Bachelor to Bend (OR)

Some of my favorite rides east of the Cascades have started from Mount Bachelor and ended near the town of Bend, via a very straightforward shuttle along the Cascade Lakes Highway. Therefore, I was pretty excited when my buddy Joe (from Salt Lake City) said he was going to be in Bend and was keen to ride. With that, a couple of our mutual friends, Roman and Scott, made plans to meet him and Liz over there for a Sunday shredfest. From Eugene it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the meeting spot at Pine Mountain Sports. After grabbing a bite to eat, we caravanned to where we'd be ending our ride, at the bottom of the COD trail. Once we had changed into our riding gear and loaded all of the bikes onto my car, we drove the ~15 miles up the highway to the Dutchman Sno-Park, where we'd be starting the ride.

Dutchman Sno-Park -- Obviously a popular spot

From the parking lot of Dutchman Sno-Park we climbed around the west side of Tumalo Mountain, along the Flagline access trail. The trail climbed at a reasonable grade, but there were a few steeper sections that certainly worked my legs and lungs, especially at 6500’ above sea level. Eventually we tee’d into the Flagline Trail, where we turned right (east) and continued climbing for another mile and a half to the start of the Flagline descent. After 3 ½ miles and ~700’ of climbing, I was ready for some downhill – Hey, this was a shuttle ride after all!

Roman is all smiles during the climb around Tumalo Mountain

Joe reaches the intersection with the Flagline Trail

Some nice alpine meadows up top

Once everyone in our crew was ready, we dropped into one of the best descents in Oregon. Flagline provided plenty of smiles on the way down – from the swoopy/flowy stuff up top to the more technical stuff near the bottom. There are also lots of small jumps and Easter eggs to spice things up a bit, so keep your eyes peeled or you might fly past without even noticing some of them. About halfway down Flagline, Roman ended up getting a flat, which took a bit of time to get fixed before we were on our way again. While we were waiting, many small groups flew past, indicating just how popular this stretch of trail really is.

Once Roman was back in action we continued down the trail in haste, only stopping at a few of the trail intersections to regroup. It was at one of these where we turned right (south) and made our way toward the Swampy Lakes parking area, along Cascade Lakes Highway. Although this connector trail wasn’t nearly as fun as Flagline, it did have a few entertaining bits mixed in with the low grade climbing. Once we reached the parking area we needed to decide the best way to get to Wanoga Sno-Park, where we’d be starting the next leg of our journey. Although we probably could have gotten there using either dirt roads and/or Nordic trails, we decided the easiest way was just to ride the highway, especially since it had a nice wide shoulder.

Roman finds a fun Easter egg along the way

There are a few sweet rock gardens like this on Flagline

The author rides a small rock spine, about halfway down Flagline.
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

Scott rides through another meadow stretch

Joe gets a boost on one of the many small kickers along the Flagline Trail

Liz drops into a short rocky pitch, heading over to the Swampy Lakes parking area

Kickin' up dust

Joe and Liz, givin' chase.

A typical section between Flagline and the Swampy Lakes parking area 

The highway portion of the ride only lasted for a little over a mile and went by very quickly, since it’s mostly downhill. Now at Wanoga, we had a few choices as to how to continue our descent. Before doing so, we played around on the sweet little pump-track that is situated smack dab in the middle of the parking lot. Although it was a little dry and dusty, it still provided plenty of enjoyment and jump practice. After studying the map and giving the group some input about the trail options, we opted to ride down Funner first and then climb back up to ride Tiddlywinks, assuming we had saved enough energy.

Funner, which starts directly from the parking area, sent us in an easterly direction, where we soon reached a fun little skinny to play on. At one point in my riding career I was pretty good at these fun little challenges, but since I hadn’t practiced them in some time I was a bit rusty and it took me a few times to get all the way across it.

Funner!

The author gets some skinny practice
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

Aside from a few skinnies and small dirt jumps, the first part of Funner is pretty uneventful – well, except for the hunter that we crossed paths with… He apparently believed that we were fools for riding in “the woods” during hunting season and that there was a good chance we’d get shot, which he communicated through an impassioned speech. Well, it’s good to know that some hunters have a hard time distinguishing between a mountain biker and a deer… After this encounter, Funner dropped into the goods, with plenty of rock features to boost off of or navigate over and around. Toward the end of our run down Funner was a log skinny that terminated with a mandatory stepdown onto a nice dirt transition. The log itself started off plenty wide (near the root) but gradually narrowed to ~6” at its tip, where it dropped off. I was pretty happy that I was able to clean it on the first attempt, since bailing toward the end could have been painful.

The author drops into a fun rocky bit
(photo by Roman Androsov)

The author hits a rock drop partway down Funner
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

More fun jumps!
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

Roman threads the needle

The author exits the skinny drop
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

Although Funner continued for a little ways more, we actually decided to climb back up a dirt road (NF-4613) to bang out a lap on Tiddlywinks as well. The climb up the road and (part of Tiddlywinks) gained about 700 vertical feet in 2 ½” miles at a fairly manageable grade. Even so, I was definitely feeling the 16 miles we had already ridden and had to drop into my lower gears as I grunted my way up. Once at the top of Tiddlywinks, I padded up and got in a quick rest before dropping into the goods.

Climbing back up for more

Tiddlywinks started off with a quick traverse and a couple of rock drops before settling into its flow around a multitude of banked turns and dirt features that could either be rolled, or used for some air time. There is one particular section that is loaded with large bermed corners as well as a few tabletops and gap jumps. It was so much fun that I had to climb back up for a few more sessions. The trail continued its flowy charm as it continued down the hill, where we soon came to another fun feature that was worth sessioning – this time in the form of a tricky gap jump, where the lip of the takeoff sat lower than the landing zone. It took me about a half dozen tries, but eventually I was able to clear it (just barely). I was certainly happy to be on my 6” travel bike for this part, as it really saved my bacon while coming up short on my first few attempts. Before long the trail flattened out and then started to climb, which luckily was only for a short bit. Now back to the descent, we picked off the various trail features, depending on our comfort zone. As I had alluded to before, everything is rollable, so it’s a great trail for a variety of skill levels.

Scott, leading the charge down Tiddlywinks 

Jason Snook, partway through the goods, on Tiddlywinks
(taken the following week) 

Liz lines up for another roller

The author takes flight
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

The author,  gappin' on Tiddlywinks.
(photo by Joe Bushyhead)

By the end of Tiddlywinks we were about 23 miles into the ride and still had a ways to go. The plan was to hop across the highway and connect with COD – one of the better trails in the lower trail network. Like most trails in the Phil’s network, COD has lots of smooth flowy singletrack that seems to go on forever, sometimes for too long; however, it also has comparatively more technical rock features to help break up the monotony. Toward the end there are actually a few short climbs that are quite challenging, being both steep and technical. At the very end of COD, the trail drops down from the cliffs over a few rock drops that made for a great way to finish up our day’s ride. From here, a quick dash down the remainder of trail and back across the highway put us back at our car and drinking some much deserved beer!

Jumping onto Storm King

Scott navigates through a fun technical section

Joe reaching the mellower stuff

Typical scenery of  the low elevation trails around Bend  

Joe and Liz put down some miles quickly in this stretch

One of a few rock gardens along COD

Joe finds some more rocks

A fun rock drop to spice things up

Joe, opening it up a bit.

A bit of climbing on COD as well

Beautiful desert scenery!

Roman, near the end of COD.

Scott, close behind. 

Roman starts the final pitch.

Crossing the finish line!

With the sun now starting to set, we had finished our ride with little time to spare. We still had to run shuttle, but luckily it was fairly straightforward – only about 15 miles each way on a paved highway. In fact, I must say, it’s probably the best bang-for-your-buck shuttle ride around. Now with all of our cars, we headed into Bend for more beers and some food, before starting the long drive back to Eugene. By the time I got home and into bed it was 11:30pm, finishing up yet another unrelaxing weekend…

Setting sun, during the shuttle

Parting thoughts:
Bend riding always leaves me with mixed feelings – there are lots of very enjoyable sections but they are usually separated by long stretches of mind numbing singletrack that requires little concentration or skill level. Even so, the Bachelor to Bend ride is one of my favorites, especially when utilizing the Funner and/or Tiddlywinks trails. This area certainly has its share of mountain biking trails and deserves to be called a mountain biking destination; however, it does takes a little time to get between the really good sections/areas, depending on the type of riding you like to do.

The tracks from our ride:


Other rides in the area:
Trail 99
Smith Rock / Gray Butte
Cline Butte
Horse Ridge

Bunchgrass Ridge - OR (9.19.2015)

Bunchgrass Ridge / Heckletooth is an all-day epic, running along a ridge that connects Fuji Mountain to the town of Oakridge, and also happens to be part of the Eugene to Crest Trail. This ride is a quintessential backcountry adventure, with plenty of overgrown trail and hike-a-bike sections to test your fortitude, both physically and mentally. Because of that, and a longish shuttle as well as unknown trail and road conditions, it can be a hard ride to pull together a group for; in fact, it had been at least a half dozen years since I'd last ridden it. After riding Grasshopper Mountain Trail the week before, which is a similar style of ride, I knew I wanted to bag Bunchgrass before the end of the season, so I was pretty happy when I was able to sign-up a solid crew of five with fairly minimal effort. Along with Emily and me, we'd have Erin Hooten, Evan Lawrence, and Scott Kramer.

Since we knew it would be a long day, we got a fairly early start, meeting at the pub in Oakridge at ~8am. With my roof and hitch mount racks, I was able to fit all five of us, while still maintaining a decent amount of comfort. Before heading out of town, I stopped into Willamette Mercantile (the local bike shop), where I received some disheartening news. Derrick was pretty sure that the gate located about a mile up the Eagle Creek Rd. was closed, which apparently happens during hunting season. At this point we really didn't have anything to lose, so we decided to stick with the plan and hope for the best. From Oakridge, we headed east for 15 miles, where Eagle Creek Rd. turned off to the left. It was now the moment of truth, and as luck would have it, the gate was open! The other obstacle that we were concerned about was a reported washout in the road, which was passable but sketchy. To our surprise it had been repaired -- our day was really looking up!

Now at the upper trailhead, we unloaded the bikes and geared up for our day's adventure. The trail started off descending at a gradual pitch, with some technical rock features peppering its surface. Before long we reached what would be the first of many downed trees. After about the fifth or sixth log portage, I was starting to question my decision of proposing this ride. I did hold onto a glimmer of hope, since Erin had been told (by the Forest Service) that Bunchgrass had been completely cleared. About 2 miles into the trail we reached the first road crossing (at NF-379), where the trail conditions improved dramatically, with little to no logs blocking our path.

Unloading at the trailhead

Looking onto Bunchgrass Ridge, from the trailhead

Where it all starts

Scott works his way over one of the many trees down, on the first section.

Erin, between blow-down.

Although we were dealing with fewer logs, the trail started to climb and the steepening grade eventually forced us off our bikes for a short bit. At just over 3 miles into the trail, the forest gave way to a massive wide open meadow, as it traversed along the south side of Bunchgrass Ridge. The trial was fairly overgrown and required full attention to avoid hidden trail hazards, particularly those found at pedal and handlebar level. I actually got taken out by a few of them, leaving me a little bruised and bloody. The silver lining was certainly the unobstructed views to the south, with recently snow-covered Diamond Peak being the dominant landmark. The grass meadow was also interwoven with citrine colored sword ferns -- it really was an amazing setting, which energized our spirits!

Evan works his way through the sword ferns

Gettin' steeper

The first of many hike-a-bike climbs

Emily enters the meadow

Evan traverses through the fern meadow, with Diamond Peak in the background.

Amazing views of Diamond Peak

Erin does her best to keep her eye on the trail

Looking south

Trail blazin' 

Scott, surrounded by a field of colorful sword ferns

Route finding wasn't always easy

At least the sight-lines were generous 

Feeling small

Emily and Scott ride past remnants of the Warner Creek fire

Bars deep

Entering the grass meadows

As the trail climbed up toward the top of the ridge it became a bit more difficult to follow. In fact, we got slightly off track and started heading down a spur/bailout trail that dropped down to NF-5823. Luckily we discovered our error pretty quickly, after consulting the map. Just up the hillside, we saw a signpost, which helped guide us to where we needed to be. With that, we pushed/shouldered our bikes up to its location, where we found the proper trail. The post itself let us know that we were not only on the Eugene to Crest Trail but also at the site of the old Sheep Camp, dating back to the 1800s.

Course correction

Heading toward the signpost

History lesson

Site of the ol' Sheep Camp

23.7 miles to go!

From the signpost, the trail climbed up the crude trail at a fairly steep grade, forcing us off our bikes once again. Although some of it was ridable (arguably), I pretty much hiked my bike all the way to where it topped out at the summit of the ridge. It was from this highpoint that we had a much better perspective of the wake from the Warner Creek fire, which ripped across the ridge in 1991. The fire, which was arson set, engulfed ~9,000 acres of old and second growth forest. Along with the scorched hillsides, we also found a nice little bear grass meadow to eat a snack and rest a bit, before continuing on.

Bear Grass on Bunchgrass

Emily takes a breather at a false summit

Bunchgrass - Big & Beautiful!

Evan closes in on the top of the ridge

From the top of the ridge, we dropped down into an area that is affectionately referred to as "Smoke a Bowl". Of course, I assume its name is derived from the bowl feature of the mountain range, in combination with the cashed remains of the Warner Creek burn... Whatever the case, the descent is super steep and gets pretty technical toward the bottom -- super fun stuff that is 100% rideable, if you're feelin' it. Even after the trail stops descending, it remains technical as it traverses along the north side of Bunchgrass Ridge.

A much deserved break

Fun steeps, dropping into Smoke a Bowl

Emily gives chase

Erin nears the end of the descent

Exiting Smoke a Bowl

Tree graveyard

Over the next few miles, the trail climbed, descended, and then climbed again, until we reached a vista with an amazing view to the north and east. The last climb up to this viewpoint was a pretty tough one, once again forcing me off my bike to push it up the hillside. Although we had already taken a break a few miles back, it was worth taking another, both to enjoy the view and regain some energy before continuing on.

Synchronized Captain Pose 

Rugged

Another great vista, this time looking northeast.

Evan takes in the view of the Sisters

Looking south

After the overlook, the trail descended at a gradual pitch through a forested setting that was blanketed in beargrass -- it was easiest section of the trail so far, which was a welcome change for me and I'm sure everyone else in the group as well. The trail also traveled through a couple of meadows before reaching a larger one just down from the summit of Little Bunchgrass. We debated climbing to the summit, but since we still had a lot of riding and wanted to conserve energy, we decided to forgo the small detour.

More climbing?!

Blankets of bear grass

Little Bunchgrass Meadow
(taken on a previous trip)

From Little Bunchgrass meadow, the trail started another descent, where it eventually reached the notorious "Deadly Switchbacks", which drop 1,200' over the next mile of trail! The first time I did Bunchgrass I didn't even consider riding them, but the last few times I have enjoyed the challenge they present and have tried to pick them off one by one. It was this time that I had my best run, nabbing all but three. All of them are possible and I’m sure that someone(s) has bagged them all in a single run, which I hope to accomplish at some point in the future.

Emily rounds one of the first Deadly Switchbacks

Same switchback, different day.
(taken on a previous trip)

Baggin' another steep/tight one
(taken on a previous trip)

One of the last Deadly Switchbacks
(taken on a previous trip)

Reinvigorated at the bottom of the switchbacks, I jumped out ahead on the next section of trail. My newly found energy was quickly dampened by the reintroduction to blow-down – Apparently, we had reached another section that hadn't been cleared. Over the next few miles we would climb over multiple logs while ascending another 700 vertical feet. This segment was definitely taking it out of me, so I decided to focus more on my riding and less on photography; therefore, and from this point on, the remaining photos were taken from previous rides along this route. When we finally reached the short connector trail leading up to NF-345 (near Kwiskwis Butte) I was pretty relieved, since I knew we were finished with the bulk of the climbing on this section.

Spectacular forest setting, found along the section after the switchbacks
(taken on a previous trip)

More beauty
(taken on a previous trip)

Fallen giants
(taken on a previous trip)

Somewhere along the climb
(taken on a previous trip)

With a little over two miles to the start of the Heckletooth section, the trail mostly descended and the logs disappeared again -- good news indeed! There are a few fun technical challenges along this bit of trail, which serves as a good warm-up for Heckletooth. There are also some fast sections that had us grinning from ear to ear. Once we reached the road crossing, we dismounted our bikes and took another breather, knowing that we still had a lot of trail and a few tough climbs to tackle.

The author drops a fun technical pitch
(photo by Emily Pfeifer; taken on a previous trip)

Emily gets ready for a fast side-hill traverse
(taken on a previous trip)

On the other side of the road, the trail descended not nearly long enough, before flattening out and eventually tilting upward. It was at this point that I dropped to the back of the pack, struggling to maintain my pace and taking frequent breaks. The first climb was tough but the second is what really put the hurtin' on me. The last pitch up to Heckletooth Mountain is a steep one and I had to push my bike for almost the entire distance of it. By the time I reached the top I was on the verge of bonking, but luckily I was able to pull out of it after resting for about 10 minutes and popping some legal energy supplements. Since I had taken in the view from the summit many times before and I was ready to finish up the ride, I forewent the vista and dropped into one of my favorite sections of trail in Oakridge.

Nearing Heckletooth
(taken on a previous trip)

The last grunt up to Hecketooth
(taken on a previous trip)

The view from Heckletooth
(taken on a previous trip)

The descent on Heckletooth is pure joy, filled with fun technical patches, fast traverses and steep/tight switchbacks, for almost its entire 5-mile length. Sweetening the experience was the recent trailwork that had been done for the Fat 55 race, which actually had a change a venue in the 11th hour, sending riders along the MF Willamette instead. Even in my exhausted state, I was lovin’ every minute of it and actually caught a second wind (or third, or forth...)! With Emily hot on my tail, we raced down the trail Blue Angel style, stopping only once to regroup at one of the few meadow crossings. It was actually a great place to do so, since the view to the east included Bunchgrass Ridge, feeding our sense of accomplishment. From our final pit stop we rode even faster and made it to the end of the trail all too soon.

Navigating down the first steep bit, from the top of Heckletooth.
(taken on a previous trip)

Emily starts off one of the best descents in the area
(taken on a previous trip)

Smaller meadows on Heckletooth -- it's more about the riding on this trail!
(taken on a previous trip)

The author gets tight and steep
(photo by Emily Pfeifer; taken on a previous trip)

Emily rounds another
(taken on a previous trip)

The author drops down another fun techie pitch
(taken on a previous trip)

Emily on a mellow climb between the descents
(taken on a previous trip)

Feeling accomplished!

With my GPS notifying me that it was almost out of battery, I rode as fast as I could muster back to the car, which was still about 2 1/2 miles away, near the pub in Oakridge. When we did finally reach the car we were all pretty spent but happy to have completed such a bold adventure. It took us about an hour and a half to run the back shuttle and by that time I was more than ready for some chow. With that, we headed to Stewart's 58 Drive-In for some much deserved burgers and shakes. I'm not sure if it was based on how hungry I was, but it was damn near the best burger I've ever had! By the time we got back to the house we had been gone ~12 hours so our dog was certainly happy to have us back.

Conclusion:
Bunchgrass certainly deserves its reputation as an ass kickin' epic. It’s probably good that it's usually not rideable until later in the season since you'll want to have a good fitness base before attempting to ride it. Furthermore, information on this ride is scarce, especially for the most current conditions, which you'll want to know since there is a high probability of excessive blow-down that could turn an all day epic into an unplanned overnighter; however there are a couple of bailout points that can be used if need be.

All of that said, Bunchgrass is an amazing adventure and one that I would highly recommend to anyone that has affection for backcountry style rides. The scenery along Bunchgrass ridge is simply amazing, whether it's your immediate surroundings of brightly colored foliage and burnt tree stumps, or the iconic Cascade landmarks far off in the distance. Of course this is followed up with an amazing descent down Heckletooth, which is a sweet way to end one of the most (if not the most) rewarding rides in the area!

The tracks from our ride:


A Google Earth view of the ride:

If this ride seems like your cup tea, here are a few more you might enjoy as well:
Grasshopper Mountain Trail
Chucksney Mountain Loop
O'Leary Trail
The Sawtooth Struggle