MTB Bend - Flagline

Sunday was the day I finally got to ride Flagline!  A combination of weather, seasonal closure, schedule, and daylight made this trail elusive since arriving in Bend.  Many had mentioned that it was a MUST DO trail and I kept thinking I needed to make time to go ride it.  Sunday was the day.

I dusted off the singlespeed and went up to the Skyliner parking lot where I caught the connector trail up to Tumalo Falls and rode North Fork to the junction for Flagline.  North Fork is always enjoyable and Sunday did not disappoint.  Once I hit the junction to pick up Metolius Windigo/Flagline, I was in for a real surprise.  The super buff trail snaked through old growth and it just continued to climb for a while.

There were a couple of moments where I forced myself to stop because the scenery and trail were so stellar.  It was easy to just get lost in the flow of climbing and riding.  After another 1,000 ft of climbing, the trail topped out, but not before seeing some sneak a peak looks at the Sisters Wilderness with great views of Broken Top.

 As I was taking these pictures, I heard the whirl of helicopter blades and watched a helicopter with a big water container heading to the Pole Creek Fire (SW of Sisters and NW of Bend).  I was not at the ready with a camera but it was a little surreal to be in such pristine country on the only clear day (due to smoke) of the past 2 weeks and remember that the fire was not yet fully contained.

The trail definitely made you feel like you were riding in alpine country with meadows everywhere and the lungs reminding you of your elevation.  The top out of the trail was at about 7,000 ft.  Towards the top, I took a little detour to a road that provided amazing views of Sisters and Broken Top.

I re-traced my steps back to the trail and then started the fun and fast downhill.  Along the way I was surprised to run into a little snow drift!

I got to another junction where a guy could pop out at Dutchman Sno Park.  I turned left to stay on the Flagline trail that would hook into the Swampy trail system.  Once I hit the warming cabin, it was time to head down South Fork which was fun since I had never ridden down it, but had always opted to ride up it to gain access to the trail systems on the ridge.
It was a fun, fast downhill and soon enough it put me back along the river trail that I rode back to Skyliners.

What a great day!  This might just be Bend's premier trail and for good reason,  It has a little bit of everything mixed in and I secretly kept thinking that it is a good thing the trail involves a fair amount of climbing and is only open part of the year (due to the high elevation and closure for elk calving through July).  The combo helps to thin out the herds of riders and keep the trail in good condition.  I ran into a couple of riders along the way but was content to have the trail to myself as I could feel the batteries getting re-charged and the soul getting fed.

Ride details to follow...