On the Trail with IMBA

If you haven’t already ridden it, you’ve likely heard of the McKenzie River Trail in Oregon and if you have ridden it I would bet these photos will bring back some good memories. Jason and I just got back from spending a few days camping and riding with Kristin “The” Butcher and Ryan “What dislocated shoulder?” Shutz on the McKenzie River.

(Jason riding around Clear Lake)

The trail starts out with a few miles around Clear Lake. The clear lake section is chunky and technical with fun challenging climbs and short descents which keep you more concerned than usual about avoiding any physical contact with the rocks. The razor edges of the lava flow surrounding the crystal clear lake are not to be messed with and you’ll want to bring along any tire/tube repair tricks you’ve got in your bag.

(Ryan, Kristin, Jason and Moxy evade the Storm Troopers)

The characteristic of the trail changes after the lake as it drops you into the McKenzie River drainage where the rocks give way to fast single track through a dense west cascade forest. When I made reference to the Speeder Bike chase in Return of The Jedi the group fought the urge to leave me hanging from a tree by my chamois (apparently they were all far to cool to geek out on Star Wars) and we continued to fly through the forest of Endor, I mean, Oregon.

(Ryan pretends that he didn’t really dislocate his shoulder yesterday)

(Jason bounces through the “lava tubes” after Blue Pool)

One of the many amazing pieces of the MRT experience is the water. Clear Lake at the top glows with a tropical hue of blue and the rapids of the McKenzie strongly resemble the glaciers that feed their source. It was hard for us to keep our eyes on the trail at times as we rolled past incredible river views. One of the most intriguing hydrological wonders was a place called Blue Pool about half way down the trail. Blue Pool seems to be a small lake filled with clear blue water but it’s actually part of the old McKenzie River bed. When Carmen reservoir was built above Blue Pool the water was shut off water to that section of the river however, because the lava flows are so porous, water seeps through the lava tubes and bubbles up into the Blue Pool. 

We stopped for a snack at Sahalie Falls which is a 78′ tall monster of a water fall. In Chinook Sahalie means “high” and I’m sure it felt pretty high to Shannon Carol. She’s the only person recorded to have run it in a kayak which at the time was a world record. 

The MRT has it’s share of bridges, most of them being pretty high, skinny and long so there was plenty of hoofin it to get over them safely (would have been nothing if we had those Speeder Bikes). At the end of a long day of ridding we were met at camp by my awesome parents, a HUGE spread of tasty food and micro brews. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end a great ride. 

(Kristin getting ready for some crazy crazy kayakin)

To polish off a couple days on the trail we spent a day on the river kayaking with Kristin (who was really hoping we’d toss her off Sahalie), Jason and Debbie (my mom). It was Kristin’s first time kayaking on a river and she charged the rapids with the same determination she has on the trail but was unimpressed with the excessive amount of rubbery layers that the sport requires. 

We’ve said it a lot and we’ll say it again… GO RIDE THE MRT! 

-Anna