We decided to pick up part of the Surveryor's Ridge single track and link it into our route as the trail paralleled the road which was to be the start of our day. The day started with a nice punchy climb and we quickly realized that the additional weight we were carrying on our bike and on our backs would impact the handling of our bikes on the trail.
The mind wrapped itself around trying to adjust for the additional weight as we lumbered through the single track trail to phenomenal views of Mt Hood. A couple of lookouts provided for great photo's of Hood. We had been on this trail a couple of years prior so we sort of kind of knew what to expect and understood that despite being a little hampered by our touring setup, it was worth the effort for the views.
It was a really nice and peaceful way to start the day as we rolled along the ridge and enjoyed the trail. I came to a junction with the road and stopped to wait for Erin. After a couple of minutes I heard this loud crashing sound mixed in with trees and branches breaking. My mind wondered what was going on as I did not remember a particularly tekkie section or even a drop off from the trail that would warrant the noise. The mind deduced it must have been some sort of road we were unaware of that was the source of said commotion. Not so much...I was starting to turn the bike around to go check on what was going on and about 10 seconds later I hear Erin's voice yelling my name. I quickly started back on the trail and saw her coming in my direction.
She exclaimed ' I just saw a bear!!!'....It turns out we must have spooked the bear and it ran across the trail in front of her, barreling downhill running through trees until he found a tree he nimbly scampered up. Erin looked fully awake now and was explaining that she was happy not to see any cubs and that the black bear was a pretty good size dude!
We both kept an ear for any additional noises as we referenced the map to try to figure out what direction to take on the road that would tie us back into our original intended route. Soon enough, we were rolling downhill and Erin was talking out loud about how quickly her mind assessed the situation...'Bear!!, adult black bear, no cubs, fast and nimble!'
The bikes rolled along and the road started to curve around to a point where we questioned our direction. We referenced the maps while at the next junction and figured out we had to retrace our steps back to where the trail crossed the road and head in the opposite direction to meet the route. We climbed back up the road and tried enjoying the early morning temps.
In no time, we were back on route and spinning along. On tap for the day was one big old climb...it was a 2,000 ft climb and it loomed like a dark cloud...we knew it was going to be a grunt and I was again wondering about the sanity of choosing to single speed this trip. Too late now...the choice was made and it was time to put on the big boi pants : )
As we made our way to the start of the climb, we noticed a few trailheads and kept talking about how much more exploration was to be had up there. We had done some rides up there but were just starting to realize how we had barely scratched the surface...mental note: must come back and explore sans tour set up!
The inevitability of the looming dark cloud finally met us face to face. I took a gander at the GPS / elevation in order to monitor the climbing progress. In a short while, we met up with the rest of our hut-mates and I mentioned how Erin had a good story to tell...Pretty soon, the grade got steeper....and unrelenting...and for extra added bonus fun, the road became brake bumpy and loose. Steep grade + loose gravel + brake bumps + singlespeed = OUCH...yuppers...dumbass comes to mind...
The legs ached, the body argued, but the head prevailed...After what seemed like a long while, we peaked and took satisfaction in thinking that the climb we just did was probably about the worst we would encounter on this trip.
We were working our way south during the day and would eventually start heading in a westerly direction. After taking a quick breather at the top of the hill, we started down an unmaintained road that made me think that I was super grateful not to be climbing up the steep and rocky road. Within a short distance from starting, we saw a lookout with some amazing views of Mt Hood. We stopped, marveled, took pix and then kept moving. In the back of my mind I knew we were supposed to descend and then climb back out of the descent. I kept hoping that the climb out would be more reasonable relative to the descent we were on.
Fortunately for us, the climb out was not as loose or steep but it was still a challenge to psych the mind up for climb. We were getting close to a section that we could tie in some more single track that paralleled our route. We opted against it because we had heard that the trail was very loose and sandy and not worth the effort. Again, mental note made to come back and explore.
The route took us along the other side (east) of the ridge and we got to a great lookout that gave us some amazing views towards the east and south. We easily spotted Mt Jefferson and could even see Sisters and BrokenTop from our viewpoint. At the bottom of the ridge was a little lake that looked like a great place to chill...unfortunately it was probably about 1,000 ft below our elevation and there did not appear to be an easy way there. We took the views in for a while and enjoyed the thought that the climbing was more or less behind us for the day. Now, we got to descend for a while!
The weird thing about bikepacking (ultra light style considering we were not carrying food or sleeping bags, etc) is that you do all this climbing, but there is no single track trail descent as a reward. Most of the times you get to descend chunky dirt roads - the reward is the process of getting from point A to point B and trying to take in the views when you get the chance.
The bikes rolled downhill and hit a paved road that continued to bring us to a lower elevation. I held off the brakes and enjoyed the fast descents...the GPS tickled 40's and I tried to keep a long line of sight for cars. The route took us to the bottom of the road where it turned back into dirt after crossing another paved road. We pedaled along knowing that we only had about 7 miles left and they should be easy pedaling.
After a couple of quick turns, we started another steep descent and our Garmins started to chirp that we were off course. After a quick confirmation that it was not the case, we continued downhill. I guessed that our Garmin was losing contact with satellites because we were descending deeper into the woods. In the back of my mind, I tried to ignore the possibility that we were actually off course and would have to retrace our steps.
At our next junction, we were assured that we were on track (YES, we actually had a working GPS file for day 2!!)...again, having the written directions and GPS was definitely the way to go!
At this point we knew we had 5 miles left alongside a river...I figured it should be easy spinning considering the grade should be mellow. The grade was indeed mellow, however the road had a surprise in store for us. The road was consistently this loose and sandy surface that made a guy work hard to pedal...urgggg...just a little added extra butt whoopin' to get to the hut.
We plugged along for what seemed like way too long until we saw our green hut. Our home for the evening embraced us as we foraged through the food cabinets and inhaled some quick hit calories.
The allure to this hut (Barlow) was that it was near a creek so we would at least be able splash some water on us to get rid of the layers of dirt over 2 days.....ahhh, now it was time to relax and enjoy the fruit of our labor: eating to replenish lost calories and to try the process of recovery.
We chilled and talked about what to do for dinner considering the random cans and boxes of food. Each hut had each own character and this one had the pleasant surprise of snickers!!
Our hut mates rolled up and were equally disgusted with the last 5 miles of loose road...they quickly got over it (as did we) when they dove into the food cabinet.
Day two in the books...it was a long day with a little under 5K of climbing....time to relax and try to get a good night of sleep before embarking on the longest mileage of the trip on day 3.
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