Trail 99 (Sisters, OR)

Every spring and fall, the Disciples of Dirt mountain biking club (based out of Eugene, OR) hosts a weekend ride event near Sisters (OR), with the motto being “Bikes-Brews-Bonfires”. I won’t get into how the event got its name (mostly since I don’t know), but it does have a mascot in the form of a ~3' tall Barbie Doll as well as a grand prize of the infamous Barbie Bike which is given away to one lucky winner to hold onto until the next event. Surprisingly, I had never been to Barbie Camp myself, which was usually due to schedule conflicts with the kayaking season as well as the notoriously bad weather the event seems to bring. Of course this did not mean that I wasn’t interested, in fact, I’d not ridden any of the trails in the Sisters area and was really itching to check them out. With the kayaking season in the shitter (due to the lack of precipitation) and a decent weather outlook for the weekend, it appeared that I actually might find myself attending one of these grand events.

The weather forecast kept changing back and forth from good to bad as the weekend approached, but it finally settled on a chance of showers for Saturday and clear on Sunday. Since I figured that this was probably my best opportunity, I sacked up and started the packing process. Emily (my wife), who had been to a few Barbie Camps in the past, would also be coming and we decided to forgo the festivities on Friday night and instead head out on Saturday morning. With plans to meet up with a small crew around 9:30am at the camp near Peterson Ridge, we knew we needed to get an early start, which surprisingly, we were able to pull off. As we drove up the McKenzie toward Sisters, we were met with wet weather conditions that eventually turned to snow as we climbed up to and over Santiam Pass. At the summit, I would estimate that there was probably 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow on the sides of the road. Luckily, the further we dropped down from the summit the weather started improving and eventually turned to partly cloudy skies by the time we reached Sisters – it was at this point that I was feeling pretty happy about my decision to go and felt bad for the suckers in the Willamette Valley who would most likely be socked in for the weekend.

We passed by many bike laden vehicles as we pulled into the camp. We eventually located the crew that we’d planned to ride with, who were still eating breakfast and wiping the sleep out of their eyes. I was actually glad to see that the rest of the group was in a relaxed state, since I’d hoped to set up our site and change into our biking gear without being rushed. By around 10:30am most of the crew had been rallied and the ride agenda had been set. A few (including Emily) were planning to do an out-in-back on Trail 99, in hopes of putting down some serious miles. The other part of the crew (including myself) were planning to do the same trail, only we’d be shuttling up to the high point of the ride. From the upper trail at Park Meadow (near Three Creeks Lake), we’d have a 20+ mile ride back to camp.

Welcome to Barbie Camp!

Once we had loaded up the bikes and riders, we headed out of camp and up Three Creeks Lake Road, traveling in a southerly direction toward Broken Top. When we reached the parking area we found a few other cars with bike racks, presumably some Barbie Camp folks that had gotten an earlier start than us and were already on the trail. At about 3000’ higher in elevation than where we were camped, the temps were quite a bit colder and hovering in the high 30s. There were also some clouds moving in which I was sure would drop on us in one form or another, at least at one point in the ride.

Headed toward the upper trailhead

The upper trailhead, at Park Meadow

Within 50 yards of jumping onto the trail we reached a series of blow-down that was blocking the trail – not a good sign right out of the gate… We hiked around 3 or 4 of them before the trail cleared up and we were soon making decent time down the trail. For the first half of the ride, we’d be traveling through an area that was torched by the Pole Creek fire in 2012, which was started by lightning and decimated nearly 26,000 acres. The burned area created a very surreal setting, littered with the charred remains of fallen and standing trees, set against the otherwise barren landscape. The trail was relatively clear, although there was certainly lots of tree bark, trunks and limbs scattered across it in places, which provided a unique and technical challenge. The charred forest also allowed for the occasional views of the Sisters, although they were mostly obstructed by the building cloud cover.

A photo I took back in 2012 of the Pole Creek fire,
during a trip to Bend, while it was burning.

Another shot from the same trip

Roland, starting off on Trail 99

Navigating through the charred remains 

Kim, trying to stay warm during the first bit of the ride.

Catching a few glimpses of South Sister -- not available before the burn

The clouds eventually engulfed us and we were faced with near whiteout conditions once the snow started to fall. It was coming down so heavily that I was having a hard time keeping my eyes clear of the individual flakes that were flying into them. I gave a brief thought to putting on my riding glasses but figured that would also be a lost cause. The whole event did create a rather uncomfortable experience, but at the same time it also provided some really cool photo opportunities, which I couldn't help taking advantage of. The snow was fairly wet, so it wasn’t sticking to the ground, but it certainly made it challenging to keep my camera dry while trying to capture my fellow riders as they rode by.

Arthur finds a nice meadow, as the snow starts to fall.

Started to fall a little harder...

...and, whiteout

Sarah and Kim stay positive, despite the conditions.

Paul enjoying one of the more technical sections on Trail 99.

The snow eventually started to let up as we reached a crossing at a dirt road. By the time we had found the trail on the other side and started to climb, the sun broke through and the clouds started to disperse. The next notable section of trail had us riding along a ridge adorned with the silver skeletons of Manzanita shrubs, which had their skin burned off by the Pole Creek fire. There is obviously a lot of destruction that is caused by a wildfire, but whenever I ride through a burn area, I’m always taken aback by the beauty that eventually rises from its ashes. With an expansive view of the Cascade peaks, the blanket of white manzanita, the bright blue skies and puffy white clouds, this section of the trail was certainly one of the most spectacular burns that I had ever come across.

The sun returns!

The start of the ridge descent 

Manzanita Ridge -- Quite a sight to behold!

Since I had been taking photos further up the trail, I had fallen behind the group a bit. I was a little bummed out when I didn’t find them taking in the views from Manzanita Ridge. It wasn’t until I started dropping down from the ridge that I ran into them. In fact, some in the crew hadn’t stopped at all and we wouldn’t end up seeing them for the remainder of the ride – obviously we had different ride agendas, even within our own group. Those of us that had stopped had a quick snack before continuing on, which also allowed me to grab a couple of snaps of people riding down the remainder of the ridge.

Paul, somewhere along the ridge.

Ken trying his best to keep his eyes on the trail and not the amazing views

Justin, in the heart of Manzanita Ridge.

The trail transitioned to double-track and eventually out of the burn area and into a pine forest setting. At one point we ran into Brad & Michelle, who were part of the group that had chosen to do an out-n-back. Since we had met at their turnaround point, we decided to join forces and head back together. We were now about halfway through our 20+ mile ride and the second half would have us following along a series of trails that are very similar to what you would find in the Phil’s trail network – relatively flat, smooth, and flowy singletrack. We eventually found ourselves at a paved road crossing, which happened to be Three Creeks Lake Rd, the one we had used to drive to the top.

Is this Phil's?

Sarah practices her finish line pose

Michelle takes advantage of the high-speed nature of this section of trail

Paul, in his element.

On the other side of the road, we entered the Peterson Ridge trail network, which like the previous section was reminiscent of the Phil’s area. As soon as we jumped onto Peterson Ridge we were immediately presented with a fork in the trail. A quick group decision sent us off to the east and circling the boundary of the network in a counterclockwise direction. I must admit, I’m not the biggest fan of this type of trail riding, so I was pretty happy when Randy led me through a small detour loop, where the terrain was a little more technical. Unfortunately, it was pretty short and we quickly found ourselves pedaling through some more miles of repetitive singletrack.

Randy takes me on a short detour, seeking out some techie stuff.

We soon found the rest of our group (or what was left of it), who were taking a quick snack break. I used this opportunity to jump out ahead so I could snap some photos of the crew. Just up the trail I came across a small rock garden, which I figured would provide some good photo ops. One by one they rode through, while I did my best to stay out of their way and line of sight.

Justin gets back after it, post snack break.

Ken, taking the Maverick for a ride. 

Michelle navigates a small rock garden, somewhere on Peterson Ridge.

I packed up my gear and saddled back up once the last person had passed. It wasn’t long before I reunited with them at a trail intersection, where they pointed out a small log ride to me, knowing that I was a sucker for them. I was actually a bit surprised that there were a few others that were interested in a quick skinny session. Those of us that decided to play around on the log ride bade a quick farewell to the others before making the short detour to where the log ride was located. It was a pretty straightforward log – fairly low to the ground, with a well-built entrance/exit and wide enough to accommodate a little bit of swerve. Each of us took a couple runs before growing bored and heading back to the main trail.

Randy enters the log ride

The author takes his turn
(photo by Kim McGovern)

The remaining trail between the log ride and camp was fairly uneventful. Within a mile or so we reached a dirt utility road, where we jumped onto a double-track trail that headed southwest toward our camp. The double-track actually deposited us directly across Three Creeks Lake Rd from our camp – quite convenient! Back at camp, we ate some snacks and drank a beer or two, before Jason Snook and I determined that we wanted to get in a few more miles. We quickly decided on Cline Butte, which neither of us had ridden but were quite interested in, being both a descent and technical in nature. After that ride we settled into camp, with amazing food, 2 kegs of beer and a giant bonfire – I would certainly consider my first day at Barbie Camp a burning success!

Sarah  rides the last bit of rocky stuff, near the end of our ride.

Pre-funk

Gettin' her started!

Chow time

Typical Barbie Camp affair

A great ending to day one of Barbie Camp

The tracks from our ride:

Cline Butte (OR)

After reading about Cline Butte earlier this year, while researching trails to ride near Bend (OR), I knew I wanted to check it out. From what I could discern, it was a rather short climb to the top of the Butte, with two main trail options to descend on, Trail #1 and Trail #2 respectively. Supposedly, both trails provided a steep technical challenge with #1 being the easier route and everything being rollable. On the other hand, #2 was quite a step up in difficulty and known for forcing riders into doing more hiking than actual biking, with a few drops requiring mandatory air. Naturally, #2 was the one that actually intrigued me the most – not because I like to huck big shit but rather I always enjoy an adventure and the problem solving that usually goes along with them, even if it means lots of hiking. Regardless of which trail you choose to descend, one loop would only be about 3 ½ miles long with ~900’ of climbing, which was not really worth driving all the way from Eugene for, assuming it was the only thing you were planning to ride. That said, there is supposedly a XC trail that circumnavigates the Butte, which could be used to extend the ride.

Fast forward to late April and the Disciples of Dirt's Spring Barbie Camp 2015. After finishing up a super fun shuttle ride on Trail 99 (through both snow and sun) , Jason Snook and I were looking to get in a little bit more riding. Of course we could have spun up some more miles on the Peterson Ridge Trail network, but both of us were looking for something with a little more bite, either in the form of technical riding or a steep descent. With Cline Butte still in the back of my mind, I suggested it as one possible option, which he instantly agreed to. We pulled out the map and laid it across the hood of my car to determine the best way to get there, since neither of us had been there before. The directions looked pretty straightforward and I guessed it was only about 20 minutes away from our camp (near Sisters). With the plan set we loaded up the Forester with our biking gear & my dog Grace and headed out.

Navigating to Cline Butte went smoothly, although the gravel road up to Cline Butte is not very well marked and can certainly sneak up on you. We found the route without too much trouble and just a little way up the gavel road we parked the car into a pullout on the right side of the road. Our original plan was to get in two laps and decide which trail to descend on once we had reached the summit. Both my legs and lungs were feeling pretty tired right out of the gate and the beer that I had in camp certainly wasn’t helping me get up the hill. I was glad that Jason was also feeling less than 100%, since it was going to be a pretty slow grind for me. Grace on the other hand was well rested and seemed completely unaffected by the climb, seeming bored from time to time along the way. The road itself ascended at a pretty reasonable grade but it did have a couple of steep pitches and the surface was heavily washboarded. We eventually reached the spur road that would take us around the north side of the summit and to the start of the descent. It looked like you could also keep climbing up the road to a gate and then follow the fence line to the trail, but that seemed like the long way to go about getting there. We wrapped around the backside until we reached a clearing that had a few large boulders resting in the middle of it, which looked somewhat out of place.

Jason starts the short climb to the top of Cline Butte

Great views of the Sisters along the way

and Black Butte!

Jason and Grace, about halfway up.

The rocks that mark the start of the descent(s)

It was now time to decide what trail to ride down on. I quickly pulled out an aerial image from my Camelbak which I had printed from Google Maps to help locate the trails. It didn't take us long to find Trail #2 (the harder option), which started right at the fence line. We took a few minutes to assess the entrance drop and determined that we’d go for it, knowing that we might end up walking some of the drops lower down. We also planned for a fairly slow pace, with plenty of scouting and shooting photos. The entrance itself drops off or over a large boulder, depending on which line you choose -- The left line had mandatory air and the right was easily rollable. I offered to go first and ran it center, which was pretty steep but still rollable. All went well, but the run out was definitely loose and required some delicate braking to stay in control. Now below the drop, I quickly pulled out my camera and grabbed some shots of Jason coming through, who also had a clean line.

Jason finds Trail #2, right off the fence line.

The author drops down the entrance to #2, while Grace looks on.
(photo by Jason Snook)

Jason takes his turn

Rounding the corner, just down from the entrance

The next major drop we came to definitely had a hero line, with mandatory air and another loose run-out that led directly into another small drop. Luckily this one had an alternate line, which wrapped around steeply to the right of it. The big boy (or girl) line would send you off a ~6’ drop that had me felling pretty inadequate in both gear and skillset. Both Jason and I had wisely chose the ride-around, but even then, the loose trail surface proved to be a challenge.

Jason takes the safe line around the second major drop.
Note the main line, which is the rock drop between the trees.

The loose run-out to the drop that's shown in the photo above

The rest of Trail #2 alternated between steep loose sections and technical rock drops, with minimal spots to relax and regain composure on. We essentially scouted every major drop on the way down, taking a few minutes to pick out a line or deciding if we even wanted to ride it. Most of the drops had at least one line that was rollable, with the main challenge being the steep/loose trail surface, either leading into or out of it. Of course there were a few that did require some air under one or both tires, but luckily they were fairly easy to walk.

Great views on the way down too!

A downed juniper, which now doubles as a technical trail feature.

The author, partway down one of the bigger drops of the trail.
(photo by Jason Snook)

Easy does it
(photo by Jason Snook)

Jason, doing his darnedest to ride not slide.

The author enters another steep one
(photo by Jason Snook)

One of a few steep switchbacks along the way

One of the easier drops

Kickin' up dust, but not on purpose...

Jason, safely below one of the chunkier drops. The bottom step on this one was
not rollable and it would have been tricky to get your wheel up -- we both walked it...

Snook finds a mellow bit to relax on

Shreddin' the draw

Jason exits the crux section

Pretty easy going from this point on

About ½ mile from where we started the descent, we exited the small draw that Trail #2 had ridden along, which signaled the end of the hard stuff. As we passed by the intersection with Trail #1, it continued down the hill at a much smoother and gentler grade. There were a few dirt jumps in this section that had quite a bit of upward kick to them and fairly flat landings, which aren’t really my cup of tea – to each their own, I guess…

Takin' it home, below the confluence with Trail #1.

Getting back to the car was not as straightforward as finding the start of the trail, as we alternated between doubletrack and singletrack while trying to find our way. Since we knew the general direction of where we needed to go, we eventually got there, with very little backtracking. Back at where we had parked the car, neither of us had the energy nor the enthusiasm to ride back up to the top for another loop, as we had initially planned for. Furthermore, we wanted to get back to camp before it got too late and although I was really curious about Trail #1, sitting around and drinking free beer with friends seemed like a good contingency prize.

Good folks and big fire!

The following day we got in another group ride at Smith Rock, which is highly recommended, even if for the scenery alone. After that ride, Emily offered to shuttle me to the top of Cline Butte, since it was on the way home and it would allow Grace to tag along and stretch her four legs. Once she had dropped us off about as far up the road as you can, Grace and I set out to discover what this other trail was all about. Like trail #2 it started in the same general area and traveled in a southeasterly direction. However, instead of dropping into the wash, it zig-zagged down the hillside just to the east of it. Just as the descriptions I read had suggested, Trail #1 was also steep and technical, but not as difficult and everything was rollable. Even riding solo, I rode everything on the trail and never felt that I was putting myself in undue danger. Furthermore, if I hadn't stopped multiple times to take photos or corral the dog, I probably could have bombed the trail in less than 5 minutes – although it was really short, it was fun while it lasted!

The entrance to Trail #1 

Grace gets out ahead to scout

Typical trail surface on Trail #1

A few banked turns on this one

Some techie stuff as well

One of the steeper/rockier drops on #1

More steeps

A few of the jumps below the intersection with Trail #2

Having cured my curiosity and running some of the pent up energy out of Grace, I loaded my bike back onto the car and we headed back toward the wet side of the Cascades. We did stop in Sisters for some much needed pizza and coffee before driving up and over the pass, which was the perfect way to say goodbye to the dry side.

First impressions:
Cline Butte is a very interesting riding area and I'm glad I finally got in a few miles there. Since I haven't ridden the XC trail(s) that wrap around the base of the butte, I don't feel that I can pass judgment for the network as a whole. That said, and from a strictly DH standpoint, I would say that it might be worth getting in a lap or two if you're already in the area but I certainly wouldn't call it a ride destination; of course it's not sold as that either. In fact, there is very little public information about it. It actually reminds me a bit of Syncline (in the Columbia River Gorge), although not as good. To me the main drawbacks are the shortness of the descents and the extremely loose trail surface. Regarding the latter, I do my best to abide by the "ride don't slide" motto, but even with delicate brake work it was almost impossible not to skid out or kick up dirt from time to time.

From reading the above statement, you would think that I'm completely down on the these trails, however that is certainly not the case -- I think they would be a great local ride option if conditions were favorable (i.e. not too wet or too dry). Also, technically speaking, #2 is the hardest trail I have ridden in the Bend/Sisters area, which I consider a plus, since I actually enjoy riding trails that force me to walk a few of the drops and give you something to work up to. I will say that there are a couple in there that I would probably never ride, at least with my current bike setup. With someone of my DH skill level, you need all the help you can get, and more travel and raked-out front end would certainly help fill in some of my deficiencies. Of course a set of pads might be a wise idea for this area as well...

Tracks from Saturday (Trail #2):

Tracks from Sunday (Trail #1):