Grand Staircase - Escalante Loop (aka the loop of doom): Day 1

My boyfriend, Patrick, and I and our buddy Ryan set out on the Grand Staircase - Escalante Loop (as found on bikepacking.com) on Labor Day weekend (August 31 - Sept 3). Yes, I know it was crazy of us to think that doing it in the late summer would be a fun time in the desert, though to our defense, when we originally planned the trip, we picked a weekend that was after the main monsoon season, but it was looking as if it would be high of 80’s and low of 60’s which we thought would be perfect. We are from Phoenix, AZ so high of mid-80’s sounded like pure bliss for a bike packing adventure!  Unfortunately the balmy forecasted 80 degree weather turned into a heat wave and we were stuck riding in 100+ degree oven every day.

The original plan was to attempt the trip in 3 days. We knew these would be big days, but I don’t think any of us realized what we were getting ourselves into. All three of us are in decent riding shape, with long days in the saddle a norm for us. As I mentioned, we are also pretty acclimated to the heat as we live and ride in Phoenix, AZ. (Yes, we ride outside, even in the summer time). We had left an extra day just in case we needed it and needless to say, we needed it A LOT.

We woke up early after spending the night in a hotel in Page, AZ, which is about 20 minute drive from our starting point in Big Water. Lucky for us, the local Denny’s was in the same parking lot as our hotel, so we got a hot meal to go right before we left on our epic journey. I definitely saved part of my Moons over my Hammy for second breakfast on the route. Never underestimate the power of second breakfast, especially while on an adventure!

Patty and Ryan were riding their Pivot FS MTB’s (Patty was a trooper on his Switchblade, which is quite a bit more bike than needed for this trail, but it’s what he had), and Ryan was on his Trail 429. I chose to ride my trusty Salsas Woodsmoke, who is always up for a rowdy adventure. All of our bikes had 2.4 - 2.5” tires on which was beneficial in the copious amount of sand pits that we had to surf through. The guys enjoyed their FS on some of the ruckus descents and I enjoyed my HT on the climbs - at least the rideable ones, and I guess the hike-a-bike ones too since I didn’t have to push a heavy-ass FS up a steep hill.

Soon after we got started out of Big Water, each carrying about 8L of water each, plus all of our gear (See Gear section for more details on that), we were met with a 10 mile sandy detour around the main highway. I much rather would have taken the highway. It was early when we started riding, so there wasn’t much traffic anyway, so the highway would have been no sweat, but we heard that the detour wasn’t “that bad.” Liars! The detour, though fairly beautiful, meant a lot of surfing, cussing, and general energy suck until we popped out at the highway crossing to head up Cottonwood Creek Road. I’m not even sure how many extra hours it took us, but I would say the uninspiring sand trap route added on at least an hour of riding to our already long day in the saddle.

We stashed water a few miles below Cottonwood Creek, above the very low, very silty Paria River. Our goal was to get to to our first water stash for lunch and then keep going from there to our next water stash just up the road toward the top of the climb. Cottonwood Creek road was a mix of beautiful views, complete with Gnome rocks and mixed layers of geographical wonder that I know very little about. Needless to say, it was beautiful and the scenery, once we got into the hills, made the never-ending-climb somewhat worth it. Eventually we got to our lunch spot feeling very hungry and very tired. It was at this point that Patty realized he had a small puncture in his tire and had been losing air. He spent most of his lunch fixing said tire and we rested in the shade a bit before riding away from the cool reprieve with tired lunch legs.

A few miles later, we had stashed more water, but also discovered that the creek at around mile 20 of the day was running clearly. We took a moment to cool off, dip our head in the water and douse ourselves with cool water. We also filtered from the stream because the water was much cooler than the water we had stashed that had been sitting in 100 degree heat for 24 hours. Patty and I were testing out our new Steripen and we were actually quite glad we had it. We were much more able to dip a Nalgene bottle into the creek and sterilize with the pen than to use our gravity filter or even our small Sawyer bag filter. Great purchase! I would highly recommend!

We filled up as much as we could at this stash because we had a feeling that there would be no water at the cattle tanks right before Grosvenor’s Arch and the Reservoir where we camped had been rumored to be pretty questionable for use. I was carrying about 9L, and I think Ryan and Patty had 10L each. A very nice German couple offered us a top off on water on the climb up to Grosvenor’s Arch and then a different German couple even offered us a Coke, which we all lunged for probably looking like a few desperate vultures!  There is nothing like an ice-cold coke at the end of a long day in the saddle.

We were correct about the cattle tank’s lack of water and the reservoir was filled with algae bloom and a lot of squirmy mud-dwelling creatures, so we didn’t try to filter any water. We set up camp at a small designated flat spot near the reservoir and had a bit of time to relax, enjoy the sunset over the mountains in the distance and ate our delicious dehydrated dinners. (Pad Thai, to be exact - one of my all-time favorites). We knew it would be a long day the next day, including the infamous Death Ridge section, so we went to bed as the rosy sun set in the distance and dreamt of having fast legs and strong push-a-bike-arms.

OTT Take 2: Day 10: REST DAY AT BREITENBUSH

Day 10 was a rest day. Much needed. Amazing. Breitenbush Hot Springs is a clothing-optional natural hot springs resort located in the middle-of-nowhere Oregon. When you stay over night, your meals and soaking are included and it is worth every penny. There are multiple hot springs to choose from, a sauna, you can get massages if you want to pay extra, they have yoga and movement classes, and other types of classes as well as live music some times. It was a magical place to be and I would highly recommend it to anyone as place to rest along the Oregon Timber Trail.

I didn’t take many pictures because I was so busy relaxing, but believe me, it was one of the highlights of our trip.

OTT Take 2: Day 9: Tule Camp to Breitenbush Hot Springs

We had planned to get an early start since this day was going to be a big one. We made our breakfast and packed up as quickly as possible, rolling just a bit after 8, which is early for this group. We started out with a gravel climb for about 1500 ft before we had a fast and glorious descent on a gravel road all the way down to the small town of Idanha. There was a small market there where we were able to get coffee and late morning snacks and sign the OTT book! It was a great way to have a nice break. While we were taking this break, we started talking about the plan for the rest of the day. The original OTT route was supposed to take us up and over a huge climb before descending down to Breitenbush. An alternative was to take the highway for three miles to Detroit and ride the road 10 miles to Breitenbush, saving us hours of riding and many feet of climbing. With heavy rain in the forecast, we decided to take the detour. I was very relieved and anxious to get to our destination.

There are specific towns where you can sign the OTT log book! Make sure to check those out!

We started motoring down the road toward Breitenbush and when the false flat/climb started, I was left in the dust. Which disappointed me, because everyone else was motoring and they just left me like I was standing still. Finally, they had pulled off to the side and I just kept riding so I didn’t have to stop. Eventually they caught up to me and we rode as a group together, which was much more enjoyable. I think all of us were ready for a break and starting to feel the miles and long days and all the togetherness time up to this point.

We arrived at the turn off to Breitenbush right as it started to rain. We were splitting up at this point with Aliza and I heading to Brietenbush, and the rest of the crew pushing on the next day where we would meet in a couple days. They found a rad campsite, we got a resupply from Aliza’s dad (as well as hot hamburgers that we brought us from town). Aliza and I headed on up to the hot springs to begin our much deserved and much needed rest day. The rest of the crew went and scouted out the unofficial hot springs and took a dip with some locals. We all had a great night of sleeping and a break from a few super long days in a row.

OTT Take 2: Day 8: Shedd Camp Area to Tule Camp

I was in need of alone time and a break, which was just one day away. This day was very painful and wore on my every nerve.

Bear Grass on the way up to Scar Mountain

The day started by having to borrow fuel for both Aliza and my breakfast, due to my anything bag ejecting from my bike the day before. We rolled out around 9:15am and immediately started climbing up narrow, chunky single track. On top of that, it started getting very steep, meaning either max sustained efforts or a bunch of hike a bike. I varied between both. We climbed for a few hours until we got to an intersection. We decided this was a good time for lunch and a regroup. When I arrived at the top, I went to get my lunch out and I looked down and realized that MY OTHER ANYTHING BAG WAS MISSING! I could have cried! Well, I did cry a little bit… And cussed a lot. We had just climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed…and I was just devastated that my bag was missing in action. And frustrated at the situation, because I felt like I had been stupid not to make sure it had been attached more properly after the incident with the bag the day before.

Without even thinking, I quickly de-bagged my bike, grabbed some sugar snacks and my Garmin InReach tracker and headed back down the hill. I told everyone that if they wanted to go ahead they could after lunch, but to leave one person to wait for me and rode off. The descent would have been a blast, but I was going so slowly, looking for my bag, that it wasn’t much fun. I made my way down and almost 3/4 of the way down the mountain I saw it. My bag was hanging by it’s hook clasp on a branch that was sticking out in the trail, where it had been plucked from it’s holster off of my fork. So I got it back on my bike and headed back up the long climb. This time up the hill was much better and I climbed much more quickly due to the fact that my bike weighed 28 lbs instead of 60 lbs, but it was still a long haul. Aliza had ridden down part way and met me on my way up to make sure I was doing alright and we pedaled back up together towhere everyone was waiting. I ate a quick lunch after being much relieved to have my belongings back on board.

Top of Scar Mountain

By the time we got going again, it was already 3:00 and we still had some distance to cover. Aliza and I both had very tired legs at this point, and had almost 6k feet of climbing under our belt by that point. We continued on our journey up the horrible hike-a-bike section to the summit of Scar Mountain. The “trail” up to the summit is steep, tight switch backs, which at the top are also covered in shale and rock. The summit is a dramatic rock formation on the top of a knife edge ridge with views of Jefferson and the Sisters. We didn’t have much time to stop there because it was 5:00pm by the time we got there, so just made some phone calls and headed back down. On my way up the switchbacks, I was taking a break and decided to check my phone cause we hadn’t had service for a while. I turned it on and miraculously had service and got a few texts from my friend Sue. Lo and behold, she had been doing trail work in the area where we had been riding the day before and….. SHE HAD FOUND MY MISSING BAG!!!! What are the odds? Because the place where we were was pretty far out in the middle of no where and not heavily populated by riders or hikers. I was so relieved and had another mini cry session. I was able to arrange for my bag to be sent to Janelle’s other half who was bringing us a resupply a few days later. What a miracle!

The descent from Scar Mountain was a blast, though tiring because it was undulating terrain at first and we were all in a hurry to get where we needed to for the night. We rolled into Tule camp, a small alpine lake with a perfect camp site, at about 6:30pm. We set up, made dinner, and went to bed as soon as we could.

OTT Take 2: Day 7: Clear Lake to Shedd Camp area

This was a no-good-very-bad day. We got an early start because we knew this would be a big day. We only had planned 18 miles for the day, but there was a ton of single track and TONS of elevation gain. We headed over to the Clear Lake “resort” which is really just a little cabin type thing, but they service hot breakfast, so it was rad. This little resort store also has a few amenities, but don’t count on it for a full resupply, if you were wondering.

The Crescent Mountain climb started out alright - some gravel roads, a little trail and then up through a palatable climb through the Fish Lake Scenic Area. Then it wasn’t so alright…the steepness escalated and I immediately fell to the back of the pack (which is totally fine with me).. Then after the steepness started, shit got real. The climb was difficult and hike-a-bike in a lot of places. Mentally, I felt like I was in a good place and stopped when I needed, took pictures, picked a couple wild flowers (shhhh don’t tell). It was great weather and the view half way up the hill was filled with almost every significant mountain peak in Oregon. You really could see for forever! It was during this time that I took a break to record some of my feels, because once again, I was thinking about how much I was going to miss this beautiful state of Oregon whenI move to Arizona.

After we got to the top, we had lunch at the summit. There were views of Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt Washington and the Three Sisters. How can you beat that? It was truly incredible. After lunch, it was one of the most amazing descents of the entire OTT. Flowing single track, some drops, but not too crazy, everything was rideable and exciting. We bombed down with smiles on our faces! I think I was giggling the entire time. THEN: It happened.

We got to Shedd Camp at the river crossing and decided to stay there for the night. I went to get into one of my Salsa Anything Bags and realized that it, along with it’s Gorilla Cage attachment, was missing. I lost my cool. I knew I had had it at lunch time, because that’s where I got my lunch from, but it could have come off at any point during the super long descent - I think the descent was maybe 6-8 miles…. At first I thought it was the bag that I had my puffy and medications in, so I was really distraught, but then I realized it was my mug and fuel and a couple of other things, so at least it wasn’t so bad. I could borrow other people's fuel and go without coffee in the morning. Aliza was kind enough to hike back up the trail with me for an hour. Not sure how much distance we covered, but we didn’t even get half way up the trail, and didn’t find anything, so we hiked back down. Now, this said, I have never had an issue with this bag attachment system. I used it for the Great Divide route and many other shorter packing trips including last year on the OTT. I made sure to check my other one and it was securely fastened. The rest of the evening was a somber one for me, moping about my loss, but at least we were next to beautiful river, got to clean off a bit, and soak our legs in the cold water.

OTT Take 2: Day 6: Suttle Lake Clear Lake

Clear Lake is one of my all-time favorite places in Oregon and was so I was anticipating the stay there with great excitement! We also were planning on adding two people to our crew who were meeting us at Clear Lake, so that was something to look forward to as well, though, it meant that it would change the mechanics of our well oiled machine, but that’s alright! It was time to switch it up any how.

Out of Suttle Lake, we immediately started climbing. We avoided a Manzantia filled hike-a-bike section by navigating around the original route.  Once back on route, this climb took us up to Sand Mountain, which is aptly named. Sand Mountain is one of the other notorious spots on the OTT. It consists of a long uphill climb with very thick sand, every where. The descent on the opposite side is also quite sandy, so it really is not very forgiving. It is for this section alone that I would recommend having a 2.8” tire… well, and maybe a couple of other sections, but this one for sure! Most of had 2.8-3” tires on and it helped us. We also lucked out because it had rained so much the night before the the sand was somewhat packed down, which meant we could ride most of it.

The wild flowers at the top section of the climb were absolutely astounding. It was like we were in wild flower heaven. I also saw a tiny toad, which made my day!

Bear Grass off of Sand Mountain

The back side descent was pretty frustrating - I had a difficult time because sand and I don’t get a long. The others fared alright. After the sand let up, the rest of the descent was rad and got to Clear Lake pretty early in the day. We had a resupply (Deann’s mom Roxie) waiting for us, so we stocked up and set up camp. Our friends Heather and Janelle showed up a bit later and we shared stories and went down to the lake. Clear Lake is beautiful, gorgeous really. No motor boats are allowed, so it’s quiet and pristine. The campground isn’t too big, so it’s not overly crowded and the lake is beautiful and clean.

Clear Lake at dawn, Photo Cr: Deann Garcia

OTT Take 2: Day 5: Bend to Suttle Lodge

Because of our detour through Bend, we had bonus miles for the day. Luckily there is an amazing connection of gravel roads that leads into Sisters that just mean a lot of pedaling but not a lot of struggle. We made it to Sisters with pretty good time. I had been having trouble with my crank clicking and some shifting and needed new gloves so made my way to the Blazing Saddles Bike Shop in Sisters. They were great about getting my bike in right away and working on it while everyone else went next door to the grocery to get some resupply.

Motoring into Sisters

After some tasty BBQ Chipotle Chicken bowls and watermelon slaw and rice from the food carts we kept on trucking to Suttle Lodge. We knew we were, once again, racing a thunderstorm so we lit a fire under our asses and booked it. There was a lot of single track and short of just general uphill the whole way - the kind that make you tired without you realizing you are working so hard. Toward the end of our day the trail started to weave a bit uphill and I was gassed, but we kept it together. We needed to get to the lodge before it started storming. We pulled into the lodge right as it was starting to blow sideways and started a torrential downpour. We stashed our bikes under a covered patio area and ran inside. Hot Toddies and French Fries ensued and we spent a leisurely time recouping in the lodge, feeling pretty proud of the effort and team work that had just occurred out there.

Suttle Lodge

The rain passed and we had to decide where to dock for the night. As much as we wanted to stay at Suttle, they were all booked for the night, so we went up the road a bit to a campground where there were yurts. Luck was on our side, as there was one Yurt left and we were able to book it. The camp host even gave us some free firewood I think cause she felt sorry for our tired asses. A job well done, we fell asleep in a warm space, ready to hit the day running in the morning!

Lucky Yurt!

Aliza overlooking the valley

OTT Take 2: Day 4: Soda Creek Campground to Bend

Yes, we ended up in Bend. Bend is not on the OTT route. Bend is great. We didn’t want to go to Bend. Mother Nature had a different plan in mind. We were expecting a really tough day so we woke up a early to get a good start on the day. The plan was to ride up and through the pass over Broken Top to get over to Three Creek CG area and down into Sisters. Not only was there a significant amount of elevation gain to cover, but we were also in a time crunch because we expected to run into storms and wanted to be off of the peak by then.

This climb was not fun: two miles on the road and then up a dirt climb. The beginning of the ascent was really steep and rutted out. We started to run into snow patches at around 6k ft - most of which we could ride through or around. After two hours of climbing, we stopped too deliberate. We decided to keep pushing on and if it got really bad, we could turn around and go back to the highway. Eventually, the snow pack got the best of us and we were hiking our bikes on slippery, slushy and unpredictable snow for miles. Eventually we lost the road and decided that for many reasons, including the impending storm, we should turn around. I felt defeated but it was a smart choice.

ME! Feeling defeated… It was about time to turn around…(Photos above and below by: Deann Garcia, Bill Garcia, and Myself!)

After an adventurous descent back down the way we came, we got back to the highway and with a little bit more labored climbing (on my part), we hit Mt Bachelor resort and descended on the road from there. We hopped on the trail at the pump track area about 16 miles from Bend and zipped down an ribbon of trails headed into town.

We took the paved bike path and it all led right to a hotel called Loge, which is a bike-themed hotel run by Evo brand. We coined this hotel Hipster-ville USA, BUT! It had everything we needed and it was right off the trail, so it was very convenient. We were able to wash our bikes and do some maintenance at the bike wash area they have there right there at the hotel. There were even bike racks in the rooms (though we didn’t bother cause we had loaded bikes). This lodge was a much needed reprieve from the difficult of the trail that we had in the first few days. We showered, headed into town to wash our clothes, and lounged by the fire pits outside. The next day, we routed ourselves back towards Sisters to get back on track. All things considered, we ended up in a good place at a good time and couldn’t really complain at all!

If it fits, it sits! This is what 4 people and 4 people’s bike packing stuff looks like in a hotel room!

Photos by Myself, Aliza Richman and Deann Garcia

OTT Take 2: Day 3: Charlton Camp to Soda Creek Campground

Okay, so Day 3 was rad! The plan was originally to go about 27 miles - a mix of single track and dirt roads mixed in. We hit 10 by 10:00 on flowy up and down trails. It was tiring on the legs but overall really fun with some rad descents. I would definitely go back there to ride without a loaded pack!

We planned to pick up a resupply at mile 16 of the day at Cultus Lake. We also had planned to have lunch there, but unfortunately, the Cafe is closed on Tuesdays - so make sure to check that before you plan on going there! We did pick up our resupply though and they were nice enough to let us sort everything in their dining room, which was great because it was really windy outside with a storm coming in hot. The nice gal at cultus Lake resort recommended that we go to Elk Lake for some food, so we went out of our way and bypassed Lava Lake where we were originally going to camp for the nigh t and hopped the Cascade Lakes Hwy and headed to Elk Lake.

The lake was beautiful and we got some elk burgers and cider. With full tummies, we decided to keep on trekking, which my legs did not approve of. We continued on the hwy and all the long up and down rollers with a brutal headwind. As you can imagine, all the food in my tummy plus the shining sun did not make for a comfortable ride.

Eventually, mostly cause everyone was pretty blown, we decided to stop at Soda Creek Campground, which is next to Sparks Lake. The views were out fo this world! We could see direct views of South Sister and Broken Top. We got to stick our legs in the winding creek and enjoy the glowing twilight.

I think the next day was on everyone’s minds as we settled in for the night. We were going to try to avoid a snow/thunderstorm. Originally we were going to camp at Three Creeks Campground, but it is at really high elevation and with snow, that didn’t sound too delightful. So, the plan was to push ahead to Sisters, which would make a very long day! My legs were tired, as usual, and so after some goofing off and stream laundry, we settled in for the night.

Soda Creek with views of South Sister and Broken Top

OTT Take 2: Day 2: Gold Lake to Charlton Lake

Today we had approximately 22 miles planned with about 2,000 ft of total elevation, which didn’t seem horrible. Especially after the rough and tough intro to our trip that we had the day before, it seemed very doable. This route circumnavigates around Waldo lake and is mostly single track. We started at about 9:30am that morning. We immediately ran into a few snow patches and downed trees, but it was minuscule compared to yesterday. The views of Waldo lake are amazing along this part of the trail. Most of the trail was a blur to me, but I just remember it was difficult, never really easy because you always had to have your head on straight for the single track action.

Waldo Lake: Photo Cr: Deann Garcia

We went to bed super early that night because we were all very tired. It was a long but beautiful day on the bike and our crew was working really well together to get up and over obstacles. We were expecting rain/snow in a couple of days so pretty nervous about what that might bring, but for the moment, warm food was in our belly and our tired legs were resting, so all was right in the world.