MTB Paulina Lakes Newberry Crater

This past Sunday, Trevor and I decided to ride Paulina Lakes/Newberry Crater.  It was new territory for me so it was great to get out somewhere new and ride something different.  The ride starts with a 1,500 ft gravel grinder climb to the peak/lookout area.  If you are in all business mode, you can skip the upper 500 ft of elevation gain and catch the trail that spurs off lower on the road prior to the lookout area.

The extra 500 feet are well worth the time and energy to check out the nice 360 views overlooking the lakes, the rim, and the lava flow.

The trail was generally pretty fun.  The ride went quickly enough as actual ride time was just under 2 1/2 hours.  With stopping for a few pictures here and there, our total time was just under 3 hrs but was well worth the moments to gawk and snap.

Some sections of the trail were a little loose but all things considered, it was a great day to be out on the bike.  We came across a couple of people on horseback but generally, there were very few people on the trails.  By the time we finished our ride, the heat was starting to rise and we started to realize how happy we were that we started the ride relatively early (as opposed to in the heat of the day).

This will be a great ride to add to the quiver of local options.

Roadtrip: Hood River - Surveyor's Ridge

as recapped by the wifer:

The next day we got up early to ride Surveyor’s Ridge/Dog River north to south, at the recommendation of the bike shop owner.  He had warned us that the first 2.5 miles up (with 2,000 ft of vertical gain) the trail OakRidge were not fun and definitely had lots of hike-a-bike, but said that there was more (albeit more gradual) descending when done in this direction, and it was in his opinion a better ride.  It took over an hour to do this first little section!  I wasn’t sure I would be able to finish the ride it took so much out of me, but after we got up on top of the ridge, the views of Mt. Hood were unbelievable.  The trail along the top is eight miles of up and down, but not steep, and very enjoyable riding.  There is also enough of the ride in the trees where you do not get overheated in the sun, which is also nice, but the trail pops you out for these spectacular viewpoints along the way. 

The descent on Dog River surprised us both in the sense that it started out with a small climb, but after gaining 3500 feet of elevation we knew the downhill had to come.  It was beautiful flowing downhill, with only a few sections of steep rock and a few tight switchbacks.  It drops you onto Hwy 35, and after a few miles of pedaling downhill you are back at the car.  A little over 4 hours of riding and 4000 feet of elevation for the whole ride, we definitely earned our downhill today. 

We took the dogs to the beach again and the plan was for me to buy a paddleboard (Tiago’s gift for my birthday), but I decided to hold on that for this year since I don’t really know how much I would use it yet, and since I haven’t tried it and don’t have any personal experience with them, figured maybe I should wait a little while and try some different ones out first.  It looks super fun, and I definitely want to pursue it in the future.

Since it was so hot we could not leave the dogs in the Airstream and so I ordered takeout from Mitchacoan, a Mexican restaurant in Odell (a nearby very small town) that came recommended from the Vischla owner.  The food did not disappoint- excellent fish tacos in a homemade tortilla and a burrito with carne asada.  Spicy but in a flavorful way.  Delish!  As we recounted the excellent ride we decided that we were content calling it a trip and planned to head out the next morning and not ride, but rather take our time going home and stopping to get some fresh produce on the way.  

Roadtrip: Hood River - Post Canyon

Hood River

Since we were nearing the end of our vacation we decided to finish with a weekend in Hood River, neither one of us having been there before and having heard rumors of the amazing riding.  We arrived on Friday and it happened to be First Friday, so we got our camp set up at Tucker Park and went out for a night on the town.  We wandered around the various shops and ended up eating at a pizza and brewery place called Double Mountain.  Tiago liked the Vaporizer, so we decided to try two of their other beers.  They were okay, but definitely not anything special.  We had a pizza with ginormous heirloom tomatoes of all different colors on them, definitely a benefit to a longer growing season.  We then were directed by our server to the dessert place in town, Brian’s Pourhouse.  We walked up the hill and found it, a very cute little converted house with outdoor seating that would have been much more swanky in a big town, but in Hood River it seemed okay to walk in with casual clothes.  And we are glad we did, since it was amazingly good food.  We split the apple pie, Tiago got port and I got some wine, and we enjoyed the cool ambience that the place put out.  There was an ice cream place named Mike’s next door that we did not get to try and will have to put on the list for next time.

Our first day of riding was Post Canyon/Seven Streams area, so named because you cross over the stream as many times on the trail up.  You end up in the Family Man staging area, which is a really cool area with lots of obstacles to practice skills on for riders of all ability levels, and I would love to spend more time there practicing skinnies/straight line riding.  I don’t know why that’s so hard for me!  We ran into some locals who informed us the map was really outdated and gave us some recommendations, so we continued uphill to see what fun we could find.  It was rather tricky to navigate, as the map was essentially useless because it listed trail names, but the signs posted only the trail numbers, with a few exceptions.  We went up 8 track and the boot, and somehow ended up on GP and spaghetti (I think?) and eventually found our way back to the car.  It was getting very crowded at this point and the trails were a little less flowy than we had hoped, though with the recent rain they were nice and tacky.

That afternoon we took the dogs to the beach on the Columbia River, where people were stand up paddleboarding, swimming and kayaking in the warm water.  Others were worshipping the sun and enjoying what must have been an unually calm day, wind-wise, for the town.  We met a local woman whose Vischla, Boone,  Otis took a liking to, and she gave us all sorts of recommendations for food.

Because my brake cable housing was starting to fray, we stopped at the bike shop Dirty Finger to get some more housing and check out the local bike scene.  We ran into a girl from North Vancouver that we had run into on the trail and chatted with her and her husband a bit, and then headed to Pfriem for dinner.

After having tasted Pfriem beer in the past, both of us could agree that they make a mighty good brew, so we put our name on the wait list and Tiago ordered a strong blonde (if he only knew!) Belgain and I had a blonde IPA.   Both were outstanding.  Our pub food was also surprisingly good, with a corn chowder that was not too creamy but made with fresh vegetables and fries that were fried twice (Tiago knows his fries. . .) For dinner we both had a fresh salad with local pears – yum!- and a blackberry cobbler for dessert- It’s vacation, after all. .  I was even impressed by their music-I think they stole my Ipod!  Very satisfied with Hood River so far.

When we got back to the Airstream our friends from North Van who were also staying in the same campground and had wandered over to say hello.  As I worked on my brakes we all shot the shit and enjoyed hanging out,  enjoying the common bond you seem to immediately get when you meet other bikers. 

Roadtrip: Revelstoke to Washington State

Southward bound

Reports of impending rain made us pack up the next day and start heading south to see if we could find some sun to chase, and we chose to go through the Okanagan through wine country.  It was slightly raining all throughout the drive, and we stopped in Oliver to get some obligatory wine and lunch.  This was where I had done my half-ironman a few years ago, so it was fun to go back and see it. Unfortunately we decided to keep on trucking given the weather, and determined to make the U.S. border so we could get back stateside (and start using our phones again!).  This time the border patrol did ask us to pull over for inspection as we admitted to having some leftover fruit (actually bought in the U.S.).  The inspector was more interested in talking to Tiago about the Airstream and renovation than anything, and luckily the fruit got through unscathed.  As we had been driving all day, we found a place to camp for the night in Washington.

The humidity was the first thing to hit us, and since we had electrical hookups decided to make full use of the new air conditioner we had installed earlier this year and ran it full blast to cool us all off.  It felt like being in a hotel!  After we paid the ranger came by to warn us of a momma bear and her cubs that were living near our campsite, but we did not meet them in our brief stay there.  We also discovered that a little mouse had decided to escape Canada and illegally cross the border with us in the airstream, unbeknownst to us! I was sitting in the airstream with both dogs around and saw a mouse cross the floor!  Some guard dogs we have!  Tiago didn’t believe me at first, but then later he saw it too, so the next day we stopped at Lowe’s to get a mousetrap.  We got the glue kind, and the very next night I awoke from sleep to a screeching mouse sound and immediately knew it had been caught.  The funny thing is neither dog nor husband woke up, so I had to dispose of it on my own.  I must say I slept a little better knowing we got him!  

Roadtrip: Revelstoke - Martha's Creek

recapped by the wifer:

The next day we decided to try ride with a little different flavor- a climb up fireroad to a well known downhill called Martha Creek, which ended just across the road from our campground.  We started climbing and very quickly I was drenched with sweat and completely out of breath.  The legs were definitely tired, and I decided it would be wise to start the downhill at the lower point rather than continuing all 5000 feet of climbing to the top for the full descent.  (most people shuttle the ride).  It took a little bit of pathfinding to find the trail, and we were a little worried about bears since it was right next to a creek and where there are berries, there are bears (that’s my motto, anyway).  We saw a large area where the brush was matted down and I can only imagine a very large bear (or some other animal) had been lying down for a while.  We had bear bells and carried spray, but soon started talking loiudly to the local bear population, letting them know we were not very tasty.

The downhill singletrack was quite technical and rooty, and though Tiago made it look easy I had to concentrate extra hard to make sure I did not go over the handlebars.  It was good to work on my skills, though I must say I have new respect for B.C. riders!  We drove in to town later that night to grab some Indian food takeout and settle in for the night with our food and a beer and look out at the lake.   This was definitely somewhere worth coming back to!

Roadtrip: Revelstoke - Frisby Ridge

We decided to head up to Frisby Ridge to get a ride in and made a false start by heading up a beat up logging road.  After turning around several miles in and a near miss by one of said logging trucks, we found what we thought might be the right FS road and started going up- unsure because there were no marked signs.  We climbed a rather steep gravel road for 9 km and had views overlooking the entire valley.  As we pulled in to the parking lot we were surprised to see that despite the rough journey to get there, we were far from the only ones there!  Several groups had just gotten back and one couple was also heading up.  The skies were starting to look pretty ominous, more obvious when you are on top of a ridge and feel like you are in the sky!.  Because we had come all the way up there, we decided to tempt fate and give it a go. 

The trail immediately starts climbing, and though it is steady climbing, it is not technically difficult and is rideable even by me.  After about fifteen minutes we started to feel a light drizzle and heard thunder, but no lightning.  We continued on, telling ourselves we would turn back if we saw lightning or the rain got worse, but luckily the weather was passing through and it actually started to clear up right around the time we started getting some views.  And boy do I mean views!  360 degree, mountains all around, stunning panorama that words and photos cannot do justice.  After the climbing there was a somewhat anticlimactic descent to a lake, and then the short climb back out and we were descending.  Though it didn’t seem like the climbing was steep, we had gained enough elevation for a very fast descent, which was super fun and as flowy as any riding in BC.  This ride was to become our favorite ride of the trip, and definitely worth doing.  Apparently we finished just in time, too, because as we were driving back to the campsite after getting some groceries, we looked up at where we had been riding and saw that it was storming like crazy exactly where we had been an hour or so before.

Due to location, views, ride, etc, this particular ride probably ranks as one of my top 10 rides ever...amazing....words cannot do this ride justice.  This was by far the most spectacular trail that we did on our road trip and as they say...a picture is worth a butt load of words, so lots of pix below:

Roadie - on the move - Revy

On to Revelstoke

Given how much of a scene Whistler was, we started heading onward (north and east) towards Revelstoke, with intent to stop in Kamloops for some riding as well.  We went through Pemberton first, but it was raining, so we continued on towards Lilouet.  The weather started to clear and on the way there we went over an awesome mountain pass (though scary driving with the Airstream on some really steep twisty roads) and stopped for a small hike to see some glaciers/alpine lakes and stretch our legs. 

Not finding much in Lilouet, we continued on towards Kamloops.  We had heard that there was good riding and climbing around there, but unfortunately although it had stopped raining, it was H-O-T hot!  We were sweating bullets as we got out at the rest stop to check out one of the climbing areas, which looked really fun and reminded us of Clear Creek in Colorado (on a small scale).  (yes, I said rest stop).  However the thought of trying to pull on rock in that heat didn’t sound fun to either of us, and we ended up continuing through Kamloops and traveling on.  We passed some beautiful countryside (lakeside!) in Sicamous (in the Shuswap) and decided to call it a night at Herald Provincial Park.  It was a really pretty area with the campground right on the lake.  The night was really clear, and the next morning we were back on the road again.

We pulled in to Revy, as the locals call it, after passing over  a large bridge on the outskirts of town.   It is a small town, with a lot of character in the downtown area, and seemed to fit our style more in the sense that it was much more laid back.   We checked out the local bike shop, Skookum, for ride recommendations and headed up to Martha Creek Campground to camp.  This was by far the best campground on the trip- immaculately maintained, a site overlooking Lake Revelstoke and the surrounding mountains- just gorgeous!