Davey Boy

Thanks to all the guys that came out and braved the triple digit temps to rip down some great trails! We started out on the tranquil White Salmon river and were met by Broken Brian and guide Andrew for the shuttle ride up to the top of Nestor Peak. Admiring the view of the expansive Columbia River Gorge, a big Van came rolling up the road. We’re talking about the kind of van and the kinda place where a body gets tossed out the side door! I think they are referred to as ’stabbin wagons’! After Andrew made the difficult decision to ride with shoes instead of flip-flops, we fell in line for the descent. The trail was fast and furious and given the season and 100 degree weather…dusty. We all hooted and hollered as we made our way down the mountain, dust sticking in our craws. At the bottom we stopped off at Brian’s lake cabin for a quick breather in a sweet spot.
From there we headed back to Oregon and Post Canyon. Lots of cars packed the parking lot, but when we got up top we were all alone with the trail. Again, the intense sun took a toll on both riders and the trail and in typical mid summer fashion the famous Post Canyon ‘ball bearings’ were in full effect! We spent some time sessioning the drop out area and had a blast messing around on the step up. After having our fill there, we headed down and surprisingly we came across no one else on the trail. Perhaps that was one of the benefits of the intense heat. At the bottom, dusty faces emerged from behind full face helmets and smiles were all around.
From Post Canyon we headed up HWY 35 to Mt. Hood’s Trillium Lake. Just a short bike ride from our camp, we climbed the hill to the lake and rushed in to the water with the perfect view of the south face of Mt. Hood. It was tremendously refreshing and a perfect way to clean and cool off all in one.
The night approached with drinks flowing and steaks grilling (thanks Nick)! Randy was fire tender and the party was on. Beverages and BS endured until the morning hours and then various areas of dust and grass became beds for the night.
I woke to the sun rising through the mountain dew, took a mental snapshot and rolled over for more sleep. An hour later breakfast and coffee was ready and the tents started to climb back into their stuff sacks. We wrapped up camp and headed to Government Camp to meet up with Mark and Erik for some suttle runs down Mt. Hood. Pushing our bikes through the masses of saggy-assed summer snowboarders, we made it to the top of the trail. The view from the top never gets old, the krylon blue sky surrounded the snowy peaks of the Cascades as we looked south. The trail was fast and flowy, but covered in cinder and baby doll head sized rocks that were best avoided at the speeds we were travelling. Turning back to look at the trail, I got a kick out of seeing 9 other riders bombing down the mountain, dust clouds rising up from the wheels. A beautiful sight! The 2200′ descent terminated with a high speed roll down the street to the heart of Government Camp where we began the process again and again!

Thanks to Cliff, Nick, Brian, Andrew, Kyle, Ross, Dave, Erik, Mark, Tony, and Randy for a sweet trip!