Summer Vacation

I took a vacation to mountain bike in Durango, CO. Derek had to work and couldn't join me so I went to visit my friends Matt and Katri. Matt owns Hermosa Tours and we spent the week riding high country singletrack in the mountains surrounding Durango.

The riding in that area is steep and technical with high altitude - some days were up around 11 & 12,000 feet. I took care to drink lots of water and the altitude didn't really bother me that much. The weather was near perfect and I had a blast. Most days we took the Hermosa Tours shuttle up mountain gravel roads and then spent another hour or two climbing and descending as we circled the mountain ranges. At the end of each day I was treated to an awesome long downhill.

As the snow melts I get to head higher and higher to ride. We rode along Tumalo Trail, up North Fork and then across to Mrazek and Farewell. There was only one spot we had to work through snow (about 6 steps) and then there were about 8 trees down on Metolius Windingo. The weather was hot and sunny and the sights were remarkable. Flowers, snow capped mountains and beauty that can't be described. Summer is sure shaping up to be a whole lot of fun.

Change of Pace

One of the best things about Bend is you are so close to everything outdoors. After work the other day, I met some friends to paddle. We packed up the car and were up at Sparks Lake in no time at all. Kayaking until the sun sets and then enjoying some beers. Good times.

Derek and I rode in Oakridge on Sunday - well worth the 1.5 hour drive. The trails in Oakridge are steep and varied. Some sections have steep rocky switchbacks, some are smooth with a jungle feel. This ride ended up being a bit over 4 hours with lots of great views and plenty of heat and climbing.

View down after the first climb. The trail actually started down at that water.



HUGE trees everywhere.




Here is one of the rocky steep switchbacks I'm talking about.



Can you pick out Derek?

Helens

Last week a big contingent from Bend packed up and headed to the Mt St. Helens area for a few days of mountain biking and camping. It was PERFECT weather and I had a really fun time. I lived in Washington when the volcano blew back in 1980 but I was a little girl and was amazed at how much things had grown back. The trails were very different from Bend and we enjoyed the variety of terrain.




Mt St Helens big and bold.



That's the trail along the ridgeline!






That's Mt Adams in the background.