The Mackenzie River Trail had been on my hit list for a while since moving out to Oregon but weather and schedules had not been able to synch up until this past Sunday. The weather forecast looked good, the smoke from the pole creek fire simmered down, and the pass was free of snow (thwarted my first attempt). It was go time for MRT...
Josh was a willing accomplice in heading out to the MRT and chasing the dirt paths along the river. I had no idea what to expect in terms of terrain or ruggedness of the trail so it was a bit of an open question in regards to whether or not we would be able to do the full out and back starting from the bottom of the trail. The plan was to get out, start riding and then determine how long the ride would take us along the way (and see if the legs would hold out).
The drive over Mackenzie Pass was amazing - the views were breathtaking and it added to the overall vibe of the day. The road climbs up to about 5,300 ft to amazing views of Sisters on one side and Jefferson on the other. Once you peak, you drive through a long stretch of lava beds that seem to go on for quite a way. The little two lane road snakes up to the pass where it feels dry and arid because of all the lava beds and then once you drop about 500 feet in elevation the contrast to a super green lush forest is pretty rapid. The east side of the pass is much drier and arid and once you drop to the west side, the ferns start to grow thick thanks to the moisture.
We enjoyed the drive down the pass and eventually hooked into Mackenzie highway where we would find our trailhead. The bikes were unloaded and soon enough we were on the trail shortly after 9 a.m. The jaws dropped as we rode through old growth forests that had moss growing off it like a decade old uncut beard covering entire trees. It felt primordial in a way. In part because it was new trail, but also thanks to the early crisp-ness of the morning and feeling like the trail was all to ourselves.
The first 1/2 of the ride (in the direction from bottom to top) was fun, fast, and buff (or loamy as those crazy Canadians say) which only raised a little red flag in our heads because we knew that the whole trail could not be like this...At about the 1/2 way point, the trail started to dish out a little luvin'. We hit a gnarly lava tek section that quickly raised the heart rate and upped the ante on getting yo' tek on! The slight uphill of the trail made for challenging terrain as the tek sections quickly changed direction and you had to adjust accordingly to pick your line and stick it. These lava sections kept you honest as an unplanned fall onto that sharpie stuff could spell carnage.
We picked our way through about a mile of tek wonderland and then the trail wound through the forest away from the river and road for a couple of miles where it once again hugged the river. At this point the trail kicks up and there is some steeper climbing but you are rewarded with spectacular views of good sized waterfalls as they cascade into pools. We passed a group of hikers who commented they had never seen anyone riding 'up' the trail....and we started to understand why.
After getting through the waterfall zone, we hit some more tek and then got kicked out to some pretty nice smooth riding at Clear Lake. At this point we were about 3 hours into our ride and it was time to figure out what the plan of attack was. We decided we should indeed just finish the ride since we were that close and so we trucked on through fast trail on the west side of the lake.
We looked at the map and rode around the lack until we saw a trail marker that indicated which way MRT went. It pointed us to our right which did not feel right because it seemed like the trail should go left. After about 2 miles we figured out we were going around the lake and that the trail on the east side of the lake was pretty burly. There were some 'get your attention' tek sections that provided the good old 'Jane Fonda Full Body Workout' routine as we trudged through it. About the time we were ready for the tek to be over, the sharp lava rocks turned to......pavement! There was a little paved trail about 18 inches wide that wound through and around the lake for about a mile....hmmmm....weird....the paved section was still challenging in a way as it was steep with some really tight switches.
We worked our way around the lake and got back to the junction we had hit earlier when we got to Clear Lake. Our return to the car was now officially ON. The return was much faster as we got to reap the benefits of the climbing on the way up. The tek sections that seemed super burly on the way up now seemed pretty casual on the way down...with a couple of exceptions where you had to be on your game to pick the right line and be brave enough to hold it. A lady commented that we were brave to be riding that and at that point I started to question my sanity a little.
I officially debunked the myth that you can't go over your handlebars on a 29'r. I hit a steep section and was sloppy enough and I paid the price with what must have looked like a pretty spectacular fall. Josh also got a little taste of the dirt a little earlier so in this case misery did indeed love company and we considered ourselves fortunate to have not suffered any considerable damage to either body or bike.
The last 1/2 of the ride was a challenge to dig deep and find the fortitude to polish off the ride. I was looking forward to the uber fast, flowy, fun singletrack that awaited. Somehow the trail seemed bumpier than it had felt about 5 hours earlier going in the other direction. After 5+ hours of riding on the hardtail singlespeed, the body was starting to talk to me telling me it was not in its best form. Soon enough we hit the goods and tried to enjoy the last miles of fun before we got back to the car. Eventually the car was in sight and we were back at the trailhead where the adventure had started over six hours earlier.
As per my Garmin, we rode 45.3 miles which was understated because I inadvertently hit stop on the computer. We lost about a mile or so of GPS'ing. So in my book, it was a 46+ mile ride with about 3,700 ft of elevation gain through an incredible area that threw a little bit of everything at you. Ride time was about 6 1/2 hours (accounting for the 'lost mile)'.
It was tougher than I had expected in that you were on singletrack all day long so you had to be ON and the top 1/2 was a little tekkier than I was expecting. GPS info to follow on next blog post....
Josh was a willing accomplice in heading out to the MRT and chasing the dirt paths along the river. I had no idea what to expect in terms of terrain or ruggedness of the trail so it was a bit of an open question in regards to whether or not we would be able to do the full out and back starting from the bottom of the trail. The plan was to get out, start riding and then determine how long the ride would take us along the way (and see if the legs would hold out).
The drive over Mackenzie Pass was amazing - the views were breathtaking and it added to the overall vibe of the day. The road climbs up to about 5,300 ft to amazing views of Sisters on one side and Jefferson on the other. Once you peak, you drive through a long stretch of lava beds that seem to go on for quite a way. The little two lane road snakes up to the pass where it feels dry and arid because of all the lava beds and then once you drop about 500 feet in elevation the contrast to a super green lush forest is pretty rapid. The east side of the pass is much drier and arid and once you drop to the west side, the ferns start to grow thick thanks to the moisture.
We enjoyed the drive down the pass and eventually hooked into Mackenzie highway where we would find our trailhead. The bikes were unloaded and soon enough we were on the trail shortly after 9 a.m. The jaws dropped as we rode through old growth forests that had moss growing off it like a decade old uncut beard covering entire trees. It felt primordial in a way. In part because it was new trail, but also thanks to the early crisp-ness of the morning and feeling like the trail was all to ourselves.
The first 1/2 of the ride (in the direction from bottom to top) was fun, fast, and buff (or loamy as those crazy Canadians say) which only raised a little red flag in our heads because we knew that the whole trail could not be like this...At about the 1/2 way point, the trail started to dish out a little luvin'. We hit a gnarly lava tek section that quickly raised the heart rate and upped the ante on getting yo' tek on! The slight uphill of the trail made for challenging terrain as the tek sections quickly changed direction and you had to adjust accordingly to pick your line and stick it. These lava sections kept you honest as an unplanned fall onto that sharpie stuff could spell carnage.
We picked our way through about a mile of tek wonderland and then the trail wound through the forest away from the river and road for a couple of miles where it once again hugged the river. At this point the trail kicks up and there is some steeper climbing but you are rewarded with spectacular views of good sized waterfalls as they cascade into pools. We passed a group of hikers who commented they had never seen anyone riding 'up' the trail....and we started to understand why.
After getting through the waterfall zone, we hit some more tek and then got kicked out to some pretty nice smooth riding at Clear Lake. At this point we were about 3 hours into our ride and it was time to figure out what the plan of attack was. We decided we should indeed just finish the ride since we were that close and so we trucked on through fast trail on the west side of the lake.
We looked at the map and rode around the lack until we saw a trail marker that indicated which way MRT went. It pointed us to our right which did not feel right because it seemed like the trail should go left. After about 2 miles we figured out we were going around the lake and that the trail on the east side of the lake was pretty burly. There were some 'get your attention' tek sections that provided the good old 'Jane Fonda Full Body Workout' routine as we trudged through it. About the time we were ready for the tek to be over, the sharp lava rocks turned to......pavement! There was a little paved trail about 18 inches wide that wound through and around the lake for about a mile....hmmmm....weird....the paved section was still challenging in a way as it was steep with some really tight switches.
We worked our way around the lake and got back to the junction we had hit earlier when we got to Clear Lake. Our return to the car was now officially ON. The return was much faster as we got to reap the benefits of the climbing on the way up. The tek sections that seemed super burly on the way up now seemed pretty casual on the way down...with a couple of exceptions where you had to be on your game to pick the right line and be brave enough to hold it. A lady commented that we were brave to be riding that and at that point I started to question my sanity a little.
I officially debunked the myth that you can't go over your handlebars on a 29'r. I hit a steep section and was sloppy enough and I paid the price with what must have looked like a pretty spectacular fall. Josh also got a little taste of the dirt a little earlier so in this case misery did indeed love company and we considered ourselves fortunate to have not suffered any considerable damage to either body or bike.
The last 1/2 of the ride was a challenge to dig deep and find the fortitude to polish off the ride. I was looking forward to the uber fast, flowy, fun singletrack that awaited. Somehow the trail seemed bumpier than it had felt about 5 hours earlier going in the other direction. After 5+ hours of riding on the hardtail singlespeed, the body was starting to talk to me telling me it was not in its best form. Soon enough we hit the goods and tried to enjoy the last miles of fun before we got back to the car. Eventually the car was in sight and we were back at the trailhead where the adventure had started over six hours earlier.
As per my Garmin, we rode 45.3 miles which was understated because I inadvertently hit stop on the computer. We lost about a mile or so of GPS'ing. So in my book, it was a 46+ mile ride with about 3,700 ft of elevation gain through an incredible area that threw a little bit of everything at you. Ride time was about 6 1/2 hours (accounting for the 'lost mile)'.
It was tougher than I had expected in that you were on singletrack all day long so you had to be ON and the top 1/2 was a little tekkier than I was expecting. GPS info to follow on next blog post....
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