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OfflineGrok
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Registered: 12/03/03
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My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics!
    #7456451 - 09/26/07 04:42 PM (16 years, 4 months ago)

This last weekend I had entirely too much fun, which was long overdue. All my summer had been consumed by an intensive drug-treatment program - on top of my two jobs - mandated by my probation. Just a word of caution if you ever find yourself having to do something similar – lie through your teeth to the people who run these things. Don’t for any reason mention that you have used psychedelics on a more-than-experimental-and-one-time-only basis, if at all (obviously as I was caught with psychedelics I couldn’t say I’d never used them). Doing so will guarantee a ‘treatment plan’ much more intensive than you’d otherwise receive. Anyway, fuck all that, I’m done with it  :smile: .

So I finally had a few free days and I decided to go climb...


Mt. Theilsen! 
...which more than a few people have told me is their favorite mountain in all of Oregon. Theilsen is known as both the lightening rod of Oregon and the Matterhorn of the Cascades. Me and my boss had planned to go up there sometime but he’d bailed and went backpacking somewhere else for the weekend. So I went all by my lonesome…just me and Zuki!  :cool:


The bike is my only motorized transportation, and I’ve only had it for a few months. I’d been itching like a fiend in the midst of an OC nod to take a trip on it, as the town-pounding had gotten old for both the bike and myself, and I wanted to see if I could pack light enough to fit everything I’d need the meager rear-rack. With the addition of the bigger tank and new tires she was good to go. I’d been doing lots of reading about some of the long-distance trips you can take on dual-sport motorcycles in the US and some of them were really inspiring, especially *[url="http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147232"]this[/url]* one.

My goal was to avoid paved roads as much as practical and the popular highways as much as possible. Zuki is happy right around 60mph and no higher…going down the road with RV’s belching along at 70mph, piloted by geriatrics “humping the American Dream” isn’t my idea of fun, and there were a shitload of em. I just don’t like traffic period. The dirt roads were empty except for the occasional hunters and it suited me and Zuki perfectly…the bike especially cuz it just ain’t at home unless it’s on dirt. Plus buzzing down the pavement for long stretches gets old with all the wind noise and monotony. So I’d copped a couple maps the days before and figured out a route that was dirt roads a good 85% of the way.

Saturday morning I got a later start than hoped for and headed out of town and into the hills. It was a bit chilly and by the time I’d climbed the grade into the mountains my hands were dead numb! I’d forgotten my glove liners  :foreheadslap: , which were the only way to abate the windchill of riding. Luckily the dirt roads weren’t too much farther and then that’d be less of an issue. I also forgot to top off my tank  :rolleyes: …I was mildly concerned that I’d run out of dinosaur juice by my first gas stop but it wasn’t an issue. Zuki sips gas…up to 70mpg…and the big tank would carry me far.



I stopped and ate a small lunch here. The mountain in the backdrop is Mt. McLoughlin, which I’d climbed several weeks previous. It was pretty rad.

After getting gas in Prospect, and bullshittin the attendant for a bit, I hit the nearest dirt which followed the Rouge River north. The stretch was beautiful…many leaves beginning to turn…I love fall! The Rouge River is also a jem…wish I would have taken pictures.

   
The ride up was a lot of fun…the new tires I’d slapped on were quintessential hog-heaven compared the 1991 Slicks that the original tires had become. Lean a BCH too far with those on soft dirt and you’d be eating dirt, as I learned soon after buying Zuki. Anyway, after I spotted this spire I figured I was getting close to Diamond Lake, my destination for the night.


Yep! There’s Theilsen, obscured in clouds. Them clouds would remain overnight and lay a good frost on the peak for the next day.


I made my way to Diamond Lake, and was surprised at the establishment they had. It was like a small town. There were at least 150 dirt bikes there too…apparently there was some big event going on…so I was just another bike in the crowd. I had no desire to stay anywhere near the lake itself after stopping by…people everywhere. I got some gas and headed back down the road to this duckout I caught a gander of passing by, just off a dirt road. It had a gravel floor and a nice wood stove and I couldn’t have been happier there. I threw a half percoset down the hatch, got a fire going, grubbed down, read a captivating book for awhile, and drifted into the nod. Hog heaven.


My fire died in the night and I woke up pretty cold. My bag is rated for 20* but it must have lost some loft. I had to piss like a racehorse but it was too cold. I nodded off again and woke up…finally there was some light coming through the chinks. At a snail’s pace I got a small fire going to warm my hands, packed up, warmed up the bike, and got out of there. And pissed, of course. The ride down the dirt road was COLD! I’d grabbed another set of liners the day before but they didn’t seem to make much difference. I had to stop and swing my arms around several times go keep from getting frostbite (naw, it wasn’t that bad, but it was fuckin cold!). I was feinding something warm to drink so I headed back into the tourist infestation. The crowd got to me and I left before laying down a dime. It was almost 9:00am and I had a big hike and a long ride back ahead of me so I buzzed over to the trailhead to get on with it.

As I was finished stashing my riding gear under a nearby tree, three guys came back down to the parking lot from the trail. We bullshat for a bit and they said they’d turned around after getting above treeline. Too much frost, they said. It had been cloudy up until this point but it seemed to be breaking up, so I still had every intention of going as far as I could. As they left and I was ready to hit the trail, I felt warm sunshine hit me :sun:…it seemed to be saying “Don’t worry about the frost.”


The trail started off through relatively flat forest. I had read various reports online that the trail was between 5.5-7 miles roundtrip. It was actually about 10-11 total, but it was all good. Not far up the trail my wilderness high started kicking in. It’s kind of like a mild dose of mescaline…energy out the ass, a big ole shit eatin grin, and just total love and appreciation for the natural world and its beauty :mushroom2:. It hit hard when I saw this for the first time –

   
That was when I realized that there was more of a hike than I’d anticipated, but it didn’t phase me a bit, quite the contrary, actually. I passed a small group of people and was making good progress. Suddenly, all hell broke lose :eek:! A tree broke and fell directly on top of me, smashing my head clear out my asshole!

Naw, that didn’t actually happen. My head is still up my ass fine and well. I got onto the ridge that leads up to the peak. The trail intersected the Pacific Crest Trail – PCT as it is – which I really hope to thru-hike the year after next, from Mexico to Canada. This is where the frost started. The peak was a bit imposing with all the frost on it…I had doubts that I’d make it all the way. Here’s a picture back towards Diamond Lake and Mt. Bailey.


The huge Oregon forests…like carpet!



And the mighty Mt. Theilsen.


Right about here I started thinking about how perfect this place would be for a DMT or Ayahuasca trip :yesnod:. It doesn’t get any better, and once you grow accustomed to tripping in places like this it’s hard to settle for anything less. It’s downright religious. It was a trip in a setting not unlike this the year before that permanently shattered my atheism, skepticism of spirituality, and fear of death. This is where God can be found and answers can be had…away from people!.

The frost made for some excellent photo opportunities




Onward Christen Soldiers…




The trail was getting steeper and the air was getting thinner. Luckily I’m in damn good shape and was making good time still, but it was slowing down.


A little closer


Throwin distance!


Spittin distance!


The frost proved to be no factor, just as the sun had advised me.  I could’ve gone the whole way up without touching any. I did fill my water bottle with it, which was handy. Shame for those suckers who turned back.

Pissin distance! Well, almost. Maybe if you’re drunk or something.


The last bit of the climb pictured above was quite exposed, hand over hand climbing. Not for everyone…I’m sure people have fallen before. Being alone and without a rope wasn’t the safest way to go, but whatever. I kinda like the feeling of being on exposed rocks…it’s very real. Where the mind goes the body follows, and I kept my eyes looking up and made it to the peak without any trouble.

I was the only one on top, which is good because there wasn’t a whole lot of room up there and I dig the peace. Many times I’ve passed people going up the trail, I have the peak to myself for a short bit, and then the hoards come and start yapping on cell phones and such…it’s rather disgusting IMO. I have few moral objections but needlessly using cellphones in the wilderness when around other people…HANG EM HIGH!:satan:

The view was spectacular. There was a small fire a short distance away which hampered it, however. On clear days you can supposedly see from Mt. Hood to Mt. Shasta…clear across Oregon.





The backside, aka the fast way down!


As mentioned Theilsen is known as “The Lightening Rod of Oregon”. It ain’t no shit; the top rocks were burned from the countless strikes they’ve taken.


There were still a lot of clouds in the sky, and the wind was blowing the mass of them my direction.


Even though they were broken clouds, as I could later tell, from my vantage point they looked like one big mass, and blowing my direction. I didn’t stay on top for a real long time because of this. Mountain weather can change as fast a woman’s mind and just as viciously to boot. “The Lightening Rod of Oregon” ain’t the place to be when it does either. I learned this all too well last summer when I was camped in a high-mountain lake basin…basically a big lake surrounded by peaks. One minute it’s clear and the next some big, dark, thundering clouds roll right overhead and jettison their load of rain right on top of me (luckily I had my tarp pitched!). Lightening was striking only a couple hundred feet above/away from where I was camped – the thunder was deafening! I figured it was a great opportunity to snort a big ole line of DMT and…holy fuck. A huge forest fire was started by that storm that blocked me off from my car…and almost burned it up…I got a complimentary and not to mention scenic helicopter ride out of the deal though…all the way back to my car, which was wrapped like a present in fire-shelter material courtesy of the USFS. It couldn’t have been a better trip, in the end.

So anyway, I climbed down, after eating some apples and ‘pluots’. Going down is always worse than up for me. I had a healthy dose of fear going down, but made it safely  :whew: . I slowly descended the peak, scree-skiing where possible (essentially skiing on loose rocks - scree -…it’s a lot of fun and much faster than walking). After getting back onto the main ridge and treeline, I again met up with the group I’d passed going up! I musta been beatin cheeks, because they had a ways to go still and could scarcely believe I’d passed them, been to the peak, hung out there for a bit, and back down by then. I bullshatem for a bit and headed down the trail. Met some chill dudes a little farther down.
 

After a couple or few hours I got back to the trailhead, unstashed my gear, and figured a different route home. This time I was going to go through Crater Lake…a tourist heavy stretch or pavement for sure, but a jaw dropping sight and a means to some untracked to me area of Oregon.

Along the way I passed this…these pumice desert patches are all over near Crater Lake, and they are eerily trippy! I really like this picture.


And of course, Crater Lake. Make your way to Crater Lake sometime, it will take your breath away :eek:. It’s basically an old volcano that blew the shit out of itself and collapsed inwards, leaving a huge crater that gradually filled with rain water and snowmelt. The small island is actually the former peak of the volcano. One of the deepest lakes in the world and probably one of the most pristine as well. Pictures do no justice.


Sittin Pretty


I headed out and got some gas near the park entrance. It was a fun ride out, with lots of sharp, descending twisties. Then the road looked like this for awhile. There’s some goddamn BIG trees out here in Oregon.


Passed this


Finally, I made it to some dirt.


It was really pretty going thorough here, and just to my left was a huge valley of old ranches. Crossed paths with a small herd of elk, who seemed to have the fear of God in em…with hunting season just underway, it’s not a big surprise.



I was running short on daylight and took no more pictures. I made my way back home, rather uneventfully, aside from missing a lot of roads and taking several wrong turns. The whole trip was like that, actually, but I never got lost or anything. I intend to do a lot more trips like this, so I’ll probably get a full-screen GPS on my bike eventually…and some heated grips! Overall I had a total blast :grin:.  So much fun I feel guilty not sharing it with someone. The bike ran great the whole time and now I know I can rig it up for camping pretty easy. With barely more gear, a few tools, and some spare parts, I could ride and backpack around almost indefinitely with that setup. I think I found a new passion/addiction. Hopefully next weekend or soon I can get in another trip, through the Siskiyou mountains on old logging/fire roads and out to the coast. Thanks for reading and if you’re ever down in or wanna check out south/central Oregon let me know! 

:heart: PNW


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Entropy is increasing.
To send me a PM, go to my journal


Edited by Grok (09/27/07 05:49 PM)


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Offline5150
phantom
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Registered: 09/01/06
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Grok]
    #7457784 - 09/26/07 09:36 PM (16 years, 4 months ago)

real nice pics and report
the enduro bikes r the way to go, i have a few friends in tahoe that use them constantly during the non snow times
oregon is a great state for geography and the brewpub scene is exc.
i hitched once from the coast to bend and was blown away by the amount of trees, got stuck in a couple of desolate spots,the forest around bend is killer, there r some dirt roads that go for a long time north of town, too bad the town of bend has the most cops i,ve ever scene for a town of it,s size,crater lake is a wonder of the world indeed, did some cliff jumping into it during the summer once and felt like my heart was going to stop,that Theilsen looks interesting i may have to check it out sometime, so many exc. mountain spots in the U.S, i could spend many summers just looking around colorado, that high alpine clear cold air and all the stars at night is sublime


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"the way of the warrior is the resolute acceptance of death"

Miyamoto Musashi


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InvisibleRustifer
prestige worldwide
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Registered: 04/10/05
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Loc: Central Texas
Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: 5150]
    #7460125 - 09/27/07 12:22 PM (16 years, 4 months ago)

I believe you have just inspired me to buy an enduro bike.


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OfflineMaverick
Lover of Earwigs!
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Rustifer]
    #7461235 - 09/27/07 05:27 PM (16 years, 4 months ago)

POGONIPPED! :laugh:

(pogonipped trees) :smile:


Edited by DRTMaverick (09/27/07 05:30 PM)


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OfflinePDU
travel kid vs.amerika
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Registered: 12/03/02
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Maverick]
    #7521192 - 10/15/07 09:44 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Amazing, thanks for the detailed write up, and pictures!

The 4th from the bottom looks alot like the terrain where im from.


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Offlinekindkesey
take it further
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Registered: 03/16/03
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Rustifer]
    #7523927 - 10/16/07 03:49 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Quote:

Rustifer said:
I believe you have just inspired me to buy an enduro bike.




Hahaha.... me too!!

Thanks for sharing the detailed trip report.... very nicely done!

:thumbup:


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Stay Kool, and enjoy the bus ride.....



"Intrepid Search For Innerspace"

DAVID JONES where are you?


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Offlinegluke bastid
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Grok]
    #7559541 - 10/25/07 02:50 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Quote:

The trail intersected the Pacific Crest Trail – PCT as it is – which I really hope to thru-hike the year after next, from Mexico to Canada.




So, 2009? My girlfriend and I are already in the process of planning a 2009 thru hike. :grin: May be we will see you on the trail


--------------------
:hst:
Society in every form is a blessing,
but government at its best is but a necessary evil
 
- Thomas Paine


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InvisibleShroomismM
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Grok]
    #7577690 - 10/30/07 05:24 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Dude, rad pics.

The PNW is like a dreamland to me.. I have to visit someday


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Offlineandrewss
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Registered: 08/17/07
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Shroomism]
    #7578735 - 10/30/07 10:26 PM (16 years, 3 months ago)

Damn, that looked fun, great scenery :wink:


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Jesus loves you.


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InvisibleGGreatOne234
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Registered: 12/23/99
Posts: 8,946
Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Grok]
    #7595133 - 11/04/07 04:08 PM (16 years, 2 months ago)

:smile:


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OfflineGr8fulJ420
strange but nota stranger
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Grok]
    #7625842 - 11/12/07 01:59 PM (16 years, 2 months ago)

Fantastic photos and story brother. Thank you for sharing them here!


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OfflineNephlyte
Misfortunate One
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Registered: 10/11/05
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Re: My weekend adventure - hiking and motorcycling the best of Oregon - tons of rad pics! [Re: Gr8fulJ420]
    #7647173 - 11/17/07 10:27 AM (16 years, 2 months ago)

That looks great. I'm curious, what gear did you manage to pack onto that little rack?

Just curious because i often take trips on my motorcycle and I always seem to run short on space. I'd like to see what other bikers can cram onto a little luggage rack.


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"To do right is to know what you want. Now when you are dissatisfied with yourself it's because you are after something you don't really want. What objects are you proposing to yourself? Are they the objects you really value? If they are not, you are cheating yourself. I don't meant that if you chose to pursue the objects you most value, you will attain them; of course not. Your experience will tell you that. But success in getting after much labor what you really don't care for is the bitterest and most ridiculous failure." -George Santayana


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