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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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

My photos, and my boy's photos (with a much better camera!) and some breweries we hit on the trip there and back.

-- 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?

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.

[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?

-- 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!