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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Eight)

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Eight)

On June 28, 2025, Joe Miller rolled out of Lakeview, Oregon, on an 11-day push along the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route. By the time he reached Hood River—553 miles and 42,400 feet of climbing later—he was battered, euphoric, and full of stories. This final post closes out the series by sharing what came next for Hanna, his first-week ride partner, whose journey took a different turn after they split paths.

A scientist, ceramicist, and all-around badass on a bike, Hanna rejoined the route in Sisters and pushed through some of the toughest terrain on the trail. Her resilience, humor, and grit shaped the early days of the ride—and her story deserves its own spotlight.

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Seven)

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Seven)

After 11 days, 553 miles, and more than 42,000 feet of climbing, Joe Miller rolled into Hood River—exhausted, elated, and changed. The final leg from Gibson Horse Camp to Hood River delivered everything the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route is known for: a long descent through orchard country, a punishing 7-mile climb to Kingsley Reservoir, and a steep, brake-burning drop to the Columbia River. Joe’s account captures not only the grit and skill required to finish this route but also the gratitude that comes with completing a truly wild adventure.

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Six)

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Six)

On June 28, 2025, Oregon Timber Trail Alliance Board Member Joe Miller set out from Lakeview, Oregon, for an 11-day, 553-mile ride along the Oregon Timber Trail’s newly mapped Adventure Route. By the time he reached Hood River, he had climbed more than 42,000 feet and traversed some of the state’s most rugged backcountry.

Days 9 and 10 carried Joe from Breitenbush to Timothy Lake and onward toward Gibson Horse Camp—a two-day stretch defined by relentless climbs, burn-scarred landscapes, and sweeping views of Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood. Between the brutal eight-mile ascent to Olallie Lake and the punishing 13-mile grind up Lookout Mountain, Joe found small victories in cold beer at the Olallie Lake Resort, the shimmer of Timothy Lake at sunset, and the quiet generosity of fellow campers who shared their water.

These journal-style ride reports capture both the hardship and beauty of the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route—an unforgettable backcountry experience that demands grit, patience, and a deep love of wild places.

My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Four)

My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Four)

Leaving Chemult after a comforting breakfast at Jens’ Coffee House, Joe Miller and his riding partner, Hanna (“Captain Hook”), rolled back onto the gravel roads of Oregon’s backcountry. Day 5 delivered a mix of fast, flowing OHV double-track and lake-side detours before they camped beside the quiet, unmaintained North Davis Lake Campground—Hanna’s last night on the trail before parting ways.

The following morning, Joe faced his longest day yet: 76 miles and over 4,600 feet of climbing en route to Sisters. From smooth gravel ascents to deep snowfields above Todd Lake and the rugged descent through the Peterson Ridge Trail System, the ride was a test of stamina, patience, and grit. By the time he rolled into town, exhausted and grateful, the journey had already carved itself into legend—a vivid reminder of why the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route earns its name.

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Two)

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (Part Two)

“The climb begins immediately out of Lakeview and continues on good gravel, not too steep, with excellent views overlooking the valley below. After the first five miles, the grade lessens, but continues to climb gradually for another 3.5 miles, concluding at a busy intersection where six roads come together and where the Crane Mountain National Recreation Trail crosses.”

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (part 1)

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My Experience Riding the Oregon Timber Trail Adventure Route (part 1)

“This is a great route that puts you out into some of the most remote areas of the state, with lots of adventure riding and beautiful scenery. Although this version of the OTT is the ‘gravel’ version, don’t let that fool you—most of my time was spent on surfaces I would classify as ‘other than gravel.’ It is hard, technical, and most certainly not a traditional gravel ride.”

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10 Memorable Mountain Bike Rides in Oregon’s Old Cascade Crest

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10 Memorable Mountain Bike Rides in Oregon’s Old Cascade Crest

Traveling the Santiam Canyon is a bit like traveling back in time. As you head east from the Willamette Valley, you ascend into the Cascade Range foothills—where the Santiam Canyon begins to envelop the Santiam River and its tributaries in basalt-strewn, old-growth forests of Douglas fir and mountain hemlock. These heavily forested ridgelines and valleys are home to the Old Cascades—a remote region that’s home to some of the most cherished trails along the whole Oregon Timber Trail. 

car-free Weekend Stiletsi with Dan Sharp

car-free Weekend Stiletsi with Dan Sharp

I love getting out with my partner or friends to ride trails on weekends, but my most memorable moments on the bike are when I packed up what I needed and simply left the car at home. As the bus rolled out with my loaded bike perched on the bus bike rack, I tried to think back to the last time I had been bikepacking. Was it riding the Oregon Timber Trail in 2018? Had it really been that long? The pandemic shrank my world as I conserved energy and resources. I concentrated on my work and bike rides were regular, mostly just for my mental health and running errands. In interviewing folks about their adventures I remembered that I too am an occasional bikepacker and I started wondering when I was going to get out on my own adventures again.

Missy Simula + Lower Fifteenmile Logout+ BIG Lonely donations

Missy Simula + Lower Fifteenmile Logout+ BIG Lonely donations

Missy Simula joined us for the Watson Fire #1 Rehab trail work party and then went on to spend 28 days riding the Oregon Timber Trail. When her ride partner canceled, she decided to forge on ahead solo. We’re inspired by Missy’s grit and creativity in coming up with ways to get it done. It’s also fun to keep in touch with volunteers and see what great things they go on to accomplish.

Inspired by our Brian Anthony ride report, last week we teamed up with the USFS to log out the Lower Fifteemile section. Brian altered us to the fact that this section had 25 trees down, so to improve the lives of everyone planning to ride our Mt. Hood Gorge Loop, Stiletsi and the White Crane loop this fall, we set off with crosscut saws, Silky Katanaboys, loppers in hand and took a day to clear the trail.

S24 Stiletsi with Brian Anthony

S24 Stiletsi with Brian Anthony

Brian Anthony, Owner/operator of Portland-based clothing company ANTHM Collective just finished Stiletsi and The White Crane (An OTTA Hood Tier Gorge Loop) in 16 hours and 45 minutes. That’s 145 miles with over 15k of climbing in less than 24 hours. We sat down with Brian for a quick interview and ride recap and to find out what makes him tick.

Stiletsi and the White Crane: Ron Lewis Rundown

Stiletsi and the White Crane: Ron Lewis Rundown

The 143 mile, 14,500 foot circuit roughly follows Wasco and Wishram trade routes used by two namesake native chiefs to guide John C. Fremont's 1842 expedition through the territory. Sections of the route were already familiar to me, but I had never experienced them all together, let alone from a multi-day perspective. From a distance, the weather looked stable. We were two months into a historic drought. So when the forecast shifted to rain over our entire first day, I was a bit anxious.

What could go wrong?

OTT700 Grand Depart - Photo Gallery

OTT700 Grand Depart - Photo Gallery

Last month we gathered in the southernmost Gateway Community of Lakeview to send off OTT riders from all over the country for the inaugural OTT700 Race.

Shared Love and Responsibility on the Oregon Timber Trail

Shared Love and Responsibility on the Oregon Timber Trail

Our world screams at us to see the differences in people – red versus blue, conservative versus liberal. So much energy is put into building walls and encouraging a low energy civil war. In reality, it’s not black and white, but shifting shades of grey mixed with feelings, fear, and desire for connection. A shared love and responsibility for our public lands is a place to start building bridges.

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Who's Riding the Timber Trail? A Look at the Demographics of our Users

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Who's Riding the Timber Trail? A Look at the Demographics of our Users

Each year we ask the people out riding the Oregon Timber Trail questions about their experiences and themselves. This data is not only interesting to look at, it’s also great to see the parts of the experience that people highly value and also exposes what we need to improve along the trail. By and large you all have had an excellent experience: 98% said they’d recommend the OTT to others!

Bikepacking the Oregon Timber Trail with Ben Handrich

Bikepacking the Oregon Timber Trail with Ben Handrich

Follow Ben Handrich and Miles Arbour as they tackle the Timber Trail last summer—Ben captured some amazing arial and POV footage giving you a great overview of what each section of the trail is like.

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Giant Bicycles Takes a Rip Through the Fremont Tier

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Giant Bicycles Takes a Rip Through the Fremont Tier

Oregon Timber Trail Alliance board member Adam Craig took a few of his Giant Bicycles team riders on a late fall adventure on some of the best of the Fremont Tier and they brought their camera crew.

From Instagram to the OTT: an Oregon Timber Trail Story

From Instagram to the OTT: an Oregon Timber Trail Story

As far as Singletrack is concerned, the almost 10 mile descent from Crescent Mountain to the primitive Shedd Camp, was the highlight of the trip for me.  Fast, flowy, all rideable, and completely isolated, when you ride this section, you have it completely to yourself.  Miles and I both were all smiles as we called it a night at Shedd Camp.

Brian Lucido Rides The Oregon Timber Trail

Brian Lucido Rides The Oregon Timber Trail

At each resupply (except for Chemult and Sisters), people we met were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the OTT. People in Paisley, Silver Lake, Oakridge, Idhana, and Parkdale all asked us what they could do to make the OTT experience even better. These small communities benefit from tourism, and really seemed to love having bike-packers come through. Feeling so warmly welcomed in each of these communities contributed very positively to our overall enjoyment of the route.

Oregon Timber Trail (OTT) Ride Report, Tips, and Gear

Oregon Timber Trail (OTT) Ride Report, Tips, and Gear

Lesson one: you can’t learn very much Japanese in ten hours. It’s really hard. Turns out, Keita and Innochi actually spoke some English and all the words I had just learned, they already knew.

Bikepacking the OTT - Broken Bikes and Other Trials

Bikepacking the OTT - Broken Bikes and Other Trials

We’d bikepacked a week on the Oregon Timber Trail (OTT) while it hurled curveballs. This latest one seemed insurmountable: Brady’s old aluminum bike sat next to us, top tube fully snapped off. Clearly, his trip was over.

 

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The Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
Our EIN number is 82-5018544

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Support our partners:

 
On #GivingTuesday we're asking you to consider donating to one (or several) of our partner groups we work with on the Oregon Timber Trail. Support Trails on GivingTuesday! This GivingTuesday, the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance invites you to make a
The Santiam Wagon Road makes up 37 miles of the Oregon Timber Trail Deschutes Tier. Trail users can travel west from Sisters over Santiam Pass and through the headwaters of the McKenzie River towards the historic Fish Lake Work Center. Support our fr
Like the trail and want to get more involved? Join the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance Board of Directors! OTTA is seeking enthusiasts, visionaries, and folks interested in investing in the future of the Oregon Timber Trail to join our Board of Direct
Join us for a one-day ride/work event on Saturday, September 14 as we place reassurance badges on the iconic Surveyor’s Ridge Trail. WHERE? - We’ll meet at the 44 Trails Hub Trailhead (where Super Connector trail crosses Road 17) at 9:00
Looking to extend your summer with a few more adventures? Great, we're looking for a few more signage volunteers in September! If you've hiked or ridden the trail before, you know how tricky navigation can be. Better signage will significantly enha
We’re collecting tales from the trail about your experiences with mosquitoes along the OTT. So get in your wayback machine and conjure up your most memorable swarm stories! Share them in the comments and don't forget to include where along the
Like the trail and want to get more involved!? Well, you’re in luck! The Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is seeking enthusiasts, visionaries, and folks interested in investing in the future of the Oregon Timber Trail to join our Board of Directors
We can't believe it's mid-August already! Way-finder extraordinaire Dan Sharp @d_sharp has been out on the trail placing signage all summer long with the help of some great volunteers. But there is still a ways to go and trailblazers, we need your he
 

The Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is dedicated to stewardship, education, community, and quality trail experiences throughout the Oregon Timber Trail corridor.

 
 

Oregon Timber Trail® Alliance
PO Box 6531, Portland, OR 97228
503-298-5152

The Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Our EIN number is 82-5018544

© 2025 Oregon Timber Trail® Alliance
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