Despite flight delays out of O’Hare, Brian made it out to PDX Thursday night and we picked up the rental car. We started Friday morning with a jaunt to The Albina Press, home of a top-ranked barista, for Brian’s espresso fix. While I tried to acquire a taste for it, Brian talked shot length with the tattooed coffee gods. After a drive-by tour of the Missisippi neighborhood, we loaded up for the hour drive to Mount Hood.
Finding Government Camp at the base to be a bit empty, we climbed the road to the Timberline Lodge at 6000 feet to check out the scenic views and summer skiing. Though haze from several wildfires in Washington state obscured a bit of the view, we could easily make out some skiers and boarders on the remaining snow on the volcanic slopes.
Back at the base, we found the bike rental shop at the Skibowl, one of many summer “adventure” attractions. After finally convincing the proprietor that we intended to ride up the mountain instead of taking the lift, he outfitted us with some low-end rent-a-wreck Giant hardtails and set us out with some long and slightly sketchy directions. Loose gravel road gave way to loose singletrack, upping the degree of difficulty along the the bike’s handling.
The trail mellowed out after that, and Brian found some tasty, fresh, organic berries to munch on. He got a further fix on the paved road around Trillium Lake, finally running the bike out of gears. Looping to the far end of the lake provided some great vistas of Mt Hood across the water. After a few miles of descending, we finally realized we were on the wrong path and turned around for a long climb back up.
The bikes’ rebellion reached their peak at this point. My loose seat continued to pitch upwards in an attempt to reorient my bladder and prostate. Brian’s rear tire bled enough air to run almost flat, and we were only able to contain the hemorrhaging somewhat with my trusty pump. After the endless climb, we got a brief respite before tackling another climb out of the campground, taking the path of least resistance back along the highway.
After a nearly four-hour epic, we headed back up the the Ram’s Head Bar at the Timberline, which we learned was used for exteriors in The Shining. Local beers, chips and salsa, and sandwiches replaced a load of expended calories. Heading back to Portland, I kicked the tires on our rental Hyundai’s clutchless shifting, which was pretty lame for shifting, but useful for forcing downshifts coming off the mountain.
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