Western Spirit Mt Hood MTB trip review

[gnat23]

Day 1:
Meet the guides! Fill the camelbaks, put the bike on the rack, drive up to the campsite. Set up camp. Ride! Hey, this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Zippy! Green! Beautiful! Wow! ~ 12 miles, 1800', out and back, really nice and buff trails with only a few sandy sections. Lots of big trees around. Eat. Swat bugs. Drink (BYOB, and the Oregon Beer tends to be pretty good). Chill by the fire. Sleep.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3850734393_c053f70d71.jpg

Day 2:
Wake. Coffee. Breakfast.
Ride! Ooof, way more technical. Crash twice, once on each side. Get frustrated at roots and sandy patches. Opt out of the longer ride, thus clock 11mi, 2100'. Eat. Swat bugs. Drink. Chill by the fire. Sleep.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3853545828_ed15153803.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnat23/3853545828/)

Day 3:
Wake. Coffee. Breakfast.
Sketchy downhills. Crash again. Super grump attack. Lunch. Magically feel better. Kick all the boys' asses on the climb back up. Feel amazing. 15 miles, 2800'. Eat. Swat bugs, etc. Have trouble sleeping, due to fist-sized bruise on left hip, a pulled right hamstring, various open wounds on legs and arms. Ow.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3851531118_449c8330df.jpg

Day 4:
More climbtastic. Finally feeling like I can conquer 90% of the obstacles. Switchbacks curl beneath me, rocks and roots are attacked, balance becomes a zen-like experience. 11mi, 2800'. Kill a bottle of Port, get retarded and giggly, sleep awesome.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2648/3850746047_2c465a6972.jpg

Day 5:
Pack up camp, then shuttled to the top of Dog River Trail. Ridiculous downhill that was worth every ounce of legend. Splash through mud puddles with a grin. Deep breaths of crisp mountain air. Finish wanting MORE. 12 miles, dunno the elevation since the Garmin finally died.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3850750503_e1d342f831.jpg

The food was AMAZING, definitely redefines "camp menu" for the rest of your life.

Guides were great! Super cheerful, great stories, had everything in the backpacks from extra water to tire patches and bandaids.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3851535684_68c236c95b.jpg

Despite my frustrations and bruises, a GREAT trip, and I'd highly recommend Western Spirit for guided bike vacations!

My photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnat23/sets/72157622007707271/), and my boy's photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismatthews/sets/72157622001913427/) (with a much better camera!) and some breweries we hit on the trip there and back. :D

-- gnat! (have now about doubled the miles on my MTB)

[BikeDutchess]

Great report, love the photos! Sounds like a wonderful trip.

[SadieKate]

We went on a singletrack tour from Mt Hood to the Gorge many, many years ago. Rode the same trails based on WS's itinerary. It was gorgeous. Some amazing views of the Cascades and then mountain sides filled with flowers.

Yah, you can gain weight on a Western Spirit trip.

[jobob]

<pops head up>
did someone say Oregon Beer? :D

ed to add: Oh maaaan, Lagunitas too!

And I'll bet mp will be all giddy when she sees your pictures from Rogue Brewery.



Oh, I see you did some biking too. :o

[gnat23]

After falling in love with Rogue and going there, uh, twice...

I discovered they have a brewpub in San Francisco. Hey, my birthday is coming up!

I *heart* Dead Guy Ale, but they had about 30 beers on tap, and there's some real creative fun awesome stuff in there. Chipotle Ale! Smoke Ale (like drinking a camp fire)! Brutal Bitter! Chocolate Porter! *hic!*

I came back from this trip a full-fledged mountain biker and IPA drinker. Time to sell the road bike? :D

-- gnat!

[Aquila]

I went on their Yellowstone road trip this spring, and it was incredible. The guides were great (and super cooks, too), and the riding was just great!

[katluvr]

Cool trip report!
Biking and beer--what could be better. I just do know about those off road trails...maybe...someday.
Nice pics!

[SadieKate]

For those who like the idea of a mountain bike trip but are leery of singletrack, look into the trips which are held on dirt roads like Telluride to Moab, Backcountry Hot Springs (in Idaho), the Yellowstone trip (I think), White Rim, etc. These are good trips for roadies who want to get off the asphalt but not onto their a$$es.

Both Western Spirit and Rim Tours are excellent companies and can steer you toward the right trip for your abilities. Don't think that a mtb tour always requires huge technical skills and the ability to leap large boulders in a single bound.

[maillotpois]

Did someone say Rogue brewery...???

I have now filled 3 growlers at the SF Rogue pub after we discovered its existence from visiting the Rogue Mothership in Newport on our motorcycle adventure this summer. Sadly they never have the IPA when I go in but their Brutal Bitter is AMAZING. They seem to be the victim of their distributors here in SF and don't always have the 20 or so taps of their own stuff that they had the first time we went there. (They also have another 20 of very good, somewhat hard to find micro stuff as well.) I hear they think they'll have the IPA in toward the end of the week... maybe I gotta go back to the city for something.

Oh - trip looked fun! :D

[Wahine]

I'm a card carrying member of Rogue nation. I love Dead Guy Ale and Shakespear Stout. I have a Rogue problem.

Congrats on a great trip. It was all in my back yard. Yup I'm spoiled. The riding out here is fantastic. I've been getting more into Mtn biking this year, but the road riding is amazing too.

Were the guides local?

[gnat23]

Sarah, I'm a big convert to the Brutal Bitter as well, like it better than the IPA.

That being said, I'm waiting desperately for Sierra Nevada to release their Estate beer already. It wasn't ready when we popped in there last week. "Whaddya mean, it's not ready!" "It's still in the tank! Come back in a bit!" "grr"

Wahine, both of our guides live in Durango, but it sounds like they were hardly ever there. Josh in particular knew these trails inside and out, I guess having helped develop this trip. I mean, to the detail like "ok, cross over two dirt roads, keep going on the singletrack, then there will be a steep climb, but it's short and levels out quick..." Sheesh, I don't even know my own trails that well.

-- gnat! (was that tree there last week?)

[emily_in_nc]

That looks and sounds really fun! You were really rockin' the pink - awesome!

But what I really want to know is what that delicious dinner in the cast iron pot was?!? Mmmmmmmmmm :p

[SadieKate]

I mean, to the detail like "ok, cross over two dirt roads, keep going on the singletrack, then there will be a steep climb, but it's short and levels out quick..." Sheesh, I don't even know my own trails that well.

-- gnat! (was that tree there last week?)This sounds like me except at intersections. Ask yellow. Trail minutia stick in my pea brain in one ride on that trail. But get to the same intersection for the bazillionth time? Fuggedaboutit.

[gnat23]

But what I really want to know is what that delicious dinner in the cast iron pot was?!? Mmmmmmmmmm :p

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/3851545972_4290cb2d99.jpg

Massive. Vegetable. Lasagna.

-- gnat! (*urp*)

[maillotpois]

That lasagna looked fantastic.

Yum.

... off to go break into a beer in honor of gnat's trip....