Riding mountain bikes is a lot of fun and there are many ways to enjoy riding a bicycle without pavement. Most people like to ride on maintained trails with parking lots, signs at every bend and fork in the trail and smooth trails with no downed trees, rocks, water crossings or anything else that may ruin their “flow”. Then, there are a small percentage of mountain bikers who like things on the rugged side; they use a bike to get them places that you would only be able to go on foot or, maybe, horseback. They like being in the deepest, darkest forests, they’re not afraid of cougars and bears, they’re hoping to see one. They know how to use a GPS, map and compass, but don’t give a rat’s ass about Strava, they don’t care if anybody else knows what they’re doing or were they’ve been. If they get lost and have to spend a night in the woods, they won’t be happy about it but they won’t die in the middle of nowhere either.
This is an area for that small percentage of people; the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Gifford Pinchot is mostly deep, dense forests criss-crossed by old logging roads, horse paths and game trails. Its more than one million acres includes Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens, numerous backcountry lakes and streams and lava fields, tubes and caves. It is home to many wild creatures, including deer, black bear, cougar, mountain goats and many species of small game as well as a wide variety of birds. This is where we like to ride.
Some of the mountain bike trails near popular trailheads and recreation areas are maintained by local mountain bike groups like CAMBA and HRATS, but most of the trails in the interior sections of the forest can be rugged and overgrown, traveled only by a few horseback riders, mountain bikers and hunters.
When the summer crowds are doing the mountain bike conga line at the local “name” spots, the locals are out here, among the trees, hidden creeks and wild animals
If you don’t hear from us for the next few days, you’ll know where to tell them to start looking for us…