The most amazing campground we’ve ever been to awaits us in the far north of California. Magnificent elk graze right next to our tent, apparently with such regularity that the clearing is even listed as an attraction on our map. We stay for two days and hike the Fern Canyon - a magical Jurassic-green wonderland. In fact, some scenes from Jurassic Parc were filmed here!
Shortly before the Oregon border, we pass through a really large area of burnt forest for the first time. For more than ten kilometers, the hills are adorned only by silvery-black skeletons rising naked into the sky. Only here and there have individual islands been spared, showing the familiar bright green and red of the conifers. A sad sight. In general, however, we like the slow ascent along the unspoiled Smith River very much, and the occasional traffic with trucks full of tree trunks doesn’t bother us at all. And from Grants Pass to Ashland, we enjoy almost a whole day on the best cycle paths 😀
Obviously we took the right turn again, Hobbits from Fieldbrook (For the Shire!) had invited us to their place - and lo and behold, this is the better route to Crater Lake than the one we had originally planned. After a round of bike polo (quite tricky, the coordination of bike and mallet, but lots of fun) and a rest day, we spend two days cranking our way up over pretty mountain hills (the Jura sends its regards) to the blasted volcano with the deepest lake in the USA.
The highway from Chiloquin to La Pine is once again a rather dubious pleasure. Sometimes the shoulder is well developed and it’s just noisy, sometimes it almost disappears and the extra-wide pickups with trailers in particular overtake criminally close. This is where you can see that there is probably no professional behind the wheel - the truck drivers manage to keep a decent distance without any difficulty. On the other hand, we make good progress on the road - which is unfortunately unavoidable for a while - and the sixty extra kilometers due to the still snow-covered road north from Crater Lake are soon behind us.
The whole region here is a tangible experience of plate tectonics. Since we reached the mountains in Mexico, we have more or less been driving along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Like any old ocean, the sea plates slowly sink into the depths at their edges, while the continental plates around them slide over them. At the edges, the water bound in the rock is heated and squeezed out at great depths, melting the overlying layers and pushing the magma formed upwards. As a result - for example on the American west coast - diverse geological structures are formed. Shield volcanoes, ash cones, buttes, underground lava tubes and the still desolate landscape of a lava flow after 7,000 years, to name just a few of those we encountered. The latter, the lava river, is being reclaimed by nature as a habitat in infinitesimally small, laborious steps. In the meantime, the first larger plants can be seen alongside lichen.
Mount Mazama, now known as Crater Lake, was once the largest volcano in Oregon. Shield upon shield, layer upon layer of lava was piled up to 3700m and weathered away again. Then an unimaginable eruption: a ring of fissures opens up around the summit in 5700 BC, the entire peak plunges into the opening maw. Thousands of years later, we experience the lake with the clearest blue water in the caldera as a haven of peace, the cleanest water in the US with almost no pesticide contamination, as it is fed only by rainwater from a manageable catchment area without agriculture.
In Bend, Levi takes us on a kayak tour. Another roadside acquaintance that leads to a great visit. Once again a new perspective on the volcanoes from the crystal-cold water, innovative pedal fin boats to check out and good company to enjoy (we’re not talking about you, mosquitoes!). In the evening, a short excursion with unusually upright, but great bicycles, through the - as we noticed on entering - amazingly bike-friendly town, and then a wonderful bed! Thanks for refueling!
As we continue north, Oregon reminds us more of the desert regions in Mexico - High Desert - and soon we are fighting against the wind for a day along the Columbia River. Not without reason, this is a paradise for windsurfers and kiters, who fly modernly-elegant on their hydrofoil boards over the crests of the waves. Quite literally!
The Columbia also marks the border to the last federal state before Canada which we cross. Water-rich, forested, dominated by snow-capped mountains visible everywhere and with a long coastline, Washington lies before us. On a deserted forest road around Mount Adams, a bobcat surprises us with a brief visit. We take a break at the side of the road and suddenly it stands there, looks over at us briefly and scurries silently into the undergrowth. Once again the weather changes, there is still snow next to the road and we prefer to spend the whole day in the tent because of the misty drizzle.
All the more reason to enjoy the beautiful area on the first sunny day following, on good cycle paths and former railroad tracks through Redmond. Maybe a hint of Microsoft’s billions in taxes, which are otherwise not particularly visible? In any case, the local Trek mechanic is super generous - as they hardly have any 26-inch tires left in stock, he spontaneously gives us two used ones that are apparently as good as new. Thank you!
As a temporary farewell to the States, we enjoy a unique curiosity for us: a drive-in movie theater on Whidbey Island with an integrated overnight stay - “We rather have you crash with us than crash on your way home!” We are obviously strange too - but hey, the official name of the location is ‘Drive in Theatre’ - we get a tent pitch in the front row and are very welcome to stay the night.
And then there’s the visit to the most beautiful MTB town in the USA - to Kristian: former downhill pro, outdoor enthusiast, daring in abundance, at the same time very risk-conscious, an excellent craftsman and mechanic. Exciting conversations, a swim in the waterfall, natural help with the best connections to the bike store in town - we get a perfectly fitting dirt jumper for the front wheel instead of the unfortunately not very durable tires from Redmond - and almost too quickly we are on our way to the border.
