Steens and Oregon Backcountry - The Ride Report

[kurtw]

Prologue

A few of us have been discussing a ride around Oregon's Steens mountains, etc.
For those who would be interested, what do you think?

XLR8 planted the seed for this way back in the cold days of March. Fast forward six months later and enough details had been decided to get three of us on the road, converging on a point in the Oregon outback for three days of great riding and great company.

Big thanks to XLR8 for getting the ball rolling! My only regret is that some of the other guys that had expressed a keen interest early on in the planning were not able to make it.

More to come.

Go ahead and pile on guys.

[bubba zanetti]

   Looking forward to this ...

[kurtw]

I had been looking forard to this ride more than anything else thoughout the spring and summer. Nothing blows away the stress of real life better than a dual-sport motorcycle camping trip to the middle of nowhere. I was ready.

I talked a couple guys from my local board, BendDualSport.com into coming along for the ride. Jim (aka KMA) on his Weestrom 650 and Park (aka hanksmybuddy) on his XR650L. At the last minute, another BDSer, Mark decided to join the ride with his 640 Adventure. Jim knows this country very well and mapped out a Strom-friendly dirt route for us from Bend headed east. The plan was to meet up with Ron (aka XLR8) on his 990 Adventure and David (aka mtrider16) on his 800GS. The designated Friday rendezvous point was Crystal Crane Hotsprings, southeast of Burns, Oregon.

The Bend crew met up on Bend's east side for a lazy noon time departure. We took off heading east through Alfalfa and left the pavement heading up into the Maury Mountains, following Jim's route.

At one point we ran into an unexpected locked gate plastered with No Trespassing signs, causing us to detour an extra 15 miles or so that turned out to be very nice.

[kurtw]

Some photos from Jim

Wishing we had some mule deer teeth? (According to the sign, there's a prize drawing for a new rifle at the end of the hunting season).

Photo: Jim


Mark lost his rear brake on a steep winding downhill, prompting a pucker moment and immediate repairs. Quickly sorted.

Photo: Jim

[kurtw]

Afer the detour, we popped out onto the Paulina-Suplee highway for a few miles before jumping onto Forest roads that took us up through the Ochoco Mountains, passing the Allison Guard Station, Delintment Lake, and a big open burn area just above Burns.

The guard station - an interesting looking lodge-style fire outpost.


We hit the highway again right at Burns where we loaded up on beer and food for the evening. Crane Hotsprings was just a short ride down the road.

When we arrived at Crane, Ron was there and had his camp all setup and was relaxing. David was still on the road somwehere.

Crane Hotsprings is a developed hotsprings campground with camping cabins, tenting, showered, a kitchen, common room, and of course a large soaking pool. It's deluxe. We couldn't have come up with a better place to meet up. By the time we set up our tents, the sun was setting in the west and the full moon was rising in the east.









Park is a spectacular photographer. He put me to shame with some of his shots, like this one of the soaking pool.

Photo: Park



After getting all set up, cooking some dinner and enjoying a beer, I had a great soak in the hotsprings. Thorougly relaxed, I went looking for the rest of the guys and found them in the common room watching a Jackie Chan movie and swapping stories of other crazy adventures in the wilds of the Oregon and Nevada deserts (I need to go see Denio based on freakshow stories that Jim was telling). David had called earlier in the evening to let us know that he was still making his way in from Ontario. He eventually showed up safely just as we were all crawling into our tents.

Day 1 was 205 miles for the Bend crew.

[katego]

Crane....

ohhhh yeah.... one of my favorite places in the oregon outback.

-k

[sagerat]

Ahh, I am relaxing already just looking at the photos of the soaking pools.

Next year, dang it, next year...

[kurtw]

We woke up Saturday morning and some enjoyed a morning soak while others packed or admired David's GS in the daylight.



Saturday, I had a route in mind to get us up on top of the Steens with minimal slab. I figured this would be an easy day to see how the big bikes handle the dirt.

We topped off the tanks and left Crane.



We took Lava Beds Rd down to the Pete French Round Barn. I was hoping that Lava Beds would be gravel but it was a scenic, twisty paved road crossing some interesting....you guessed it...lava beds.





Then, things got interesting.

After Lava Beds, I wanted to try a dirt road that would climb up and T into the Steens Mountain Road at Fish Lake. The map showed it as a main so I figured on gravel or easy dirt. It wasn't actually anything too crazy but it was quite a bit rougher than I had planned on for the big bikes. Jim said he was at the limit of what was doable on the Strom.

None shall pass - Cows on Moon Hill Rd.



This road had some steep, moderately rocky sections, some silt, a little bit of everything. It was a really fun one to ride on a thumper. Before we knew it we were way above the surrounding landscape.





Eventually we hit Fish Lake and stopped for lunch.

Once on the gravel freeway that is the North leg of the Steens Mountain Loop, the first stop was Keiger Gorge. Cameras just don't work here. It's breath-taking.



Ron looking for the perfect spot to take it all in from.



Ron and Park





Playing around with the camera, hoping to capture some of the scale. I Failed.



The main overlook was equally jaw-dropping





I bet this guy knows how to shoot a good panorama...I've never seen such an apparatus.



Ron hiking around again looking for a good vantage point. I can't wait to see his shots too.





Descending the Steens Mountain Loop on the south side was more interesting than the road up on north side.



From the Steens loop, we slabbed it into Fields for supplies and refershment.



We then burned up to the Alvord playa to set up camp. Jim knew a cool trail down onto the playa at the south end and saved us from some of the gravel. It's a cool feeling when your bike gets its first bite of playa.

Playa camping*

* note, for some reason, I enjoy saying 'playa' It sounds so exotic ... a tropical day at the beach but so not...





Land-sailer in the far background...









What was in the beer, Jim?

[kurtw]

Here's a couple more amazing shots from Park.

This is the ride up into the Steens on Saturday.

Photo: Park


Saturday night. Full moon silhouette of me and my bike.

Photo: Park

[kurtw]

Day 2 was 170 miles according to my GPS:



Steens detail:

[kurtw]

Saturday night, in between beers, bourbons, and keeping a lookout for UFOs, we talked about what to do on Sunday. Jim was not copacetic with the idea of slabbing from the Alvord to Bend and preferred the idea of taking two days to ride back via Crane or Hart Mtn/Summer Lake. While this would be a great way to go, I really wanted to spend more time in the Alvord area and was willing to pay the price on Monday with a half day of fighting holiday traffic on the highway. David, with more homeward miles to ride, needed to start east early Sunday morning.

Mark decided to head out with Jim and Park decided to stay in the Alvord with Ron and I.

Once that was all decided it was time to retire to the Alvord Hotsprings (just up the playa from camp) for a pre-shuteye soak.

Morning in the Alvord







The weather had been great thus far and the weather forecasts were still calling for cooling but no bad turn in the weather. Up on top of the Steens was another matter, I think. At nearly 10,000 feet, the summit had been cold and windy, but clear, when we rode it on Saturday. Sunday morning you couldn't see the very top and you could smell just a hint of the rain blowing down from the high country.



A few more playa photos





So at some point in the morning on Sunday, the Alvord group lost half its riders and Ron, Park, and I planned to check out a route up into the Trout Creek Mountains and back.

Before leaving the Playa, I watched the balloonists launch. It was windy and their ride across the playa was short. Still, it was fun to watch them setup and take off, followed by all their chase trucks storming across the desert.

[kurtw]

Just to be safe, we topped off gas tanks in Fields and headed up. I wasn't sure if this road would be another one that was rougher than I expected. After Saturday, I was pretty much planning on that being the case. As it turned out, I doubt we could have chosen a more perfect loop for the kind of ride we were looking for. It was a good two-track road with a few little challenges to keep it interesting but.

And the terrain and scenery were spectacular. I had no idea this was here.









Whenever I thought we were going to start descending, we climbed another 500 feet. The views from the broad ridges on the actual top were enticing. "I want to ride that. And I want to ride that. And..." Next time...

When we really did start down, it looked like we were riding off the edge of the world.

Here's one of me about to start the descent. Photo: Park

[kurtw]

When we finally hit the Whitehorse Ranch Road again, the fun was just beginning. Next on my list was a hotsprings further out that I hadn't yet visited. Time to go check that off the list. The GPS lead the way.

There was a cool pool and a hot pool. Getting into the cool pool after jumping off the bikes was refreshing beyond words. Once cooled down, the hot pool felt fantastic.







What a way to break up the riding... After getting good and pruned, it was time to get on the bikes and rally back to Fields Station before closing.

Fields is so cool. It's the only civilization within at least 50 miles of this area (more like hundreds of miles if you don't count Denio or Frenchglen). Everyone who is in the area, ranchers, campers, motorcyclists, or tired-eyed Burning Man travelers, shows up at Fields at some point for gas, water, burgers, and/or milkshakes. On a busy weekend like this, it's the social hub of the Alvord.

Anyway, we pulled in and the owner came out and greeted us. She handed us the gas pump, and while we filled the bikes, she took our dinner orders and shared some of her fresh Albacore tuna fillet as an appetizer. Fields is so cool.

Three GINORMOUS burgers and milkshakes later, we headed back up into the Alvord. With the last bit of daylight, we decided to check out Mikey Hot Springs. I took a lot of photos here last trip and didn't take many this time but Ron has some.





From Mickey, we took a sandy two track down onto the playa and goofed around a little more as the sun set. Weaving around through the scrub bushes at the relatively lush north end of the playa was a lot of fun.



Back at camp after a long day. Time to enjoy the last of the bourbon.



My parting shot from the playa.



Day 3 was 179 miles.

[kurtw]

For me, Monday was a solo slab ride home. It was about 3.5 hours from where Ron and I hit the highway and parted ways.

Damn Southeastern Oregon holiday traffic...



Day 4 was 238 miles of mostly highway.



My gallery with more photos is here:
http://kurtwindisch.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Steens

Thanks for the great company guys!!!

[Mastros2]

Wow! Beautiful pics!  Looks like it was a great trip.  Thanks for the share!

[DogBoy]

 


Great write-up and the pics are beyond words. I'm ten kinds of jealous.

[bubba zanetti]

Love the stark beauty of this area. Great pics of a wonderful trip ...  I am Kawasaki green with envy !!  


That bourbon looks suspiciously like Canadian whiskey to me ....  

[kurtw]

David, I'm sorry you had to leave so soon. It would have been great to ride and hang out with you some more. I just realized that I missed some shots of your incredible GS. That looked like quite the perfect machine for this type of thing.

[kurtw]

That bourbon looks suspiciously like Canadian whiskey to me ....  

I'll leave that to you aficionados to decide...

[kurtw]

Park's photos are posted here