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:

MTB Flagline

As Sunday approached, I had made plans to go ride starting early morning in order to try to avoid some of the heat later in the day.  The plan was to head up Mrazek, up to Happy Valley, over to Flagline and back down into town from the shelter on the ridge.

The climb up Mrazek was nice and gentle until we got to the burn area where the trail was closed for some sort of maintenance so we skirted the connector road over to road 4601 and rode that up and caught Mrazek further up.  We made our way over to Happy Valley and took a quick break where we re-filled, ate a few calories and then started the slog up Happy Valley through the old growth that occasionally opened up to views of Broken Top.  Wow, I forgot just how beautimous that ride is!  The views are spectacular and the riding is not too far behind.

We linked into Flagline with great anticipation as the trail had just officially opened on Aug 15th due to Elk calving.  What surprised us was just how banged up and loose the trail was.  It was evident that people had been riding the trail extensively prior to Aug 15th.  It was a bit of bummer as the downhills were pretty torn up.  We were expecting nice tacky descending since the trail had only been officially open for 3 days but alas it had been ridden hard for a while.

The ride was still very enjoyable but it was sad to already see it in 'late season' form.

We put in a good day - 51 miles and about 5 hours of ride time and a little over 5K of climbing.

MTB MRT Ride Stats & Pix

Ride stats for the MRT out and back from the lower trailhead...everything is just slightly understated (by a little over a mile) since I must have hit 'stop' on my GPS computer un-intentionally while riding....so add about a mile......

buff trail in the beginning:

 hmmm - woodpecker?  termites?

 big O trees everywhere!

 one of the many many many many many bridge crossings

 duck that head.....

 Josh getting his RIDE on!

 sweet mossy loaminess

 Holy spores batman!  This little growth on the side of this tree was about the size of 2 basketballs!

 The Falls:

 cool little built in steps along the trail

 Clear Lake

 Don't let the paved  trail fool you...riding the east side of the lake is burly!

MTB MRT Out n' Back

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....

MTB Flagline Profile

Ride Stats from Sunday's ride:

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...

MTB: Big Hole Video

Video of the ride on another segment of the Bitterroot CDT

Big views, rugged terrain and rough riding.

MTB: BItterroot Pix 2

More pix from the ride on Sat:

at the saddle after some serious hike a bike - 360 degree views

 at the saddle - looking north

 saddle looking west

 saddle looking south

 descending - snow on some north facing slopes - great alpine views

 looking west on the descent

 getting ready to climb out of the trough again

 hard to keep the eyes on the trail with so much scenery!

 morning light