Billy ready to go!
Early Wednesday (June 28th) morning I will be renting an SUV to haul Billy and my gear to Klamath Falls, OR to start the Oregon Outback. The Outback is a 364 mile route up central Oregon to the confluence of the Deschutes and Columbia Rivers. It is 75% unpaved and has a total ascent of 14,376ft. It is considered one of Oregon’s best bikepacking routes, in part, due to the ease of logistics in getting to the start via Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train (K-Falls is the southern most full service stop in Oregon), and finishing near The Dalles, where there are some options for getting home.
All that is true, IF one can get a bike reservation on the Coast Starlight. Unfortunately, all the bike spots were sold out for many days before and after the day I wanted to start. I thought perhaps I could take a bus. Another no go. The only possible bus went from Portland, and left at 7:00am. That left me with one option…renting a car. Funny thing, when I looked at car rentals for Thursday, June 29th (my original start date), there were no cars available in Olympia! Moving the date back to the 28th, I managed to secure a reservation for an standard SUV.
Renting a car is definitely more expensive than taking the train. However, if I had been able to take the train, it would have arrived in K-Falls at 10:00pm. I would have had to get a hotel for the night, then start riding the next morning. By renting the car, I can get to K-Falls much earlier in the day, and start riding. No hotel stay necessary. Take out the price of a hotel, and it’s probably nearly a wash, cost wise.
As you are reading this, you may have surmised that I am doing this alone. You are right…at least for the first days until I get to Prineville. In Prineville, I will once again get to stay with my cousins, Debbie and Brian, while I wait for Jana, Erin, and Stephanie to arrive. Jana’s husband, Bill, is generously driving them to Prineville. They will arrive on July 4th. From Prineville, we will finish the route as a foursome, and Bill will pick us up when we are finished.
I will be doing blog posts, but not sure how much service I’ll have for uploading, at least until I get to Prineville. Until then, wish me luck in avoiding the rattlesnakes (I am carrying my Garmin InReach, and even activated it)! Here’s the route.
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