This is my trip report for a bikepacking trip I did July 1-8, 2023 in Eastern Oregon/Western Idaho with my buddy Mike. I have started and stopped writing this trip report so many times because of what a beast it was. I put a pause on trying to write this trip report (or to be more honest, I had given up). Then I decided to write a small trip report <https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/abOYxHywP-Q> to Death Valley I did this past February. All the good feedback gave me the motivation to finish this trip report, which Mike and I call “Ordaho, Desert Shenanigans Loop”.
---- The route: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VjdmMMg1Mk9dEkdx7 (route was based on this summary page <https://bikeportland.org/2015/02/04/cycle-oregon-week-ride-headed-hells-canyon-133857> from Cycle Oregon). *Stats* Total mileage = 15 (Leslie Gulch) + 419 (Ordaho) = 434 miles Total Elevation Gain = 2,400 + 24,700 feet = 27,100 feet *Bikes* · 2022 Rivendell Platypus. 50cm, friction shifters, Brooks B-17 saddle, V-brakes, 650Bx43 GravelKing SK knobby Tires, Nitto Choco handlebar, 38x24 crank, and a 9-speed cassette. · Salsa Cutthroat (stock parts except tubeless 2.1 inch tires) *Day 0 – The Intro (July 1)* I drove from SF and met Mike in Reno, NV. We carpooled together and started the adventure with a side trip to Lake Owyhee in Leslie’s Gulch. We biked about 15 miles this day to make sure our bicycles were tuned up. Aside from learning I packed 2 left-handed bike gloves (lol), everything was pretty good. The road is entirely gravel and is all downhill to the lake. The ride started out as open planes but turned into gorgeously steep canyons. It would be fun to go back one day to do some rock climbing, perhaps a future trip! We dipped our toes into the lake and biked up a little ways before calling it a night. Miles – 15 Elevation – 1200 ft *Day 1 (July 2)* We woke up early from camp and biked the remaining 10 miles to the car. We packed our bicycles and drove to Baker City (about 2 hours away). We were back on our saddles by 12pm and were attempting to do 62 miles this day (not counting the 10 miles we had done back in Leslie’s Gulch). The temps were in the 90’s and we both had a water carrying capacity of 4 liters. The first 20-30 miles were on nice country roads, however that asphalt was *radiating* heat. We looked for places to take shade breaks and hid under bridges or next to haybales trying our best to conserve water. We did not pass any stores or gas stations. We hit dirt/gravel roads by around 4pm and had a slog uphill. Trying to not fall behind on our itinerary we pushed on and had to make a choice- do we become water stressed or do we drink from streams that flow by untold heads of cattle? An easy choice, as we eagerly filled our bottles with cattle water, bleached it, and carried on. Once we crested the hill we thought, “We’re finished!” and we cruised down on the dirt road. It was one of the numerous moments of blissful decent we would experience on this trip. Eventually our path took us through rougher terrain where we were peddling on rough jeep roads. There were thistles everywhere, but the view made us happy to be there. Sage brush and open plains welcomed us. The trail would eventually degrade to bad single track but we kept pushing through. There were cows scattered around and we had to be careful they didn’t run into us as we peddled by. A few would wait until the last minute to dart in front of us. This was a different version of Frogger. Luckily we made it through the cows without incident, and summited another hill and started flying downhill. At the bottom of the hill we needed to open a fence and Mike heard a very distinct, “tssssss”. Crap. I had gotten my first flat. It took me about 30 minutes to patch up 2 holes in my back tire and at this point it was getting dark. We kept pushing on but after only a few minutes my front tire was feeling squishy. More flats. We knew at this point we wouldn’t make camp as night was falling and neither of us had any desire to do night riding. We decided to try to find a place to camp off the road. There were some tall grassy areas where we contemplated sleeping in, however when we started seriously talking about camping in one of those fields a snake slithered across the road into that very area. We decided against the tall grass. Luckily, not much further away, we found what looked like an unmaintained 4-wheel drive turnoff and we were able to camp there. We were careful to still sleep off the trail so nobody would be run over in the middle of the night. We sleep through the night undisturbed, but we are happy we pulled off from the main road as we did here some kids speeding down the road in the night. Mike and I both got the feeling that we may not have been left in peace if the kids had seen us. Miles- 10 + 50.9 miles (11 miles behind schedule) *Day 2 (July 3)* I woke up early to patch the holes in my tires. I had no idea how many holes there were, just that my front tire was flat. I ended up patching 3 holes in the front and an additional 2 in the back! I had to stop patching them all because I was afraid of running out of patches (I had already bummed Mikes patch kit off him). It is a mystery to me how my tires hadn’t felt flat until that fence from the previous night. Maybe shooting downhill hides low tire pressure? On this day we would ride through farmland and through fields of endless sunflowers. I feel bad, but I actually ran over a snake while distracted by the sunflowers. Eventually the map we were following would have us turn onto a “road”, but I can find no circumstances that this trail could ever be classified as a road. We found ourselves on a farmland that was rutted out and had cow hoof imprints everywhere. We had to push our bicycles through the farm field and it was *exhausting*. The hoof imprints were deep and sucked our tires in. There was a lot of lifting, pulling, and pushing our bikes up and down hills through that field. The road definitely does *not* exist (Take heed anybody trying to follow this same itinerary in the future!). Eventually we made it through the farm fields and hit double track which led us to paved roads. Again, the temps were high but we found ourselves biking past Snake River so we jumped in a few times to cool us down. The water is disappointingly warm but riding with wet clothes is heavenly. We would be rewarded with great riding on the Weiser River Trail, a “rails-to-trail” trail (I am a super big fan of rails-to-trails after this trip). Again, we were gifted with great views, this time of mountains and a river. The riding was over chunky gravel and we had to fight a headwind for a good portion of our time on this trail. The sun continued to blaze down on us during this day and we just had to soldier on. We were trying hard to make it to Cambridge, OR to a campground at some hot springs. Unfortunately, patching my tires in the morning, the extremely difficult terrain, and a nasty headwind had made our mileage lower than we wanted. With the sun setting We decided to call the day rather than ride another hour to a hot spring we most certainly would not have had the energy to get in. We camped along the Weiser River trail and not a soul passed us. Mike and I make plans to roll out of camp by 6am. This would begin a comedy of sorts as Mike and I would be crossing in and out of pacific standard time and mountain standard time. Miles – 62 miles (we would have been 21 miles behind schedule, but skipping the hot spring puts us only 18 miles behind schedule) *Day 3 (July 4)* We woke up early and with a purpose. We wanted to make up our miles and get on track with our initial itinerary. I believe we both are very confused because of how *dark* it is outside compared to yesterday. Apparently, we’ve woken up earlier than anticipated because our phones have changed zones (perhaps we made the plan while in MST and then our phones switched back to PST?). I can’t explain where the time zone divide is between OR and ID, but it isn’t the state line. Perhaps Mike was so focused on the day and time zone that he wasn’t paying attention to anything else, because on this morning as we ate our breakfasts, I hear him exclaim, “damn it!” I ask him what happened and he says he left his lighter in his cup, LOL. Somehow Mike had lit his stove, put his lighter in the pot, added his oatmeal mix and water in, and then didn’t realize the lighter was there until he hit the bottom. He told me the lighter still worked. The comical joy I experienced filled me up as if I had eaten a ten course meal. Like what would become most mornings, we would ride hard in the morning. Something about fresh legs makes me think I can tackle the whole days mileage in the first few hours. This may contribute to the fatigue I feel at the end of my days. We had ridden 20 miles by 8 or 9 am. There was a lot of headwind (again) and I did my best to hide behind Mike as he just pushes through it all. We ride next to the Snake River and jump in again! It’s refreshingly cold here further upriver, than downriver yesterday. However, this time when I jump in, I see two fish carcasses at the bottom of the water and it leaves me feeling dirtier coming out then I did going in… We also seem to find the people in Idaho a little less friendly. Being America’s birthday and all, we thought folks would be more jovial, but we find that the residents don’t want to share the road or the river with us. I don’t recall doing a lot of chatting on this day. We kind of put our heads down and peddled. We were at camp by around 5ish. Under normal circumstances we would have been happy to call it a day. We had already ridden 71.5 miles for the day. However, I really wanted to go look at Hell’s Dam, which was the reason why we went on this detour. I convinced Mike to come to the dam with me (it didn’t take much convincing). We ditched all our gear and got to ride gear-less, which gave us a small burst in energy. We rode the 18 miles there and back to Hells Canyon Dam. The dam is worth a visit as the road out is in beautiful territory through really pretty canyons on either side. We found the road to be inexplicably empty. If not for our extreme fatigue, we probably would have been chatting nonstop. By the time we get to camp we are hungry, tired, and happy. We fall asleep instantly. Miles – 87.3 miles (On track with original itinerary!) *Day 4 (July 5) * We get up early and knock out 20 miles by 8 or 9am. At the start of the ride we notice that there are these fish that are all swimming in circles. Neither of us can explain what we are seeing and why the fish would behave this way. For miles and miles we see all these fish swimming in their own small circles. Any fish biologists out there? After our 20 miles we have a 5-mile stretch of “hike-a-bike”. The grade on this road is extreme and we push most of it. This will take us the majority of the day, but at least the temperatures were more manageable, and the first half of this road was shaded. We take 2 naps right in the middle of the forest service road and nobody passes us. Maybe we were pressing our luck, but we were confident we would hear a car before it could run us over. We also made sure to place our bikes behind and in front of us so any car would have to run them over before getting to us. Pushing our bikes up the hill we start out in a desert landscape. When we finally crest over the mountain the environment transforms and we find ourselves feeling like we are in the Pacific Northwest! Sometime during the push up we smell flowers that permeate everything around us. They are the most fragment flowers I have ever smelled and I wish I knew what they were! The decent was *massive *and we take a small detour to check out Hell’s Canyon Overlook. There are picnic tables there so we decide to have dinner there at the overlook, enjoying seeing where we were the day before. We camp at Blackhorse Campground and right next to a stream. It is refreshingly cold and this is the first night where I need to bundle inside my sleeping bag. Now, I haven’t been wearing my chammy this entire trip, but I brought one in case I might need some cushion. Turns out, my bum wouldn’t need the chammy, but my head would! I forgot to bring a beanie so I would use my chammy as my beanie. Miles – 38.7 miles Elevation gain – 5,213 feet (with all 5,200 feet of elevation gain experienced over 5 miles) *Day 5 (July 6)* It’s a very chilly morning camping next to the wonderful stream. We ride on perfect asphalt with the sun gleaming through the trees. Because we get early starts there aren’t many cars on the road and we have a very peaceful morning ride. We arrive in Joseph, which turns out to be a very cool town. Today is finally a day where we are not pressed for time and we can finally enjoy some down time. Mike and I do not know this, but our days will get much easier from this day on. We go to a restaurant that is part restaurant and part dog store. I eat 2 entrees and a dessert, easily. Mike and I spend some time wandering around Joseph. It has a very “mountain town” sort of vibe. I enjoy it. My original plan was to camp at the ranger station, but seeing their property lets me know that that won’t be okay. We go inside instead and ask the ranger if they can recommend us some campgrounds. The ranger suggests Hurricane Creek Campground (5-miles out of town) or down to Wallowa Lake where they say there will likely be family’s camping. We opt for the quitter campground. It’s an early day for Mike and I and we almost don’t know what to do with ourselves. We’re in camp, fed, and ready for bed by 6pm. Miles – 44.9 miles Elevation – approx. 3,100 feet *Day 7 (July 8)* I write almost no notes in my phone about this day. I know we both woke up feeling like the trip was over and our eyes were set on getting home. I will say that we have a choice to take the road back to the car or the gravel path, and I’m proud to say we still picked the gravel path. Miles – 64.2 miles Elevation – unknown, probably less 1500 feet or so. *Day 6 (July 7)* The first 30 miles of this is almost all downhill and Mike and I knock out these miles. The towns we pass through all have their charms. It’s a relaxing morning and we just enjoy ourselves. When we make it to La Grande we stop by Riverside Park to look for a water fountain. Unbelievably, we can’t find one! We end up going to the *dog park* and filling our bottles at the spicket there. The dog fountain might have had better quality than the cow water from earlier in the trip, but it felt worse. We had a campsite picked out, but in hopes of avoiding a huge climb, we tried to camp in a mountain bike park. Bad idea because it wasn’t yet dark enough and we were spotted. We sheepishly packed our things up and road toward our original campsite. Eventually darkness falls and we find some camping along Fox Hill Road and call it night. Our less brutal days has Mike and I almost confused with what to do with our extra time. We’re both very goal oriented so we’re always trying to get to camp. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken extra time in some of those towns we passed by. Miles – 84 miles Elevation- approx. 2600 *The end!* Once I got home I ended up patching up all the holes in my tires. Final count of holes… 13! I was lucky not to get any more holes on the trip after day 1. I was pumping my tires every morning and afternoon. It worked out, but barely. I find it funny I was riding around with 6 holes in my tires, at least they were tiny. I looked and looked for a patch kit but the towns we passed through didn’t carry any until the last day, and by then I was ready to just push on. If I were to do this trip again I would go tubeless, I would bring a piece of cotton to clean my glasses, bring additional patch kits, and a beanie for my head. [If any of you read my Death Valley Trip Report <https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/abOYxHywP-Q>, you’ll know I did not switch to tubeless tires. I will not make this mistake again as I am not in the process of building my first wheels. Wish me luck! Idaho Smoke and Fire 400, here we come!!] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3481bf91-eb19-4ff5-a94b-9c18f238f9b1n%40googlegroups.com.
