May 19th, 2013
Dreary weather over night that carried over into the morning. Today I drive down from Santiam to Alsea over to the coast. Successful drive down the mtn, brakes still work & driving the same way.
I arrived @ closed library meeting place in plenty of time. Towards the meeting time and I am the only rig in the lot. I was starting to fish for the meeting data when Jesse and Lori pulled up in their IMBA TCC car. Greetings. Jesse checked my web site several days b4 and commented it seemed we were riding the same places just separated by days. He struck out also on Buckhorn and Henry Coe.
Friday’s presentation was to land managers. This project is on BLM land. A bunch of BLM folks including a ranking person who manages this rec project. BLM will build a core trail for multi use. Extending from this loop will be refined user groups: Horses no bikes, bikes no horses, hikers open to all. It will be up to the user group to obtain the funds to build their piece. BLM has 2013 $ and is funding trails. The local newly formed IMBA chapter sponsored the event.
Afterwards I drove up to Mary’s Peak up high in the coastal range. I walked to the top in the fog then above it right @ peak at 4097′ high. I camped in the FS wet XG for $5. Some rain fell.
Sat I drove down to Alpine for the TCC session. The morning was instruction on sustainable trails. Afterwards we car pooled out to Alsea Falls where we were going to apply our learned skills to reconstruct a piece of trail. Deep wet forest cover, lots of vegetation on the ground supplied by lots of roots under ground.
Jesse center
Visible is brown dirt of new tread carved out of the green. Jesse organized us into 2 teams and created team leaders and job functions. Your function determined what tool you used. I chose to protect my body by being the final operation of packing and gardening. This vegetation was thicker than what I dug fire line in back in ’70 when I was on a fire fighting crew.
Helping was Shane from IMBA Trail Solutions. I shared rides out and back w/ him. Jesse and Lori were staying w/ club members back in Corvallis. Shane lives in HR. All 4 of us drove back to Corvallis for dinner. I left b4 too dark to drive back to Alsea TH for the night.
Today a group ride met @ 10:00 lead by Mike who I remembered from the Cream Puff 2 years ago. He is a race promoter also but he provided the timing @ the Puff. He is local. He stated several times in good faith that getting these trails built will be great for him as they are almost in his back yard.
Our group:
Park of our ride took us over what we constructed the day b4. Pleasant. Trails here are deep woods old hand built riding on hemlock needles and roots. Dense and dark.
Jason from the group invited a bunch of us to dinner @ his house tonight. He had read about me in the Bike mag article.
My plan is to drive down towards Oakridge tonight then ride there till Thurs AM then meet Jesse for 3 days of riding the North Umpqua River Trail (NUT). Need to return to Bend to pick up my new dropper and a few days of riding there. Then go back west and north to ride Black Rock then on to Sandy Ridge.
Whew. Back to living on the road.
One rider helped build the trail @ Lincoln Parish park in Ruston, LA that I rode. A woman was from WVa and we shared names of places we rode there.
May 16th, 2013
Yesterday I washed my van, washing away the road construction dirt I picked up on the way out way route from Redding to Redway. Yesterday afternoon heavy sprinkles fell. I stayed out of the dirt morphing into mud and stayed clean.
On Tues’ big ride before I started I “pulled” muscles in my right calf that went right to the knee. Today the knee is almost pain free w/ lingering soreness in my calf. I should be good to ride on Sat. I forced my body to a 4 1/2 hour ride on a hampered right leg.
On Monday I found a carpet cleaning service. For $40 I have a clean living, dining, kitchen, and bedroom carpet. Wonder if I took advantage of the cleaning specials for 3 rooms.
I decided to rest again today. Rain fell starting @ lunch so I stayed dry and mud free. I picked up my new PI shoes.
I did my wash @ a new to me laundromat. I included my riding gloves in the wash. As I pull clothes out of the washer I separate what goes into the drier and what gets air dried in the van. I came up a glove short. I searched the clothes drying in the dryer, I searched all the dried clothes as I folded them, I checked hither and yon but found that the right glove did a break away LEAVING NO FORWARDING ADDRESS. In al my years of living I had never lost a sock or glove. I walked across the street to Hutch’s and bought a new pair of gloves. Ouch.
Shortly I am driving over towards Corvallis to attend an IMBA school on Fri out @ Aslea Falls, more stuff out in the coastal range. On the wet side.
Plan is to attend the trail care school on Sat and help on a trail project then ride w/ locals on Sunday. Jesse of IMBA suggested the NUT on Mon and more. We have 2 rigs so we can shuttle which will allow more miles of riding per day. Trail is expected to be cleared by end of this week per a FS person @ Toketee.
CA coastal mtns, cropped to meet web size requirement
I made the Santiam Pass area on rt 20.Back in ’78 there was a church camp in a CCC lodge at the pass. The PCT guide book told about it: a bunk, hot shower, and like $1.50 a meal. Four of us were hiking together… in the rain. We made the lodge populated by junior high kids. We spent the night planning on leaving the next AM. rain was still falling making the decision to stay another day very easy. In the afternoon 3 of us hitch hiked to Sisters where we drank beers. I forget the hitch hikes either way as we did make it back for dinner. The next morning moisture was falling form the sky but the kids pushed us out. The lodge is now vacant and boarded up hiding my one piece of graffiti. A fire has since burned thru the area.
PCT @ Santiam Pass going North
May 14th, 2013
Batteries are charged. Empty Scotch glass. An hour b4 bedtime. Forces are in alignment.
Yesterday I took care of a few items. Most notably is Pearl Izumi warrantying my shoes. These must last till end of July (or schedule slide later) till the Project X shoes hit the stores. I visited REI and 2 bike shops renewing acquaintances.
I checked out another place to camp which is closer to town than here but it turned out to be too popular so I moved back to previous spot. Dusty primitive road.
Sunday I rode from Skyliner TH climbing up to Sector 16 where the fun quit as I navigated maybe 30 trees felled by winter weather, mostly lodgepole which are particularly ornery because of their plentiful dead branches. Not much fun.
Today my ride was starting from Snap Fitness parking lot riding 3 miles of pavement to Shevlin Park to pick up Mrazek ridge. Up high the trail entered lodgepole forest zone for more of same knock downs. A few small patches of snow. The upper section of Farwell spring trail was also littered. Finely below the lodgepole elevation fun started going downhill which passes way faster than the climb up. I dropped down on the creek trail to Skyliner TH then took the road down aways to avoid climbing Skyliner. I left the pavement for the trail system to Bens all the way back down to Phils then a bit of dirt back to Snap. 35.38 miles, 4 hrs 23 mins, climbing 3692′.
I pulled a muscle in my right calf b4 ride start that went on to involve the knee. I have no idea what i did to injure myself. Shit, I’m going on a big ride, I’ll make the body work. I forced myself to ride. I stretched every stretch I know of seeking relief to less avail. Perhaps a rest day tomorrow.
Jesse and Lori parked @ Phils I noticed when i rode thru the parking lot on my way home.
A shower @ Snap, grocery shop, and a beer @ 10 Barrels. My walk from my parking space to inside 10 Barrels i passed by the open bar. As I was walking inside to the bar a woman server thrust a beer into my hands. She said the bar tender said to give it to me. It was the Sinister ale I drink. The bar tender saw me walking and beat me to my order.
Back out to dusty parking spot.
I registered for the IMBA trail care crew visit over in Alpine near Corvalis for this weekend taught by Jesse and Lori.
At 5:30 AM the temp was 33 degrees @ 4118′ where I camp. I ran the heater all night. Forecast for tonight is 40. Might run the heater again.
