In January, the OTTA offered a fundraising raffle with the prize being a deluxe bikepacking weekend with guidance from OTTA president and experienced bikepacker, Heather Rose. Mark Leary was our raffle winner. Joined by Ara Greenfield, they all rode from Oakridge to camp at Indigo Springs this past weekend. Read on to hear how it went…

Fremont-Winema Stewardship Event #2, which took place from June 9 to 11, 2023 was a resounding success. With a total of 11 participants, including volunteers, and board members, we dedicated 415 hours to improve trail conditions in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, worth $8,872.20. Not only did we accomplish our planned scope, but we also went above and beyond by logging out 17 trail miles and cutting out approximately 250 trees! We still have some remaining work to complete, but our achievements and the incredible bonds formed during this event made this event something special. We’ll be back in the Fremont for the next and final event of the season, where we’ll return to Crane Mountain.

A dedicated group of volunteers converged at Moss Meadows Horse Camp, eager to contribute to the restoration of the Oregon Timber Trail section ravaged by the devastating 2021 Cougar Peak Fire. Over the next few days, our sawyer crews ventured out to clear the trail, returning with wild tales of their encounters with massive trees and areas strewn with jackstraw blowdown. Our collective efforts aimed to provide riders with an unparalleled experience on the trail. The stats, according to stewardship coordinator Ben McCormack, “Approximately 21 miles of trail were cleared of deadfall, 3 miles of tread restored, and countless ceanothus pulled. I also witnessed my first stewardship event percussion performance led by the OTTA’s Mista Ruddy.” 637 work hours were logged at a value of $14,914.20.

This past weekend saw the first invitational ride event of the season. An eager group of seven of us gathered at noon at the Deschutes River Trail. Oregon Timber Trail board member extraordinaire Chip Andrus was kind enough to conceptualize and host this event. Originally we had planned to ride as a group of fifteen a week earlier, but Chip has smartly rescheduled for two dry weekends and we self-selected our new groups based on which weekend we had free. We rode 11 miles of lovely scenic rail trail. Chip stopped and told us stories of the history of the two competing railroads and how In 1909, two railroad barons, James J. Hill, and E.H. Harriman started building railroads on both sides of the Deschutes River from the mouth of the Columbia. Their crews raced against each other building track, using dynamite to sabotage each other's construction. Today, an active railroad still runs on the west side of the river while on the east side, the land has been transformed into the Railbed Trail.

The Oregon Timber Trail attracts travelers from all over the United States and more than a dozen other countries. Still, we are always striving to elevate awareness and spread the word about it, sometimes to our very own neighbors and friends. The sustainability of the OTT relies on our donors, our grants, and our industry partners. Making sure that each of them feels seen, heard, and appreciated is an ongoing and continuous process. Planning and prepping our ride events and trail work gatherings begins months, sometimes years, in advance of actually arriving at our most treasured locations to get shovels into the dirt and continue tending to the trails we all love. 

OTTA board members work hard behind the scenes to make the Oregon Timber Trail a better and more welcoming place. Chip Andrus joined the board in 2022 and quickly established himself as an essential player in the organization with his route planning skills and new event ideas and a willingness to show up and do the work it takes to maintain the trail. A small group will be meeting for our first “Intro to Bikepacking” event near the Dalles next weekend, thanks to Chip's planning and initiative. Take a minute to read Chip's story. 

Saturday morning, I woke up feeling tense about the Sawyer training I agreed to go to. I had no idea what to expect? Would they be nice to me? Would there be any other women there? I felt scared of the chainsaw. I have never touched one before, but I felt very aware of just how quickly things could go wrong.

I called the OTT Executive Director, Matt Ruddy. 

“I’ll be honest, Matt. I’m a little intimidated. What is it going to be like?”

“No need to feel that way.  TKO wants people to learn how to use chainsaws. Everyone there is a tree hugger. You are going to be fine,” Matt cheerily replied.

“Will there be any ladies there?”

“At my last training, there were three awesome women there. And one of the teachers was a very badass lady who was amazing!”

He advised me to bring long underwear, a buff to wear under the helmet, layers to keep warm, my caffeine of choice and some snacks. The first day would be in the classroom, the second day out in the field.

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.

Thom Batty is a beloved OTTA volunteer, owner operator of the Tall Town Bike Shop in Lakeview. Thom has been a key player for the OTTA for the past five years. If you attended a trail stewardship event in the Fremont National Forest, chances are good that you’ve met Thom. But Thom doesn’t just attend meetings, he organizes and he gets things done. Speaking of doing more, Thom just started the Oregon Outback Trail Stewards to make sure the trails near Lakeview stay cleared for all to enjoy. Learn more about Thom Batty, the man hustling to put Lake County on the map.

We get to know Thom and how his adventurous and unique life has led to this very moment in time.

Those who live in soggier parts of the state know that winter riding is challenging due to rain and still more rain.  Fitness and general well-being gradually go downhill. Exiting winter stuck in these doldrums is a poor run-up to the summer bikepacking season. Fortunately, northern Oregon can serve up some excellent winter riding just east of the Cascade Mountains.  Rainfall in The Dalles is half that of Portland and the sun shines quite a bit in the winter.  Some snow may linger at the higher elevations in mid-winter but it's transitory.  Just pick your days well.

We're excited to kick off phase 2 of our year end fundraising campaign. Help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 by January 15th. We're offering 400 entries at $25 each towards our Grand Prize: a bikepacking weekend in Oakridge with Heather Rose including pre and post-ride lodging at the CogWild AirBnB! Donate today and be entered to win. Also, we take a look back at what we accomplished in 2022. We reflect on the wins, so we can regroup and do even more next year. It’s a year full of fire rehab, logout, and hopefully some fun educational and community events. Read on to learn more…

There is no denying that forest fires are a reality in the American West and across the globe. Inevitably those miles of burned forest will affect the trails we used to recreate. I recently got an email from a friend with some statistics about fires. He mapped out how many miles of the OTT has been burnt since 2017. It's about 131 miles or 20% of the whole route. 38 of those were just this past year in the Cedar Creek Fire. Below is a screen shot from a CalTopo map that shows where fires have occurred since 2017 (year one of the OTT) The blue line is the current alignment of the Oregon Timber Trail. Fires are orange and red. Not to downplay the mileage, but this map doesn’t give us any detail about burn severity, just fire perimeters.