Got Snow? Add Mountain Bike.

This is an article I wrote for this year's last Collegian.  Enjoy.

      After the last CABL Bonfire at the Tiger Canyon saddle, eight of us - Stephen, Aaron, Josh, Ryan, Carlton, Lauren, Michael, and I - camped out beside the fire.  We had a night of minimal sleep due to an unidentified snorer, but woke to a beautiful, sunny morning and readied for a day of mountain biking.  The trail ahead would take us nineteen miles from Tiger Canyon to South Fork, and Carlton and Lauren would drive our two vehicles around to pick us up.  Erik - who is not into sissy adventures - left College Place at an early 6:30 am, riding his mountain bike 26 miles to catch us at the trailhead.  He arrived at 10:30 and then the seven of us hopped on our bikes and headed up the gravel road.

From the beginning, large patches of snow covered the road, forcing us to walk our bikes from time to time.  No big deal, we thought. We’ll be out of the snow in no time!  Continuing on, however, it became obvious that this snow was going to cause us trouble.  The intermittent “hike a bike” turned into continuous “hike a bike” through deep snow.  We took turns breaking trail, which involved making both a footprint trail and a bike trail alongside.  The warm, sticky snow stuck to our tires, and gummed up our frames.  Our feet sloshed in our soaking shoes, and our toes numbed and froze - Josh and Ryan nearly cried on account of their cold feet.  Every couple of miles we stopped to eat some Pringles or a piece of an Easter Bunny lollipop and wring the water out of our socks.  Our pleasant bike ride was quickly becoming less and less enjoyable.  However, the optimism of the group remained high.  “Just one more mile and we should be out of the snow,” we encouraged each other.

After climbing a steep hill to the top of the ridge, we paused to enjoy the view, which brought to our attention the fact that all the hills were snow-free except the slope we had chosen.  We attempted to get excited about our descent, but a quick reality check laid out the many snow-covered miles still before us.  Some of us were still able to make jokes as we trudged on, but after several episodes of losing and re-finding the trail, our energy, moods, and food supply began to dwindle dramatically and we eventually tramped on with little talk.  After one quick stop, we suddenly realized the time was nearing four in the afternoon, and we decidedly rushed on in an attempt to beat the sunset.  Heaving our bikes over fallen trees and traversing along slippery hillsides, the icy snow cut into our legs with every step.

Eleven miles into the trek, we hit our first patch of rideable dirt.  It was glorious!  It was as if the snow just stopped at the notorious plane crash leaving us beautiful, unmolested single-track.  The rest of the ride proved relatively uneventful, besides the occasional flat tire or Aaron-over-the-handlebars-missile.  Well, it was uneventful for most of us.  Three miles from the end, and 42 miles from the beginning of his trip, Erik got an unfixable flat which forced him to jog the rest of the way.

Spady had an appointment and could not make it to the pick up point, so a lonely Carlton greeted us just after six in the evening at South Fork’s parking lot.  He had spent the day reading a book and hiking leisurely.  After loading our mud-caked bikes into the back, eight smelly bodies piled into the six seats of the pick-up.  I was one lucky girl!  Although we nearly suffocated in the body-odor-smog filled cab, we managed to make it home where we enjoyed much-needed showers and Taco Bell.

This was supposed to be an angry picture.  And in all honesty... we weren't terribly happy at this point.

 Here we have Michael getting unstuck from a crash, Ryan riding down in the snow, Josh trying a rock route, and I'm preparing to ride down the snow... which was pretty sweet, but very short-lived.  This picture is a perfect illustration of how most of the trip went.  An adventure for sure, but probably not one I'd choose to go on again :)