Up 10K

On a recent manic day at play I ventured out with no plan...just a bike, some hydration, a water filter, a bit of food (never enough it seems) and a smile. I ended up carelessly wandering around the Umatilla National Forest with no destination in mind. I found a new and very rewarding route around Cape Horn. Up on top ventured down to Charley Creek, Donaldson Creek, then onto the headwaters of the Tucannon River and beyond. The entire trip was full of scenic awe and questions of "Where to now?" at every junction. Only a few others (cough, cough...SeanMan) I know would ever appreciate a sub-epic mountain bike venture like this. Just a few pics of the trip...

The way down to meet Charley....Charley Creek that is...one of my watering holes along the way...

Every week it seems there are a different set of flowers to see...these pics are nothing compared to seeing them in person...


That's a super cool Trek Fuel EX-9 - my butt-lovin, super squish, endurance ride...

...more flowers ...

...a view towards Oregon of the canyons guarding the Grand Ronde River several thousand feet down from this view point at 6000 feet...

...the headwaters of Asotin Creek...

...behind NerdBoy here is the valley that holds the golden headwaters of the Tucannon River...

...Dang this is the good life!!!

Below is an elevation profile...all total it was good ride with 10,000+ feet of total climbing over 96.3 miles in 7-hrs 25-minutes.

Just for the locals...for your perspective the little bumps on either end of the profile above is the Critchfield grade.