PNW Tour Suggestions

[eddyturn]

Originally Posted by T town

I registered just so I could reply to this. Are you biking? What are you thinking about. I’m from Seattle.

Well gee... I am glad I inspired you to join up instead of just lurking NTTAWWT.

Unsure about where we will bike and hike but have gotten so many good suggestions. Wife prefers hiking but also likes biking so we will have some juggling to do.

Me, I hope to be biking more than hiking. Not sure if we will get to Seattle or not at this point. With all the suggestions, we need to take at least a month to travel around up there. So much to see and do...

[YoTerryh]

Great thread! So many great ideas. I wanted to chime in with a few other mountain biking options. As others mentioned there's lots of riding around Bend. Consider the Peterson Ridge Trail network outside Sisters.

Oakridge area has some great riding and the trail around Waldo Lake is epic. The McKenzie River Trail is also excellent and scenic for hiking and mountain biking alike.

Since you mentioned Sandy, you might want to check out Sandy Ridge nearby, or Timberline to Town trail from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. There's a bike park at Timberline now too which is lots of fun. Road 44 trails also offer a lot of riding options.

If you find yourself near Klamath Falls, Spence Mountain is a great place to check out. There's some free camping down by the lake with easy access to the trails.

I recently got the change to ride the Whiskey Run Trails between Coos Bay and Bandon and can't wait to go back and ride again. Great network, pure fun, if not the most scenic, it makes up for it i the fun factor.

I wanted to mention that the Forest Service campgrounds along the North Umpqua are presently reservation only. We found out the hard way. This means that even apparently empty campsites are unavailable without prior reservations. Good luck with the trip and be sure to let us know how it goes.

[Vanimal]

Originally Posted by eddyturn

We live out CR125 north of Shendoah and south of Durango West. Built on a lot back in '12. It may be a Hesperus address but it's only 8.5 miles to Doubletree from our garage. Close enough.

Is the Silver Slipper Saloon still there near the Strater Hotel not too far from the Narrow Gauge Depot? My roommates worked there while we were in college.

[T town]

Originally Posted by eddyturn

Well gee... I am glad I inspired you to join up instead of just lurking NTTAWWT.

Unsure about where we will bike and hike but have gotten so many good suggestions. Wife prefers hiking but also likes biking so we will have some juggling to do.

Me, I hope to be biking more than hiking. Not sure if we will get to Seattle or not at this point. With all the suggestions, we need to take at least a month to travel around up there. So much to see and do...

I have to say, even though I’m a Washington resident, Oregon has so much more to offer. If you have limited time in the NW spend it in Oregon. Better coast, better desert, equal or better mountains, more land in general because it’s a larger state and way much more BLM land to camp on.

[SportyGma]

I live on the Olympic Peninsula, and have ventured out to some of my favorite spots: Rialto Beach, Hoh Rainforest, the Elwha Valley, and Hurricane Ridge. What I can tell you is, we’re getting slammed by visitors this summer! In my 45 years of living here, I have never seen so many people. My advice is to plan ahead as much as possible, and get to your destination as early as possible to secure a parking spot. Also, visiting in September might be a good idea because the crowds usually thin out a bit. But this year, who knows?

[Otter]

Originally Posted by YoTerryh

I wanted to mention that the Forest Service campgrounds along the North Umpqua are presently reservation only. We found out the hard way. This means that even apparently empty campsites are unavailable without prior reservations. Good luck with the trip and be sure to let us know how it goes.

No! This is heresy! One of the best things about going through this route was stopping wherever you wanted for a night or two. Geez...

We’re going to the coast in a couple of weeks and I think we got the last camp spot around. It seems Covid has inspired everyone and his brother to buy a van or trailer and go on a road trip. Though I don’t feel right about keeping it all to myself, I admit to feeling upset when everything is overrun. I’m kinda hoping everyone will get bored with it and move on to another hobby.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by Otter

I’m kinda hoping everyone will get bored with it and move on to another hobby.

I could not agree more........

[eddyturn]

Well... this trip did not get off in the right direction. Got down the road to our favorite little fuel stop in Mancos, CO and upon closing the rear doors and tire carrier, noted that the tire moved. WTF! That's not supposed to happen. Did Discount Tire mount the spare back up wrong after rotation? No... the welds on the Aluminess carrier broke. Crappy welds with no penetration constructed circa 2008. One of the other welds is cracked and one of the bent tubes has a crack as well. Dammit.







The bright side of this is that it was at a stop and not cruising down some highway and bouncing into someone's windshield. Or not on some back dirt road and coming off while never ever knowing where it went.

Tried to find local welders but Internet searching only provided out of service numbers. So we went back to Durango and stopped at the Post Office and got a copy of the yellow pages book from a stack they had in the lobby. Called around and took the van over to a shop and had them take a look. They did not like and called out the welds too. So... tried to take off the swing arm but the bottom shoulder bolt would NOT come out.

Messed around for half hour or so with PB Blaster and still no luck. Went to a machine shop and no luck there. Drove home and took a cut off wheel to it and cut the head off the bolt. Then had to cut again as you cannot raise the swing arm with a bolt in the hole. Got the arm off and could not get the bolt remnant from the hole which is really odd because it's not threaded. Took a BFH to it for 3 hits and it simply pulled right out. Geez.

Took the swing arm to the welders today and that was 6 hours ago. I was thinking that no news is good news but now I am worried. TT Aluminess and they are sorry and would fix it for free (thanks) if I wanted to drive 1200 miles out to Santee. They don't have any in stock as they only make them for bumper assemblies but really, you couldn't have the production crew make 1 more arm and get one shipped?

Waiting to hear from the local welder as they think they can fix it better and put on extra bracing. They will also have me sign a release stating they don't guarantee as the tires weigh so much and nothing really supports them with this design.

Also sent an email to UJoint to see if their rear bumpers are ready to ship but they must have taken the day off as no response. That new bumper they make is looking really good and strong.

Only way to travel now is to rent a small UHaul enclosed trailer for the spare and the mountain bikes and head out as the roof is loaded up and I don't want to put a tire up there. Problem is the west coast is on fire and the camping and boon docking opportunities are dwindling by the day. Might have to pick some new destination which is a shame for us and for the entire PNW. So sorry to see this happening anywhere but it seems the entire west coast is just burning up. Plus the fact that what is open will likely be really smokey. Really wanted to get up to Rixen's to get this furnace replaced/fixed.

So... that's my trip report for now. Thanks to all that have contributed.

Bob

[Otter]

Originally Posted by eddyturn

Well... this trip did not get off in the right direction. Got down the road to our favorite little fuel stop in Mancos, CO and upon closing the rear doors and tire carrier, noted that the tire moved. WTF! That's not supposed to happen. Did Discount Tire mount the spare back up wrong after rotation? No... the welds on the Aluminess carrier broke. Crappy welds with no penetration constructed circa 2008. One of the other welds is cracked and one of the bent tubes has a crack as well. Dammit.

Oh man, that’s a horrible story. I’m sorry for you. Here’s a silver lining, tho. You totally do not want to come here right now. The whole damn place is on fire and we’re choking from the smoke. Sandy - where Rixens is located - is on Level 2 evacuation and is only 5 miles from active fire. I expect they’ll be level 3 soon. Maybe there’s something interesting East of Colorado?

Screw 2020 and all our plans for great trips. I mean, really. Can we just go take a nap and wake up in, say, June 2021?

Wishing you good luck with your gear.

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by eddyturn

Well... this trip did not get off in the right direction.
So... that's my trip report for now. Thanks to all that have contributed.

Bob

Feel like I need a sedative after reading that!