We were on the road for Day 3 just slightly later than the other days. We rode back to the road. Instead of backtracking, we just headed toward Hood View Campground where we would intersect with the singletrack. Lo and behold, we came to a brand new campground first, called Stone Creek. Seriously, this campground can not have been open for very long. The pit toilet smelled better than any pit toilet I have ever been in (and I’ve been in a lot). The campsites were pristine. It looked as if most of them had not even had any campers yet. There was a freshly built trail to the Southshore Trail, and we were back on route.
Timothy Lake from the Southshore Trail.
The Southshore and Timothy Lake Trails were fun and flowy…my kind of mountain biking. We even rode the trail out to Meditation Point. Lots of dispersed campsites there.
Makaela really wanted a swim, so we stopped along the trail, and she hopped in the lake.
In the meantime, I worked to clean my shoe of the dog crap I somehow stepped in when we were at Meditation Point.
We rode through Hood View CG (too cloudy for a view) and the North Arm CG before leaving the trail for another gravel road.
Back to gravel.
While we were on the gravel, we started the longest climb of the day at 8.9 miles. A mile or so into it, we came to the paved portion, FR 58. From here the rest of the road was paved up to High Rock. That climb finished just before High Rock. We had some lunch on the side of the road with a view of Mt. Jefferson.
We pulled off at High Rock to look at the view.
High Rock
Mt. Hood
Makaela about to ride off the precipice of death.
A bit more climbing finally brought us to Abbot Road. This is sort of the highlight of the route. I can’t remember the exact story, but something to do with the indigenous Anaxshat and a trading route on this Abbot Rd. There were a few signs saying how the road is closed, and the road is bad. This we knew. The road is closed because there is a washed out bit. The road is bad because…well…because it doesn’t get used much.
This part was not bad at all.
We had been told water was less reliable after Timothy Lake, but that there was a reliable Spring along Abbot Road. We found it, and it even had a pipe coming out.
See the small pipe?
We came to the washed out part. It was a steep push up the other side, but I managed it (almost thought I was going to have to take off some of the bags to get Billy up). I didn’t take a photo.
The road continued to climb (second longest climb of the day, and definitely more difficult). I was able to ride everything except for one spot where I was on the wrong side, and got into too many baby head rocks. Fortunately, it seemed, for the steepest parts, the road surface was a little better.
Basically, a dirt road with chunky rock in places.
A nice view (in looking at this photo, doesn’t it look like, to the left, a head with two eyes and a nose?)
We finally finished that climb, then had mostly downhill to Tumalo Meadow where there is a dispersed site. The meadow is more of a pond. There are lots of newts in the water, and on the road. The campsite by the pond is really more of a wide spot in the road.
I’m standing in the road to take this photo.
Tumalo “meadow”
Nino the newt
Nino on a stick (Makaela decided to help him to the water).
We fixed our dinner (poor Makaela only had my Z-seat for furniture tonight).
Still have the fine Tyvek tablecloth.
After dinner we went for another walk. We saw a Barred Owl (at least I think that’s what kind it was).
It is quite zoomed in, so not the best photo, but can you see him (or her)?
Tomorrow we start the day immediately climbing. If I am ready to go before Makaela, I will get a head start on the climb, as I am much slower. We have just 24 miles to go to get back to Estacada.
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