Words and Images from Lev Stryker
Cog Wild Bicycle Tours has been a long-time supporter of the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance, so when Cedar Keyes from Esker Bikes proposed giving away a brand new Hayduke bike and breaking it in on a multi-day bike packing trip on a segment of the OTT to raise money for the OTTA, we quickly got on board.
Cedar and Kirin, Cog Wild’s Co-Owner and (now former) OTTA board member, had a great time thinking over routes. We knew that we wanted to base the trip out of Bend or Oakridge since we’d have a shuttle that would allow a point-to-point ride and medical and technical support throughout the ride if needed.
We got excited about a plan to ride two days on trails in the Old Cascade Crest zone and finish on the McKenzie River Trail to Belknap Hot Springs. But we had to flex and pick a new route because parts of the OCC and the MRT were closed due to the active Lookout Fire. We needed a new route that wouldn’t be too remote or affected by active or prior-year fire closures.
In 2022, the Cedar Creek Fire burned through the Waldo Lake area. About the time we finally acknowledged that we needed a new route, we heard that the USFS had cleared the blowdown on the west side of Waldo Lake. We were eager to check it out and assess the fire damage to this special area. The new route would be Gold Lake, near Willamette Pass, to Bend.
So on September 22, three riders came together for a fun-filled ride through the Cascades. Cedar from Esker Cycles, Mike Laskey the winner of the OTT fundraiser drawing, and me, Lev, a long-time mountain bike guide but a newbie bikepacker.
The crew met at Cog Wild’s headquarters on the west side of Bend to get outfitted with Esker Hayduke bikes fully equipped with bike packing gear. Cedar is an experienced bikepacker, and he helped Mike and I organize our gear onto the bikes. I was excited, I was most familiar with the terrain since I’ve ridden the trails on our route many times over the years so I would be the group’s navigator. But the overnight thing and riding with a loaded bike was new for me.
The three-day, two-night route would take us on many trails that are officially included in the Oregon Timber Trail along with some roads and trails that celebrate the spirit of traveling through Oregon’s forests on singletrack. We added up the numbers; it seemed pretty straightforward: 25-35 miles and 1500ft to 3000 ft of elevation gain per day, for a total of 90ish miles and 6600’ of elevation gain.
Day 1
The trip started at Cog Wild in Bend. We loaded up our geared-up bikes on a shuttle rig and Kirin drove us south on the Cascade Lakes Highway and a little west of Willamette Pass to the start of the ride.
The first trail on our route was Gold Lake trail, a gradual climb up to Waldo. It was a very pleasant start, and we might have been lured into a false sense of confidence as we ate up the initial miles with ease. The wake-up call came when we hit the loop around Waldo.
We knew that there would be significant burned sections from the Cedar Creek Fire the prior year. What we came to find out is how destroyed the trail was and how difficult it was to ride. The ground was very soft and collapsed under our tires. Sometimes I couldn’t find the trail because the ground was so burnt there was no evidence of the tread. Even though the USFS had opened the trail, there were plenty of newly downed burnt trees, so we clambered over countless trees with our heavily loaded bikes. I was expecting to circumnavigate the lake in three hours, but it took us 6 hours to get to North Waldo Campground and out of the burn.
Our goal was to camp at Little Cultus Lake, another ten miles of trail to go. The sun was low but the solid trail bed and faster pace gave us a boost. After a quick snack and refill of water, we went for it. We pulled into Little Cultus Lake in the dark, happy to set up camp, eat a late dinner, and settle into our bags for the night.
Day 2
We discussed the day's route during breakfast and coffee on the shore of Little Cultus. The plan was to ride 33 miles to Todd Lake on a mix of rough forest road, rocky sandy singletrack, and a section of the Cascade Lakes Highway. A small corner of the Three Sisters Wilderness prevented us from an all-off-road route. Lava Lake Store and Resort was halfway through our route, so we set off with the goal of lunch on the dock. After a warm-up around Little Cultus, we settled into a rhythm.
Cedar set the pace in the technical sections, he grew up riding DH and dirt jumps, and his comfort railing the heavily loaded bikes was impressive. Mike is long and lean and went to the front on the long slogs and watt-sapping soft roads. For three dudes who have never ridden together, it was amazing how well we worked as a group. That is always a concern when riding with new folks, but our threesome fell into a rhythm as if we had ridden together for years.
As we clicked off the miles we started to notice a new obstacle; smoke was rolling in from the Pete’s Lake Fire, which was about 5 miles west of us in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. The AQI wasn’t too bad but it sure cast an eerie mood across the landscape.
The Lava Lake store turned out to be a highlight of the trip. Snickers bars, beer, and chips were a great addition to our lunch. After a stretching session on the dock, we were ready for the second half of our day: Lava Lake to Todd Lake via the Metolius Windigo trail.
As anyone who has ridden this section of the Met Win can attest, the trail is sandy, lava rocky, stair steppy, and narrow. Oh, and from Lava to Todd it’s uphill the whole way :) We intentionally mellowed the pace to keep from blowing up, but the constant technical climbing forced us to either hammer or walk.
We chased daylight again and rolled into Todd Lake as the sunset cast a smokey glow across Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters. Our riding clothes were damp and musty from a long day in the saddle, so we quickly changed into dry clothes to stay warm. We cooked a hot dinner and snuggled into our bags for the night.
Day 3
Todd to town, all on quality singletrack. The section of Met-Win from Todd Lake to Happy Valley is arguably the best singletrack in Central Oregon, with the descent into Happy Valley ranked by many as the best around. I was excited to show it to Cedar and Mike.
We woke to the sprinkling rain hurriedly packed our camp and ate breakfast. Speaking of food, with Cedar’s bikepacking expertise he made sure that we had flavorful hot food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With Backpacker freeze-dried meals, some fresh veggies, hot sauce, spices, and a Jet Boil stove, we stayed well-fueled throughout the trip.
The rain continued to fall as we hit the trail, light but enough that we started to get wet. It didn’t dampen our spirits as we hooted and hollered down to Happy Valley. Turns out that those loaded bikes sure can rip once you get used to the weight.
On to the famous Mrazek trail for the finish. Mrazek is a 14-mile sinuous trail that stretches from the Cascade Mountains to Shevlin Park on the outskirts of Bend. The gradual downhill and constant big round corners hypnotize a rider into a zen state of mind. Time and space melt into the background as you carve through the east-slope forest. Mrazek might have the longest “no pedal, no brake” section of trail anywhere.
The rain came harder and harder, but nothing could slow us down now. However, I’m very glad this was day three as we were thoroughly soaked so camping another night would have been difficult. At the bottom of Mrazek, we worked our way south across the City Line to Cog Wild. Kirin greeted us with burritos and beer from Deschutes Brewery. We hung out around the fire for a while with other riders who’d also had an adventurous day and Mike’s son who goes to college in Bend.
Finally, the time came to say goodbye and get back to our regular lives. Carrying all my gear and camping was a unique way to experience trails that I know well in a new way. I’d do it again. The original route from OCC to Belknap is on my shortlist.
Written by Lev Stryker
