The Southern portion of the Oregon Timber Trail is one of the most remote sections on route. Tracing through Lake County Oregon it is part of the largest contiguous dark sky zone in the lower 48 United States. According to recent census numbers Lake County, Oregon is home to a population of around 8,000 people. That’s roughly 1 person per square mile. Compared to the city of Portland’s ratio of nearly 4,500ppl per square mile - thats a lot of open space and dark skies. And I don’t know about you, but gazing up at the stars after a long day clearing or riding trails might be one of the most satisfying experiences this little human critter has ever known.
A rider of the Oregon Timber Trail will spend well over half of their time on singletrack trails. Some of that singletrack is technical, isolated, and comfortable only on a bike with some give or suspension. Riding the trail portions of the OTT takes some grit and a level of comfort riding single track for hours a day. For those with a similar sense of adventure but who want to avoid trails, we've mapped a gravel version of the OTT, albeit it’s only a beta version. It roughly parallels the original OTT but sticks mostly to dirt and gravel roads that have little vehicle traffic. Short stretches of easy trail and pavement tie it all together. The scenery is just as striking but the chance for misadventure is less.
Brandon Camarda got his start with endurance cycling simply by doing. He was moving from Atlanta to Seattle and just preferred arriving under his own power. He just decided to ride. Speaking to Brandon recently, the subject of bikepacking came up and he mentioned casually that he had done the Silk Road Mountain Race, not once, but twice. For bikepackers this is an epic…a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I slowly realized the 2022 route was 1900 km long, which is 1180 miles, with 88,000 feet of climbing! But this isn't a tale of bike bravado, Brandon has a wonderful and humble approach. We spoke to Brandon recently to hear the highs and lows of his Silk Road Mountain Race and how that influenced Rapha’s upcoming Yomp Rally event.
Missy Simula joined us for the Watson Fire #1 Rehab trail work party and then went on to spend 28 days riding the Oregon Timber Trail. When her ride partner canceled, she decided to forge on ahead solo. We’re inspired by Missy’s grit and creativity in coming up with ways to get it done. It’s also fun to keep in touch with volunteers and see what great things they go on to accomplish.
Inspired by our Brian Anthony ride report, last week we teamed up with the USFS to log out the Lower Fifteemile section. Brian altered us to the fact that this section had 25 trees down, so to improve the lives of everyone planning to ride our Mt. Hood Gorge Loop, Stiletsi and the White Crane loop this fall, we set off with crosscut saws, Silky Katanaboys, loppers in hand and took a day to clear the trail.
Brian Anthony, Owner/operator of Portland-based clothing company ANTHM Collective just finished Stiletsi and The White Crane (An OTTA Hood Tier Gorge Loop) in 16 hours and 45 minutes. That’s 145 miles with over 15k of climbing in less than 24 hours. We sat down with Brian for a quick interview and ride recap and to find out what makes him tick.
Welcome to the first in a series of sponsor spotlights. Fox Factory created Trail Trust to provide grants to organizations helping to preserve the places we love to play. The goal is to bring together diverse communities to build, maintain, and expand access to trails. OTTA met with Jackie Martin to learn about how Trail Trust was created, the program’s priorities, and the progress made during the first year.
This past Friday through Sunday, the Oregon Timber Trail Association (OTTA) hosted a Willamette Tier stewardship event in partnership with Salem Area Trail Alliance (SATA), Willamette National Forest and Cascade Volunteers. On a rugged section of the Old Cascade Crest trails along the spine of the Oregon Cascades, a group of 29 people and three dogs completed miles of benching and brushing, totaling over 400 hours and valued at $12,000! The terrain is steep and raw, through majestic old growth and high mountain lakes. These grades present their own challenge to keeping a trail open and enjoyable. Constant slough from the hillside above, growth from rhododendron and other vegetation on the sides, and erosion on the downward slope all conspire to narrow the trail significantly over the years. With steep exposure, maintaining a wide and well-graded trail is critical.
This past weekend, July 1st - 4th, the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance got back down to the Fremont National Forest to work with a group of volunteers to log 480 volunteer hours valued at $12,480. We worked primarily in the Bear Creek section, finishing a reroute that had been planned since last year. It was incredible to see the continuation of work that was begun at the first stewardship event in May. Also notable was the amount of trail that got cleaned, widened, and rebenched. The transformation that occurred in one afternoon of work was mind-blowing. As Michael Norris stated - “ I've been riding these trails for the past seven years and so much work has been done, and we can finally see the vision taking shape. This trail can be world-class!”
Be careful, Oakridge, Oregon will change your life. This small town loves bikepackers (and all cyclists)! In the summer of 2017 I came here on vacation to check out the famous mountain biking, starting with Alpine Trail, one of the most well-known trails in the area. I camped next to a waterfall at Salmon Creek Campground, drank local craft beer at the pub, shot a game of pool with a stranger, and fell in love with the place. I came back a second time that summer to show a friend around, and then a THIRD time that same summer as a bikepacker when I did a thru ride of the Oregon Timber Trail! Fast forward five years and on a whim, I applied for a summer job at The Oakridge Bike Shop and Willamette Mountain Mercantile and that is how I found myself living in this dreamy little town last summer.
This past weekend, June 10th - 12th, the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance had a chance to get back down to Paisley to work with a small but mighty group of volunteers. The Avery Pass section of the Timber Trail was and still is in need of tread work and rehabilitation from the damage caused by the Brattain Fire of 2020.
Around Mile 205.5 on the OTT, you ride onto Hwy 97 about half mile south of Chemult, OR. Chemult is the first town you pass through from the southern terminus without going off route. Chemult is a small town, but it has most services that a bikepacker could want, including hot food, showers, laundry, motels, a campground, and even an Amtrak station! Chemult was established in 1924 as a station on the Southern Pacific Cascade Line named “Knott” during construction. The station’s name was changed to Chemult when the line opened in 1926 and a post office was established the same year. The name Chemult comes from a Klamath chief who was one of the 26 who signed the Klamath Lake Treaty of October 14, 1864. Present day population is 300 and the town sits at an elevation of 4,764 feet.
Sure, it’s still winter and there is still plenty of snow on the higher elevations, but spring is just around the corner. It’s a perfect time to start dreaming and scheming about rides big and small. While the Oregon Timber Trail is an ambitious 670-mile trail, many of us also like bite-sized weekend rides and base camping. One day rides? Yeah, we do those too. So, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best rides that hit the OTT, or are what I’m calling “OTT adjacent” - in the same zone, but are fun trails that we use for bike practice, fully loaded or otherwise. We created this handy guide that’s full of routes and loaded with trip ideas. Click through to see the guide!
The genius of the Oregon Timber Trail is that it takes you to towns like Silver Lake. My introduction to Silver Lake came in 2015 when riding the Oregon Outback Grand Depart. We left a rainy and misty Klamath Falls bright and early and by dinnertime, we were rolling into the Cowboy Dinner Tree for our late dinner. We were exhausted but instantly charmed by the rustic vibe and the fact that this unique restaurant seemed to exist in the middle of nowhere and somewhere out of time. The fact that we arrived under our own power through the woods made it the unique experience that it was.
I first met Dustin “Dusty” Eroh at Revelate HQ when my partner and I made our first ever trip to Anchorage to ride the Kenai Peninsula. Dusty was Revelate’s first full-time employee who has gone on to design and produce many of the bags we’ve come to know and love. In 2017, Dusty and his buddy, “Thrasher” were early OTT pioneers, riding the whole route in 10 days and 8 hours. We sat down recently as Dusty was driving from the Bay Area to Alaska to reminisce about his OTT through ride, learn more about his work with Revelate and hear how life has changed since.
“Did you know? Summer Lake was once a lush lake & wetland, during the Pleistocene epoch, and formed the great lake Chewaucan. The old lake was aprox. 461 sq miles, with depths up to 375 feet deep. It hosted a wide variety of life, with some of the earliest evidence of human life on this continent. The current Summer Lake is a mere 15 miles long, 5 miles wide, and has an average depth of 1 foot. The lake is now too alkaline to host any life, but is a popular bird migratory stop each year.” This little gem of a history lesson was courtesy of the glowing light board in the Paisley Saloon. We had just finished the Bear Creek Loop…well truthfully we rode it as a shuttle, but it’s available as a loop. The Saloon has a deep history itself, being one of the oldest pubs in Oregon. It started serving drinks in 1883! For OTT riders, as you approach the Chewacan river and you feel like you need a break or a solid meal, detour to Paisley and see what’s happening on that day. We asked our local guide, Michael to share a few local secrets.
I first met Ben at Cultus Lake resort in 2017. He was riding the Timber Trail with Miles Arbor. Fast forward to 2022, and I just happened to have Ben on my thank you call list for donors. Ben also started the “Odyssey of the VOG” 350 mile endurance gravel race on the Oregon coast.
He’s an upbeat and friendly guy, so we had a nice phone chat and we decided to do a little interview. Ben led the Grand Depart this year before having to call it in Sisters due to fire closures. He’s a strong endurance athlete and content creator and he’s stuck with bikepacking over the years, so we asked him about his approach, preparation and his mental outlook. There are a ton of links, ride stories and packing lists here, so grab your morning coffee and dig in
Lakeview’s elevation is 4802 feet, which is why it’s known as the Tallest Town in Oregon, aka “Tall Town” If you’ve ridden the Timber Trail from the start, you’ll know that cattle ranching and hay production are key elements of the local economy. We asked Thom Batty, OTTA board member and owner of Tall Town Bike and Camp for the best spots to resupply. He also gave us a new bikeable route from Klamath Falls, which means you can take the Amtrak train to K-falls and pedal the 149 miles to the start of the trail. Tom has also offered to shuttle folks to the start and he says you can park in front of his house. That’s what I call small-town hospitality!
Max Morales is a Bay Area teacher, long-distance cyclist, and one of our BIPOC scholarship recipients. We talked about what it means to be a teacher, a role model, and how to adapt when conditions throw you a curveball. We wanted to get to know Max and hear about what motivates him in his life, so we did an interview. We also asked Max to pick his favorite ten images that told the story. Max reminds us about the meaning of community on trail and how to show up.
July 2021 brought both the first-ever Oregon Timber Trail Grand Depart and the (now infamous) Bootleg fire. Riders converged on Lakeview, OR where anxious riders met each other, the mayor barbequed. The ride is now history. What can you say about summer bikepacking in the American West? Be prepared to improvise, change plans, and bring an N95. Despite all of this, one rider (and photographer, Conan Thai returned with a stunning set of images that captured the essence of this race-not-a-race. We wanted to get to know Conan a bit better and hear a bit more about his process. Anyone that wants to capture their own adventures will appreciate what Conan accomplished during this Grand Depart.
When I joined the OTTA board, I had a very romantic view of what supporting the development of this state-wide trail meant. I thought it came with muddy moments on the trail, flagging a future trail, and making new friends with a similar vision. There are plenty of those moments, to be sure, fortified around a campfire but there are also 2-hour Zoom meetings once per month and additional committee Zoom meetings that are far from touching a trail but are important nonetheless. Sometimes it doesn't feel impactful, it feels like a second job. There are heated moments that reveal opportunities for personal and organizational growth and truly joyful moments that can't be met with an in-person hug. All part of living in the time of pandemic and all part of working closely with people across the state.
I first came to the PNW 1977 hitchhiking from Massachusetts as a college student with a copy of “On the Road” in my backpack. On this trip, I decided Oregon was where I wanted to live when I grew up and left the East Coast. In 1979, after graduating from Mount Holyoke College, my boyfriend and I hiked for ten weeks on the Pacific Crest Trail. We took it slow, immersed in the natural beauty of the Cascades, starting in Canada and petering out in the cold rain at Mt. Hood. I made Oregon my home, and the Cascades my playground.
Kurt Refsnider is one of the most experienced and fastest bikepack racers and in many ways has shaped the pointy end of the sport. But we’re not just fans because he’s fast, we’re also interested because he co-founded Bikepacking Roots with Kait Boyle in 2017 and works as a climate and land activist. He was a former geology professor at Prescott College. He started a geology curriculum incorporating bikepacking trips! Now that’s a class we’d like to take!
The trails we ride are built and maintained by real people, not trail fairies. When we join trail work parties, such as the Oregon Timber Trails Stewardship events, it deepens our connection to place and to the community of riders who use the trails. As the child of parents who run a mountain bike tour and shuttle company, my daughter has been taken along on trail work parties since she was little. Sometimes she enjoys the work more than other times, but over the years we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
If anyone can put you at ease as a passenger in a rattling camper van descending overgrown 4x4 roads, it’s Paul Thomasberg. A natural storyteller with a surfer’s drawl, he delivered a highlight reel of his decades-long mountain biking career as he navigated around potholes, through mud, and across gravel washboards.
“One of my strengths as a racer was riding blind lines,” he said. “I was always good at that.”
Here, on rough roads in a remote corner of the Fremont-Winema National Forest, his well-honed reaction times were proving useful in getting us to the trailhead in one piece, as well.
Thomasberg—mountain bike Hall of Famer, former pro racer, and prolific trail builder—wasn’t the last person I expected to meet when I signed on for a weekend of volunteer trail work, but he was definitely closer to last than first on the list. Volunteerism doesn’t usually mean meeting industry pros and world-class athletes. But I was quickly learning that trail work on the Oregon Timber Trail comes with its own set of rules.
For fans of Dustin Klein’s EBD YouTube page, where Ron and Dustin took on the Oregon Timber Trail's newest published route “Stiletsi & the White Crane,” a Mt. Hood tier loop . In Dustin’s videos, there’s always a snack break. Anyone that spends hours on the bike the way gravel riders and bikepackers do know the importance of good homemade ride food, which is perhaps why Dustin’s snack breaks resonate with us. So when at 2:22 Ron breaks out his homemade Garbanzo Power Cookies, our interest was piqued. Garbanzo cookies? Can those be good?
Tie the mighty Columbia River to Mt. Hood through Wasco County’s hill country and the verdant Hood River Valley along ribbons of backcountry singletrack. The mountain, the forest, the prairie, and the river all converge here, creating a varied splendor of geology, flora, fauna, and many layers of human history.
Earlier this month Oregon Timber Trail volunteers convened on the site of the 2018 Watson Fire in the Fremont Tier to kickoff a multi-year rehabilitation effort. One local—Michael Norris of Paisley—recounts his experience at his first OTTA event.
Pedal your way through massive old growth, past bubbling blue pools, around alpine lakes, and along a indigenous explorer’s route on the Oregon Timber Trail. The Anaxshat Passage embodies the trails and backcountry landscapes of the Hood Tier, all easily accessible over a long weekend from the Portland metro area and geared towards a less-experienced mountain biker.
I’m exhausted. After a week of grieving for black lives needlessly being extinguished I have a headache, clenched jaw, and no words left. After a week. Yet black people in this country have endured this exhaustion and much, much worse for four hundred years. So we're asking you: What can we do to make sure black lives matter?
Each year we ask the people out riding the Oregon Timber Trail questions about their experiences and themselves. This data is not only interesting to look at, it’s also great to see the parts of the experience that people highly value and also exposes what we need to improve along the trail. By and large you all have had an excellent experience: 98% said they’d recommend the OTT to others!
Support the OTTA
Make a tax deductible donation now to support our mission of stewardship, education, community, and quality trail experiences throughout the Oregon Timber Trail corridor.
What is the Oregon Timber Trail?
The Oregon Timber Trail is 670 miles of beautiful backcountry trails and roads through the state from the California border to the Washington border.
It’s an epic long-distance mountain bike route that will light up your senses. It runs south to north and includes a progression of landscapes, communities, ecosystems, terrain, and, most importantly—mountain bike trails.