On June 28, 2025, Joe Miller set out from Lakeview, Oregon, for an 11-day backcountry bicycle tour on the Adventure Route of the Oregon Timber Trail (OTT). 553 miles and 42,400 feet of climbing later, he rode into Hood River, Oregon—battered and beaten, but ecstatic about his experience.

For those of you interested in taking on this epic trail, we’ll be sharing Joe’s story over the coming weeks, which includes his reflections along the way as well as several tips.

Joe Miller is a Board Member of the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance (OTTA), as well as an outdoor advocate and volunteer who has spent the past 30 years exploring the Pacific Northwest backcountry by foot, ski, raft, and bike.

Day 5: Chemult to N. Davis Lk CG

Link to Ride With GPS for this section: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/303513652

Ride Report

Leaving the comfort of Chemult was not easy and after a tasty breakfast at Jens' coffee house, we repacked our gear and got ready for the day’s ride. By this point, Hanna’s hand condition had deteriorated such that her right hand was now more like a hook, earning her the trail name “Captain Hook.”

It was funny at the time. I hope there’s no lasting damage. We adjusted her handlebars and that seemed to help. If she were operating at a disadvantage, you’d never know it by watching her ride. She rode smoothly and seamlessly the whole day.

We didn't need to stop, but this beautiful creek was just too enticing to pass up.

We hit the road at the crack of 10:30 and after turning off Highway 97, the road (again classified as an “alley” on our Garmin’s) was the same ice cream texture and quality as the previous day’s ride into town. We soon entered another OHV area that was just as fun and fast as the one we passed through the day prior.

Hanna gearing up to bomb down some Ice Cream gravel

Some short, fun climbs are followed by sweeping descents on smooth double track, which continue almost to Crescent Lake. Then, it’s an exciting and fast downhill ride along the east side of the lake. We took a break at the Crescent Lake Resort, just a short detour off the route, and the lake was inviting for a swim (it was very windy and a bit chilly, so we stayed dry).

The store here was very basic and not a good resupply option. We took a short break then decided to eat lunch at the Odell Lake resort, about 4 miles down the road.

The store at Odell Lake Resort had about the same supplies as Crescent Lake; however, it also had a fully functional restaurant.

Helmetless Hanna. It was hard to leave this spot, especailly after 3 beers and 2 hours of lazyness

We ate, drank, sat around, and watched people and overly zealous ground squirrels.

We were both oblivious to the remaining 15 miles to our next camp at North Davis Lake Campground. At 5:30, we finally dragged ourselves off the couch and back onto our bikes for the rolling but predominantly downhill ride on good gravel to N. Davis Lake Campground.

You'll enjoy good roads after leaving Odell Lake

Shortly after leaving Odell Lake, The Kiwi made a break for it and jumped off Hanna’s bike, and we rode for about a quarter mile before noticing its absence. We turned around and, fortunately, it didn’t get very far before Hanna found it. Crisis averted.

North Davis Lake campground felt abandoned, none of the spots were cleared, there are no pit toilets, but it was good enough for our purposes. There are nicer campgrounds a bit further down the road.

This was the last day Hanna and I would be riding together; she’s taking a few days off in Bend, and I was continuing to Sisters. She’s been a fantastic riding partner, very upbeat and endlessly cheerful, funny, engaging, cool under pressure and a good rider. I was bummed to continue without her.

Basic Necessities

Water:

Water was not hard to find in this section.

Camping options:

Odell Lake is a good spot to camp, if you can get a spot, and further past the North Davis Lake Campground is the Crane Prairie Resort and Campground, which is a better campground and has services as well.

North Davis Lake Campground, where we stayed, was unmaintained at the time we came through, but it did us just fine for the night.

If you are up for a longer day, there are nicer campgrounds further along the route, including Crane Prairie resort, Lava Lake, Elk Lake and at the many lakes along the Cascade Lakes Highway. These lakes would be a good spot for a rest day before heading up and over the pass to Sisters. Lots of food, camping and swimming options.

Resupply options:

There are no substantial resupplies, Crescent Lake has the barest of sundries; Odell Lake has a resort restaurant and a small shop with sundries but no food to resupply your ride. However, they do have beer.

Route:

This day’s riding was really enjoyable and the OHV section fun and fast. I’m guessing that later in the summer it will get much sandier and you’ll be sharing these trails with lots of folks if you hit it on the weekend. For us it was almost a lazy day of riding with no really challenging sections.

Day 6 N. Davis LAkE CAMPGROUND to Sisters

Day 5 Ride Stats
Total Mileage	49
Elevation Gain/Loss	+2,780 / -3,161
Max Grade	10%
Total Duration	9:21
Moving Time	5:37
Stopped Time	3:44
Total Mileage	256.5
Total Elevation Gain/Loss	+16,050 / -16,182

Day 6 Ride Stats
Total Mileage	76.4
Elevation Gain/Loss	+4,630 / -5,630
Max Grade	15.3%
Total Duration	11:35
Moving Time	8:52
Stopped Time	2:43
Total Mileage	332.9
Total Elevation Gain/Loss	+20,680 / -21,812

Link to Ride With GPS for this section: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/303666694

Ride Report

With a long day ahead, I got up early, ate breakfast, packed up my stuff, hugged Hanna goodbye for now, and off I went.

North Davis Lake Campground, Nothing special, but good enough for us.

Today was going to be a long day at over 70 miles, as I was meeting my brother-in-law, Hoyt, and his partner, Indigo, at their house in Sisters.

The day started pleasantly, with flat paved and gravel roads, then slowly began to climb to the Cascade Lakes Highway. The gravel sections were fun and easy, and there is a fun technical rolling section on rice and beans.

Some fun and technical descents to enjoy before hitting the doldrums of the Cascade Lakes Highway

After a few miles I ended up on the highway, and fortunately the route turns off towards Hosmer and Elk Lakes, and you get to enjoy a low-traffic climb. There are good campgrounds in this area if you're looking for a place to stop. After about 4 miles, the route rejoins the Cascade Lakes Hwy for an 8-mile, hot and slow climb with consistent, but not heavy traffic up to the turnoff at Todd Lake, where the route turns back to dirt and heads upwards to the east of Broken Top and Tam McArthur Rim before dropping back down to Sisters. Todd Lake is a day-use area, not ideal for camping, but it could be done in a pinch. There is an accessible creek nearby for water. I topped off my water, ate lunch, and headed up past the gate on rutted-out jeep roads.

This road continues to climb for another 4 miles, although I hit snow about 2 miles in and pushed and carried my bike for 3 to 4 miles over snowy roads flooded with snowmelt and overrun with mosquitoes.

Should've brought a fat bike for this section

Pushing sucks, but this was still pretty fun

It’s a beautiful area, but the road is very rough and requires constant focus. About 55 miles into the day, the snow finally clears and the road descends at a consistent grade. These roads are fun to ride, still rough and a bit slow, but all gravity-driven, which was welcome. It's about 15 miles from the Todd Lake gate before you hit pavement again on Road 16, which leads to Sisters. Pretty quickly, I turned off Road 16 and back onto a smooth and fast 8-mile descent on granola gravel before meeting back up with Road 16 for another mile on pavement before connecting with the Peterson Ridge Trail System.

The Peterson Ridge Trail System is just outside of Sisters and is maintained by the Sisters Trail Alliance. The trails at the top of this area are fun and technical, but by this point, I had almost 70 miles and 4,600 feet of climbing in my legs and all I wanted was to be off the bike. While the trails are not designed with rigid, fully loaded gravel bikes in mind, they are still downhill and rideable, though frustratingly slow and technical for being so close to finishing for the day. Lower down, the trails become a lot flatter and more buff, with few technical obstacles and fun riding. I finally hit pavement again after spending over an hour and a half negotiating the trail system, and by the time I rolled into Hoyt and Indigo’s, I was exhausted and ready for the day to be done.

The Fargo getting some tender loving care

Basic Necessities

Water:

There are plenty of spots to refill water but make sure to top off your bottles at the Todd Lake Day Use area where you will turn off to head up and over to Sisters. The creek here flows swiftly and the higher you get the less water you’ll find until you get over to Road 16 (AKA Three Creeks Road).

Camping options:

If you’re looking for a campground or to have a swim, take a left when you hit Road 16 and ride to Three Creeks Lake. There are first-come, first-served sites and the lake is great for swimming and hanging out on the nice beach under Tam McArthur Rim.

You can get a hotel in Sisters or camp in the City Park. There are several dispersed camping sites between Three Creeks Lake and Sisters. After Sisters, there are not too many options until you hit the Metolius River near Camp Sherman.

Resupply options:

This is the first big resupply point on the route and you’ll find whatever you need, including a bike shop, outdoor store, hardware store, brewpub, etc.

Route:

This was a long day at 76 miles. The paved climb up Cascade Lakes Highway leaves you exposed to the sun and traffic, and fortunately the route cuts off as much of this highway as possible by routing you around the lakes east of the highway.

I hit snow shortly after Todd Lake and pushed/carried my bike for several miles over the snow. This was a deep snow year, but I imagine you’ll hit snow if you try this pass in June no matter what.

There are lots of mosquitoes coming over from Todd Lake pretty much until August. I kept moving so it wasn’t too much of a problem, but camping in this area would be pretty uncomfortable.

This area is overrun by OHVs on the weekend. People share the road generously but it’ll be loud and dusty when it gets busy.

I should have taken a full rest day in Sisters. My bike was pretty beat up, and although I did some basic work on it, I should have taken it into the shop for a thorough inspection and tune that I did not feel like doing myself. The riding up to this point took a toll on my body, which I didn’t feel at the time but certainly could have used the break.

Next installment in the Series: Day 7+ coming soon.