The Sister’s Rodeo wasn’t the only thing happening the first weekend of June. As a crowd gathered along the streets of downtown Sisters for the kick-off parade, our group was busy fussing about in the parking lot of Blazin Saddles getting all geared up for our weekend overnighter out to First Creek hosted by the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance and our friends at Bikepacking Roots.

The night before we had met at the shop for an intro to bikepacking workshop. In this bikepack-curious, beginner-friendly workshop we shared a little background on the Oregon Timber Trail and went over the basics of how to prepare for upcoming bikepacking adventures. We covered the fundamentals of bikepacking including navigation, planning & logistics, packing, snacks & meal planning, followed by a community discussion to answer any lingering bikepacking questions.

After some last-minute strap checks, bathroom runs, and water bottle fills our group finally assembled to go over introductions and talk about the weekend’s route. We’d be riding about 20 miles mostly on singletrack and fire roads around Black Butte toward the Metolius River with a little stop-off at Camp Sherman for popsicles and ant last minute resupply. We headed out on an amended route to avoid the parade which was about to begin, many of us joking about maybe joining in next year to add a kooky bikepacking contingent to the festivities. It was hot and dry but overall pleasant as we headed out of town on a ribbon of singletrack that picked up just off the main road. Thanks to the Sisters Trails Alliance the route was clear, well marked, and even included informational signage about the prescribed burn areas we passed through.

We made it to camp early, a nice shady spot near a fast-running creek that provided us with cool clear water for drinking and washing up after riding through clouds of fine dirt all morning. But after dipping a toe we decided to go all in and set out to find a good swimming spot nearby. After a few bushwack-y attempts to locate the nearest beach, we jumped into cold Metolius to cool off. We later made our way back to camp where we sat in the dirt, making dinner and sharing stories until dusk settled in. The next morning we fired up our camp stoves and lingered over coffee while we talked about the day ahead then packed up our things, forded the creek, and made our way toward Suttle Lake. The day’s ride was smooth and sunny as we wound our way through the Deschutes back toward town. We couldn’t have asked for a better group, they came prepped and asked great questions. We all more or less kept pace with one another, playing hopscotch and chit-chatting the whole way.

Later that afternoon we arrived back in Sisters to the news that over the weekend a 3-year-old bull named Party Bus had jumped the fence and went careening through the concessions area. Glad we missed that Party Bus.