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Caption: Chasing the
Paisley
Turkey
Caption: Five friends Recently, a handful of us decided to head to Southern Oregon for a post-Thanksgiving bikepacking trip.
The goal was to retrace the footsteps of General John C Fremont while exploring the aptly named Winter Ridge that overlooks Summer Lake.
As the date approached, the weather got worse. But we were determined to brave the freezing temps in the name of adventure.
Caption: Thanksgiving Day A flurry of group text messages passed between the five of us.
Wind gusts of 50mph plus snow at our intended elevation of 7,300' started to wear down our commitment.
But we were not going to be denied.
Around 10am on Friday morning we met in Redmond, OR and hatched a plan.
While bikepacking had been shut out, an old fashioned road trip/mtb adventure came into view.
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Caption: FORT ROCK!
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Caption: CRACK IN
THE GROUND!
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Caption: To Summer Lake After goofing around at Crack in the Ground we headed to our destination.
Upon arrival the wind was blasting everything in sight. Every cabin was booked that night, but luckily there was a rickety old Airstream.
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Caption: WINTER RIDGE
Caption: The next morning, the wind had died down a bit, but was still knocking us around as we saddled up and headed out.
If we weren't going to do any actual camping in the elements, we were certainly going to explore as much of the area as possible.
Our access point was five miles away into a stiff headwind. As we began climbing, the wind picked up a bit more before we finally found the shelter of the ridge.
But not before having a bit of fun on the ride up.
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Caption: Tracks of varying sizes and shapes
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Caption: BRRRRR!
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Caption: BRAPPPP!!!
Caption: 30 miles of forest roads, bushwhacking, and snow riding later we cleaned up at the cabin and made plans for the night.
The town of Paisley, OR was eight miles away and large burgers and pitchers of Coors beckoned us.
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Caption: The next morning we packed the truck and headed home.
With a long day of driving ahead we opted to take the scenic route and do a bit of exploring along the way.
Our first stop was a site of petroglyphs. Located about 30 feet off the highway, we found them thanks to a magazine article we found in the cabin. Thanks Summer Lake Hot Springs!
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Caption: And of course no adventure is complete without another soak.
It wasn't really on the way home, but a dip in the Umpqua Hot Springs is always a good idea.
My friend Joshua Bryant had never been and it was a pleasure to share such a great place with him.
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Caption: And with that we made our way back to Portland and our normal boring lives.
Another great trip flew by, and although it didn't go as planned, it was memorable in many ways.
Good friends, great locations, and a sense of adventure is all it takes.