through the wildlife refuge.

Sunny skies and the perfect campsite. It was a mansion of a campsite perfect for 5 tents and 5 bikes.

The grand Columbia River.

The campground had firewood and ice so we chilled our happy hour drinks.

We nabbed the second to last campsite available... they were super nice and let us spill over a bit.

"You're the best... no you're the best!" Us after a few drinks in... and then when we ran out of booze, we invited the van lifers next door over and hinted successfully that we were out of booze.

Blue skies, snow capped mountains, and this crew.

The Friend school with the birthday gal... left our mark.

The long road and open skies back to the car.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• While Bill and I parked our car successfully in the Grass Valley city park, it is a tiny parking lot. Since we were going to have 3 cars, we called the market in Grass Valley and asked for permission to park there since it has a large lot, and they were fine with it. Just asked us to park at the back and leave notes at our car.
• Speaking of which, the market in Grass Valley has a surprisingly robust selection of snacks, food, and most of all beer, wine, and liquor. The selection of booze there was superior to the store in Dufur (which was decently stocked). 
• The map for this version shows the sweet designated campsite that is right along the river. Nearly all of the other designated campsites are dry camping, so if you are biking this clockwise and that site is full, you will want to filter water there to carry with you. If you bike this counterclockwise, you may want to bring in extra water.
• We saw a LOT of hunters in the wildlife refuge. They were all very nice to us, but we felt unsettled being five women, and three of us being women of color. They tend to come in from the north side of the refuge, so we didn't realize how many hunters there were camped out until we biked out. So if you bike this counterclockwise, you will pass by nearly all the campsites before you get to the one along the river.

Sky Islands Odyssey East Loop

As someone who survives seasonal depression, I've learned ways to help make it through each winter like taking a big trip to somewhere warm and sunny to ride my bike long distances. This year, I took two weeks to wander through California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona with the goal of taking up residence in Arizona for most of that time to admire the blooming ocotillo and explore a new corner of the southwest. My friend Aparna and I schemed a 4-day bikepacking trip with her family based on Bikepacking.com's Sky Islands Odyssey East loop. They flew into Tucson and met me in Patagonia to start our adventure. 

A home away from home to get ready for bikepacking in Patagonia.

Feeling optimistic as we head out of Patagonia.

Blue skies give way to dark storm clouds... 40% of .1 inch of rain!?

Emergency storm camp with vestibules pitched facing each other for socializing.

How it all went down.

Aparna and her family decided to cut the trip short due to their kiddo not feeling well, so I ventured off alone to finish off the loop.

Nothing like some hike-a-bike to start the day.

The other side of the mountain.

Aaaaah, flat trail to avoid the frontage road.

McDonalds provides a nice outdoor seating area, ice cream, french fries, and nice employees who let me fill all my water bottles with ice and cold water from the soda machine.

Gorgeous roads.

Sandy roads.

A magical dispersed site appeared right when I had about had it.

An oasis of clay, culture, and creation in the desert at the Canelo Project (https://caneloproject.com/). Reach out to them in advance if you want to camp or stay in their guesthouse.

He looks grumpy, but he's a snuggle butt.

The grasslands.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Everything you need to know is laid out here: https://bikepacking.com/routes/sky-islands-odyssey-east-loop/.
• The two things I think the bikepacking.com write-up does not cover are: (1) there is a reason why this is routed counterclockwise, and while it is rideable clockwise, it rides much better as mapped; and (2) the gravel roads in Santa Rita mountains are pretty gnarly and only rideable for more experienced riders running bigger tires and lightweight set ups... while most of this route is fairly moderate, those parts are not.
• I've become a pro at packing in 5 - 6 liters of water to dry camp to give myself more flexibility and that strategy was essential for this tour. Do not depend on seasonal streams or seasonal water tanks.
• A safe place to camp or park your car for your bike tour is TerraSol: https://www.marytolena.com/terrasol/ and it is also a hub for AZT through hikers.
• If you like goats and animals, a fun quirky AirBnB to base out of is: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41503562.
• Make sure to get local intel at the Patagonia Lumber Company, the hub for all things gravel riding! If you happen to be there on a Sunday, then make sure to join their big ass group gravel ride.

Oregon Stampede

Oregon is one of those amazing places that can gift early season bikepacking... or at least that is what I tell myself when the original plan was supposed to be a Steens ski tour but the snowpack was too low to make it happen. Ha. But really, at the end of the day, I relish any excuse for an adventure with good company (really, the best of company).

The Oregon Stampede route is a classic route curated by the folks at Oregon Bikepacking -- a beautiful 50/50 mixed gravel and pavement route with wide sweeping vistas, mountain views, and desert canyons. The route as originally mapped is only rideable from April 1 to Nov 30th due to a closely monitored winter closure through the White River Wildlife Area to protect the area for elk calving (Oregon State Police is really active here and will ticket cyclists... they also constructed an impassable gate on one end). We rode a modified version of this route and mapped out two versions depending on the time of year.

Route for folks riding December 1 - March 31

Route for folks riding April 1 - November 30th

From ridiculously good food to perfect weather to getting into all kind o' trouble, we discovered some of the most beautiful corners in the rain shadow of Wy'east.

Sweeping views.

Camp in Mack's Canyon... it seems like there is always one cute protected walk in site in each campground along this route. We added on an unloaded ride to the end of the road since our first day was short and mostly downhill.

Bill wooed me by packing in this shrimp and sausage boil for dinner.

It's always worth taking the side detour.

Wildlife refuge shenanigans.

Some of the best riding of the whole route.

This seasonal closure is for real.

Bill gives his brother a message at the Columbia Gorge.

Mountain views.

Early evening in camp.

The road home.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• We rode this route clockwise to maximize good camping opportunities in Mack's Canyon and the Lower Deschutes Recreation area. It made a really big second day. For those who prefer more amenities or spaced out days, folks can also take advantage of the small towns, especially Dufur.
• Most of this route is beautiful well graded gravel or pavement. The one exception is the wildlife refuge area which may require some hike-a-bike and a little more bike handling skills.