Oregon Outback Designated Largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary

Image by Leslie Kehmeier

“As the population of Oregon and the trend of light pollution continue to rise,
the unparalleled scale and quality of the Outback’s dark skies will
long serve as a starry refuge for people and wildlife alike.”
 - Dawn Nilson, environmental consultant and DarkSky Delegate 

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.

It’s estimated that 80% of Americans and nearly 33% of populations worldwide can no longer see the Milky Way in the places they call home. In addition to the visual loss of experiencing the vastness of the night sky it has been shown that light pollution is detrimental to human health, alters the behaviors of nocturnal animals, and confuses migratory birds. That’s why we were excited to learn that the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary (OOIDSS) was officially certified in March 2024 as the world’s largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary comprised of nearly 2.5 million acres of southeastern Oregon.

Learn more about this collaborative effort and their proposed Light Management Plan over at DarkSky International. And don’t forget to mark your calendars to join us out among the stars of Lake County up in the Fremont National Forest for our upcoming spring work parties on May 24 - 26 and again on June 14-16, 2024. Register now and bring your telescope if you've got one!

Oregon Timber Trail: Gravel Edition

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.

We offer this gravel version as a way to invite riders who want to experience the Oregon Timber Trail but may have limited technical skills riding singletrack, may have less endurance, or just want to cruise onward at a quicker pace.  The gravel version could be done on any type of off-pavement bike. The gravel route is 121 miles shorter than the original version of the OTT.  It also includes 25,700 fewer feet of elevation gain.

Take a look at this beta version of the gravel route using RidewithGPS:

The southernmost 210 miles traverses north and west through the Fremont-Winema National Forest, winding along the high ridges from Cave Lake at the California border to the town of Chemult.  The next section is a 164-mile-long meander northward along the east side of the Cascade Mountains.  It goes past numerous high-elevation lakes and ends at the Cascades divide near Santiam Pass.  The next 49 miles is a punchy up and down along the crest of the Old Cascade Mountains with a landing at Breitenbush Hot Springs.  The final 136 miles is northward along high ridges of the Cascade Mountains, culminating with a plunge to the Columbia River at Hood River.  The entire route is 560 miles and includes 45,000 feet of climbing.

We’re looking for a few brave souls who would like to test-ride the beta version of the OTT gravel route this summer and then get back to us on improvements.  We would particularly like to know of any rustic dirt and gravel roads you find to replace the sections of pavement riding. 

Drop a note to Chip Andrus at chip.andrus@oregontimbertrail.org if you have any interest.

Camaraderie > Competition

Photo: Gabriel Amadeus, Day 1 on the Fremont Tier

It may still be winter but if you’re anything like us you’re already dreaming up what bike shenanigans you’ll be getting into this summer. Well, save the date because we’re happy to announce that The 2024 Oregon Timber Trail Race and Tour will meet up for a group depart on Saturday, July 13th at Cave Lake in the Modoc National Forest. Learn more about this year’s event and start planning now. In the interim, we invite you to take a peek into the memory palace of Timber Trail alumni and board member Everett Ó Cillín as they reminisce on their experience setting out on the trail for the first group depart.

~ Cue the flashback sound effect ~

In March of 2021, I heard rumor that the Oregon Timber Trail would be hosting its first grand depart that July. I immediately started planning. Although I’d been touring by bike for nearly two decades at that point I was still only confidently mediocre when it came to technical mountain biking. I started training and with the help of some sweet friends was able to build out a full hardtail touring setup with hand me down parts and donated components. Most of my bags were already rackless and seamlessly transitioned to the new setup. Serendipity. If you’re curious about my setup for the 2021 Timber Trail you can check it out alongside all the other rigs from that year over on bikepacking.com.

Photo: Jay Melena

After an incredible experience at the group depart for the Baja Divide in 2017 I was excited for another opportunity to play leapfrog out in the woods with a few dozen new friends. It didn’t even occur to me that I was signing up for a race until I went to register. I had no intention of competing for time, it’s just not my thing. I’ve always been more a fan of camaraderie and collaboration over competition, but I also know the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I filled out the form, entered into the non-binary category, and began feverishly researching the route. 

Several months later I was petting cute dogs and eating barbeque with my fellow riders at a county park in Lakeview.  The race organizers had gotten the community together for a lil’ meet and greet the night before the start. We got to chat up all sorts of folks who were in some way or another connected to the Timber Trail as they shared stories about their own experiences along the route, from stewards who worked hard to maintain the trail to regional bike shop owners who wanted to get to know some of the faces they would be seeing over the next few days and weeks. The next morning we piled ourselves and our gear into a series of cargo vans and headed south to the start point at Cave Lake. 

One by one we unloaded our bikes and made our way out to a little island-like thumb that jutted out into the lake where we mingled, got our portraits taken, and fussed about with our gear. As the last of us rolled in Gabe gave a tender heartfelt welcome to the group reading from a library copy of Home Ground. Pardon me for quoting my own Instagram post like a cringy elder millennial, but I remember the message being something like, “A trail is an intergenerational multi-species conversation. A community. A network of space and time connecting people, places, and ideas across a landscape. A chance to deeply engage with each other and the more than human world.” There was a lot of head nodding among the group as we listened and I felt a genuine sense of connection and community in that moment. That feeling stuck with me for the remainder of the ride and the sentiment continues to inform the way I travel to this day.

Photo: Conan Thai, Dinnertime Tarot

It was such a joy getting to meet everyone before setting off, it set the tone for the trip as a whole. Due to varying unforeseen circumstances (record high temperatures, wildfires, etc) a lot of us “scratched” from the race within the first several days but continued to ride. A celebratory act for some and bittersweet for others. I began to notice a sense of collective ease as riders found their own pace. I was lucky enough to fall in with a really solid group who managed to camp together most nights without even planning it. We rode when we wanted to, and stopped when we didn’t. Pushed ourselves when we felt a boost. We snacked and swam. Read each other’s tarot. It was a delight. 

I love riding with people, but I also need a lot of alone time. That's one of the reasons I love bike tour, it’s something we can do alone together. I spent most of the tour riding with Max Morales, Geo McGuts, and Conan Thai - each of whom wrote beautifully of their time on the trail so I won’t go into a full recap here. In fact, I got so sidetracked looking for those links that I no longer have the attention to finish this write-up. I think I’ll start planning my summer Hood Tier tour instead. Hope to see you on the trail this summer!

Photo: Conan Thai, Lunch Break Swims

Trails Day at the Oregon State Capitol

Our friends at the Oregon Trails Coalition have organized their first-ever Trails Day event at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem this Monday, February 12th. The day-long event will gather stakeholders from around the state to join in community with one another and prepare for a chance to connect with legislators and staff to share the love of trails and strategize how we can collectively maintain current trails and plan for future access.

As part of the Oregon Trail Coalition’s Signature Trails Program, the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance will be sending folks to participate alongside fellow stakeholders to support their Trails Day Platform:

• Oregonians love trails. 74% of Oregonians use local trails and are happier, healthier, and more connected to their communities because of it!

• Oregonians want to keep our trails open! Protect Oregon Recreation with a legislative fix to recreational immunity in the 2024 session.

• Oregon is home to iconic landscapes and deserves world-class trails! The Oregon Signature Trails Inventory shares a vision for how bold investments in trails can create bold returns for Oregonians and Oregon communities. Let’s chart a path forward for investing in our trails!

For more information on Trails Day at the Capitol or to register to join visit the Oregon Trails Coalition’s website.

UPDATE 2/15

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee held a work session on SB 1576 and unanimously voted to adopt what is now the -10 amendment intended to provide a temporary fix to recreational immunity. It retains all the language that City County Insurance Services has said, if passed, will lead to the recision of their guidance to close trails. While the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to adopt the amendment, the bill has not yet passed out of committee. For more information visit Oregon Trails Coalition.

Snapshot 2024

Bunchgrass Ridge, 2021

2024 got off to an icy start but the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is warming things up with a sunny snapshot of some of the exciting initiatives and events we have planned for the year ahead. 

Save the Date

Join us on Fremont Tier in southern Oregon this spring where we will be hosting two stewardship events with trail work parties on May 24-26th and June 14-16th. Stewardship events are a great way to get outside, learn more about the trail, and meet other volunteers. Join your fellow trail enthusiasts in May to clean up the infamous fallen tree section along the southernmost 40 miles of the route. Sawyers rejoice, we’ve got a lot of lumber clear. Then join us again in June when we return to the Freemont to continue what we started. 

So join us this spring to explore the most isolated and striking section of the Oregon Timber Trail. Make a new friend, enjoy delicious camp dinners and beer on us, and learn all the dirty details of how trails are made and maintained. These events are open to volunteers of all experience levels, especially those certified to operate chainsaws. Keep an eye out for more information on other upcoming events and workshops announced later this year.

FarOut

Imagine having a reliable navigation app for your phone that also shows real-time information on route conditions. The FarOut app does just that and will soon be available for hiking or biking the Oregon Timber Trail. The FarOut library has a collection of over 200 hiking, mountain biking, and water trails worldwide. The Oregon Timber Trail will be available on the FarOut App by the end of February for a one-time fee of $25.

TrailBlazing

Our signage initiative is gaining ground, enhancing your trail experience with reliable point-to-point navigation markers. These markers will support trail users by providing reliable on-trail navigation, adding peace of mind for those who don’t want to spend their time staring at a cycling computer. Starting in early summer we'll be looking for volunteers to help install these markers, especially along the most rustic 200 miles of the trail. 

Continued Route Improvements

Like all of us, trails change with every passing year. That is why we’re committed to continually improving the accuracy of our GPX tracks for a smoother trail experience. Throughout 2024 we will continue to refine alternate routes around hazardous or unridable sections of the trail as well as provide more options for shorter loop rides along the main route. As we continue to make these updates we will also be updating our website for easier access to all current and updated GPX tracks, ensuring you have all the information you need to plan your next adventure along the Oregon Timber Trail.

There is so much in store for 2024 and we can’t wait to see you on the trail!