Day 9 – Ride to the hike

Today was one of those days that combining hiking and riding works out beautifully.  We are so comfortable here at campo deluxe-o that we really didn’t want to leave.  So we didn’t.

We spied a big mountain with a trail up to it: Mt. Bailey.  So after a 3 mile spin to breakfast at the lodge, we strapped hiking shoes to our bikes and pedaled more bikepath.

Bikepath transitioned to the flat and lovely Silent Creek trail.  That brought us right to Mt. Bailey’s trailhead.  The trail is, lucky for us, open to bikes!  So we kept pedaling.

Expectations were low — we were ready to ditch the bikes as soon as it got ridiculous.  But we kept cranking out steep trail, and I was getting into a good climbing groove.  I started having daydreams about getting a bike to the top, and the descent that might ensue.

I can be dumb and overly optimisitic sometimes.  I almost suggested I keep riding and Ez hike, but decided against it.  We stashed the bikes about a third of the way up.  As we hiked up I had no reason to regret it — much hike-a-bike would have occurred.  But, but…. you could do it, and the descent….

Some cool surprises as we made our way to 8500 feet: a small and hidden crater, usually full of snow.  A sharp wall of rock exposed on the final ridgeline, complete with a window that perfectly frames Mt. Thielson on the other side of Diamond Lake.

At the top we loved the view of an area we knew nothing about a few days ago, but have now made tracks all over.  We knew the names of many mountains, valleys and lakes.

Another surprise: running down was stupid fun.  We both expected it to be sketchier and loose footing.  But it was possible to suspend disbelief for a few moments here and there, pretending we are trail runners with flow.

Ez was a little disappointed to reach the bikes, I think.  I was loving the downhill, but starting to feel the pounding a little.  Time to coast!

Best downhill of the trip so far, even though it may have been ‘only’ 1400 feet.  Flow.  Roots.  Jumps.  Good tread.  It reminded me of the best parts of the Colorado Trail in the Collegiates.

The ‘commute’ back was the perfect length — and the whole adventure was done without any roads or possible traffic.  Lovely.

We took a swim in the lake to cool off.  We ate cheesecake ice cream cones.  We lazed around.  We stretched.  I worked on bikes.  Just a perfect mellow Saturday afternoon.

Tomorrow it is time to resume the quest of bikepacking singletrack and hot springs!