The other night I awoke to scratching and scurrying noises in my room and found this little deer mouse (I think) trying to find his way out. He/she was rather adorable. It took about ten minutes to usher the mouse out into the main sitting room and then out the door where it ran down the stairs in a funny zig-zag pattern until it was outside.
Patrick had recently purchased a very nice mountain bike and he was eager to use it. We came up with a plan to trek to Oakridge, OR which is known as a mountain bike mecca. I borrowed a bike from one of my apartment-mates and we set off in the afternoon arriving in Oakridge in the early evening. We setup camp at the Blue Pool campground which was set right on a scenic creek. As you can see above we didn't really think through having to bring the right amount of small bills to pay for the camping spot so we had to gather together a rather hefty amount of loose change.
We pitched the ten right between three large Douglas Fir trees on a bed of soft fallen needles.
Wildflower #29: Patrick was excited to spot this one on the side of the trail leading to the campsite. I believe he said it is a Spotted Coral Orchid. As far as orchids go this is a pretty nifty one as instead of one or few large blooms it has a central stalk with numerous classical orchid structured flowers.
We headed a half mile up the creek to a place where locals had told us there was a hot spring. Sure enough the strong smell of sulfur hit us and we came upon three pools directly adjacent to the stream. The first pool was fed by the stream and was rather cool, the far pool was fed directly by the hot spring and was extremely hot (just a few seconds in the water and it felt like your skin was boiling). There was a middle pool however which was fed by both of the other pools. This pool was at times chilly, then suddenly nice and warm and enjoyable and then out of nowhere it was scalding. Above I sit in the hot pool.
Now here I am jumping in the freezing creek to cool off.
Our campfire only feet from the creek, a really great campsite.
Wildflower #30: Found this flower near our parking spot for our first ride of the daily early in the morning. Patrick said it is some kind of columbine. All I know is it is stunning.
The trailhead for our first ride. It took a while for us to find it as we had to park at the Willamette Valley Fish Hatchery and bike some gravel roads leading out the backend of the hatchery.
At the trailhead there was a small damn that formed what looked like the worlds biggest infinity pool. There was a medieval-esque gate for on of the tributaries.
We knew the trail was a technical one, and it was. We were clearly one of the first groups of riders of the year on the Salmon Creek Trail as there were parts where the trail was barely visible due to heavy undergrowth which made for some interesting turns. After ~4 miles the trail was supposed to cross the creek and then continue back on the other bank. However we pull up to the creek to cross the bridge and find it simply not in existence. You could tell where it used to be, but here it wasn't.
Patrick and I postulated trying to cross the creek. But after a short period of deliberation and analysis of the up to 10 foot deep water and strong currents we came to the conclusion that riding back on the same trail might not be a terrible alternative to drowning in 50 degree water.
Some photos of the creek where it rushed past the old bridge location.
Wildflower #31: I knew this one immediately as Red Columbine. A truly amazing flower just growing in the wild. The structure of the corolla is clearly designed to cater for hummingbird pollinators. You can tell from the extended nectar-holding spurs on the petals which allow the hummingbird to use their long beaks.
Some of the hatchery pools, full of trout at the moment.
They also had some game birds in some cages nearby. They were perky fellas that constantly lept up to the fence and then bent their neck all weird to get a good view of us. Above is the Ring-Necked Pheasant.
This is a quail. I never knew they had such interesting coloration patterns. The one liked Patrick.
Just as Coach Taylor had told me, they had a sturgeon pool. These absolutely incredible prehistoric looking fish swam very slowly around the walls but there massive size (up to 8 feet!) made up for it.
A beautiful all wood map at the hatchery,
Our second ride of the day was the one we were really excited for. At the bike shop we picked up a few spare tubes and took the advice of the man working to check out the Alpine Trail. He said it was the reason he moved to Oakridge. The first few miles were pure bliss. After passing through a covered bridge the trail sat on a ridge overlooking a small river. The singletrack rolled and wound through the riparian vegetation until it hit the gravel road pictured above. The next 8 miles were grueling as we had to head all the way up the mountain on the old logging road in the heat of the sun. The road was very unforgiving seeming to get steeper the higher you went and only once flattened out for about 200m.
Wildflower #32: I think Patrick said this is a larkspur. It grows in dry areas such as the side of the forsaken road we were climbing.
The two of us at the top near the trailhead. We found out later that most people do this trail as a shuttle. Using two cars to drop their bikes and riders off at the trail head effectively skipping the actually difficult portion of the trail. But, hey, we figured it was our first time and we had earned our ride down the mountain.
Well, the climb wasn't over yet as the first mile of the actual singletrack trail was also uphill, and muddy.
Early on we both suffered flats. Good thing we took the time to get those spares earlier as we easily replaced them and got on the move again.
The man at the shop also told us that at some point we would reach an astounding mountain wildflower meadow with a jaw-dropping view of the surrounding region. This was the point at which our climb was over and it was time to get ready for the downhill.
Wildflower #33: The meadow was covered in a multitude of different flowers including a few of these cool Cat's Ears. Funny flowers with fuzzy petals.
Words can not do justice to how unbelievably and totally extraordinary the next ten miles of riding were. Flowing singletrack that challenged, invigorated, amazed, and often scared the hell out of you. The farther we went the more comfortable I became with pushing the limits of speed in the corners and obstacles.
This was a fun turn right around the edge of cliff.
I took this picture for Kyle Ragan as we found part of the trail touched the Pacific Crest Trail. Kyle hopes to complete this epic hike after graduation and I hope I can help him hike part of it, I know he will atleast enjoy the part we rode on!
The last couple miles dropped ~1,000 feet quickly making for an awesome finale.
We stopped at the fine establishment of Hot China for dinner. The food was awesome for a good price. The restaurant was completely manned by one guy named Vincent. Host, manager, chef, waiter...he did it all. He was also awestruck that someone from New York was in his restaurant.
An Oregon sunset.
Taking a turn. A great day of riding and adventure.
