Back at our car, we headed to Ontario, Oregon for some benefits of civilization (shower, bed, food). It was also a good spot to make final decisions regarding the next segment of our trip.
Our baseline plan was to head toward the Stanley / Sun Valley area of Idaho for some mountain biking and another backpack (either in the Sawtooths or in the White Cloud Wilderness). But, concerns about the weather and possible wildfire smoke, led us to reconsider ... and decide to head west to Bend, Oregon (again) for some mountain biking and hiking.
But, before hitting the road, we opted for a easy ride in the Ontario area ... the Black Canyon Dam Canal Road. It's an unpaved road along a 30 mile canal up on the hillside above the Emmett Valley ... constructed to provide irrigation water. The directions via Google Maps appeared simple enough ... except Google hasn't perfected their road info out in the boonies. We eventually got to the the trailhead, but not before we did our fair share of exploring dead-end and private roads ... with lots of odd looks from the locals. The bike ride was beautiful ... with nice warm sun but coolish air temperatures. About 45 minutes in, we discovered an interesting creeping weed that inserted nasty multi-directional thorns into your tires. [
Apparently, this weed (Tribulus terrestris, aka caltrops, goatheads, devil's thorn, puncture vine) is well known around the world, and its uses range from homicidal weapons to supplements for enhancing male sexual performance.] In our case, the tubeless setup on Tom's bike held up fine, but Karen's traditional tubes felt the pain. We used the pump-ride-repeat method to get her and her bike back to the car, leaving an assessment and treatment of the damage for later.
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| Police helicopter searchlight locates the culprit on the Black Canyon Dam Canal Road |
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| Emmett Valley, ID |
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| Innocent-looking Caltrops |
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| Close-up of pervasive seed pods with thorns |
After our 5 hour drive to Bend (yes, through lots of sage-brush territory) we sat on the sunny lawn at the hotel, and patched a hole found in one of Karen's tubes, but tossed the other, which had 5 holes. Meanwhile, Tom added some more Stan's sealant to his tires, and we were good to go. The weather didn't disappoint, but it did get pretty cold at night ... which made for good sleeping when we were car camping. We got in a couple of good mountain bike rides and a nice dayhike. We also drove down to Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which is similar to Crater Lake, but less dramatic. It was all enjoyable, and pretty low key. Our campground was only a few minutes outside of town, so we were able to hit a couple of restaurant meals, as well.
We opted for a final dayhike up Black Butte outside of Sisters, Oregon on our drive home. A pretty rough road up, but the Outback (fully loaded) handled it with ease. The trail was short and up. From the top, there were big views of the big peaks (Broken Top, Sisters, Washington, 3 Fingers, Jefferson, Hood) and the surrounding valleys. You'd kind of expect that, though, since there's an active fire lookout there! The drive home was uneventful, except for the nasty Portland traffic!
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| Broken Top Above Green Lakes |
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| South Sister and Green Lakes |
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| Lava and Fall Creek below Green Lakes |
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| Paulina Lake from Paulina Peak, Newberry Volcano National Monument |
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| Small pine tree and obsidian, Newberry Volcano National Monument |
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| Mt. Jefferson from Black Butte |
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| Snag and Three Fingered Jack on Black Butte Trail |
Activities
- Mountain Biking near Emmett, ID: Black Canyon Dam Canal Road
- Mountain Biking near Bend: Kent's > Lower Whoops > Phil's, Shevlin Park Loop > Mrazek
- Hiking near Bend: Green Lakes, Black Butte
- Sightseeing near Bend: Newberry National Volcanic Monument
5-Star Moments
- Snaking up and down miles and miles of mountain bike trails!
- Views of Broken Top and South Sister from Green Lakes.
Tom's Daily Stress Points
- Is the weather good enough in Idaho to go there? (stress level = moderate)
- Will the hike to Green Lakes be as mobbed as the books implied? (stress level = moderate)
Sleeps
- Ontario, OR: Best Western Inn and Suites (nice)
- Bend: Entrada Inn (fine, but a little tired and away from town)
- Bend: Tumalo State Park (great facilities, some smallish sites)
Eats
- Ontario, OR: Bert's Growler Garage (huge beer selection, good pulled pork tacos, 3 really old restored cars)
- Bend: Nancy P's Cafe & Bakery (excellent breakfast croissants and pockets)
- Bend: La Rosa's (upscale Mexican, good but not great)
- Bend: Wild Rose (Norther Thai, interesting and seemingly authentic, will certainly try again)
- Bend: McKay Cottage Restaurant (very good breakfast, popular)
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