This was my first trip of this kind, and now for my first trip report. The biggest reason I'm making this report is that I found prior reports here extremely helpful. There aren't very many for 2015 so hopefully this is helpful to someone else. I'll write in line with what I found helpful but wish I could find updated answers to, as well as outcomes of various things I read about in preparation.
I split the trip into two days:
As with a lot of trips, when I first started putting plans together, a few friends were to come along. One in a Jeep and two more on adventure bikes. You probably already know what's next...by the time the trip came around, it was just down to me. As I was alone, here are the things I did to prepare that I found very helpful at least with peace of mind:
I had read about pin striping along the route, but of course without seeing clips had no idea to what extent (you'll see and hear it in the video below). I'm in a new rig so I used 6 cans of aerosol plasti-dip. You'll get about two coats per can on a 4 door Wrangler. It seemed to go on very thin and I had little expectation it would work. But given time to cure over a few days, it will be great. I saw no scratches through the plasti-dip.
It's dusty out there in late summer! This one caught me by surprise and there's a nice coat of dust over my whole interior. Any suggestions here would be much appreciated! Better sealing I'm sure...perhaps taping the inside along soft top zippers and attachment points? Best to probably just go in Spring if I don't like dust.
The road is great right now...cleared of trees from those that went before me. Thank you! I heard from a relative that chainsaw use was prohibited in the Deschutes National Forest through the end of fire season. So I left it at home. Then after asking a Forest Service Ranger, found out that that is only in reference to commercial use. I figure, next time it goes with me regardless. If I'm in an emergency situation and come across a downed tree, I care less about that rule and more about survival. Take one if you go before this winter...my bet is you'd need it as there is a fair amount of dead forest in this stretch.
I split the trip into two days:
- Day 1: Cold Spring Campground to Wickiup Reservoir - 100 miles. Two great campgrounds. There is a lot of scenery in this stretch (The Three Sisters, Broken Top, Tumalo Falls, Mt. Bachelor), and the Edison Butte OHV area. If I were to go again, I'd shorten up day one and take in more of the sights.
- Day 2: Wickiup Reservoir to Crescent Lake - approx. 35 miles. Less scenery and smoother wider roads in general. The worste of the pin striping is in this stretch though.
As with a lot of trips, when I first started putting plans together, a few friends were to come along. One in a Jeep and two more on adventure bikes. You probably already know what's next...by the time the trip came around, it was just down to me. As I was alone, here are the things I did to prepare that I found very helpful at least with peace of mind:
- The route I chose paralleled a major artery through central Oregon. I didn't want to be too remote.
- A survival bag was packed with all the essentials if I experienced a break down and needed to hike. Thanks to the guys at Expedition Overland as I caught mention of a similar tactic in one of their episodes.
- Purchased a Delorme InReach SE for GPS enabled 2 way communication as well as publishing progress to a map followed by my family online.
- Stayed in established campgrounds as opposed to finding a place along the roadside.
I had read about pin striping along the route, but of course without seeing clips had no idea to what extent (you'll see and hear it in the video below). I'm in a new rig so I used 6 cans of aerosol plasti-dip. You'll get about two coats per can on a 4 door Wrangler. It seemed to go on very thin and I had little expectation it would work. But given time to cure over a few days, it will be great. I saw no scratches through the plasti-dip.
It's dusty out there in late summer! This one caught me by surprise and there's a nice coat of dust over my whole interior. Any suggestions here would be much appreciated! Better sealing I'm sure...perhaps taping the inside along soft top zippers and attachment points? Best to probably just go in Spring if I don't like dust.
The road is great right now...cleared of trees from those that went before me. Thank you! I heard from a relative that chainsaw use was prohibited in the Deschutes National Forest through the end of fire season. So I left it at home. Then after asking a Forest Service Ranger, found out that that is only in reference to commercial use. I figure, next time it goes with me regardless. If I'm in an emergency situation and come across a downed tree, I care less about that rule and more about survival. Take one if you go before this winter...my bet is you'd need it as there is a fair amount of dead forest in this stretch.
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