Portland to Tillamook in a day

On the last trip a few weeks ago, we rode from Portland to Tillamook via N. Trask Road in the Tillamook state forest. It took us up towards Barney Reservoir and topped out around 1,700 in elevation. We also did it in two days by camping overnight.

My buddy Erik had a free weekend to ride, so we decided to ride a similar route as a few weeks before, only hit the southern section of road that topped out around 3,000 feet. This was a gamble, because we had no idea if there was still snow pack up there. We had also planned on riding this entirely in one day, which we had also never done before.

Start of Mt. Richmond climb

Caterpillar or millipede?

Look closely at the elk herd in the upper left of the photo. We didn't even see this herd until they moved. As they ran away, there was always a big male at the back of the pack watching us. Their hooves clacked and clomped on the downed trees and made for a surreal experience.

No need to carry too much water up the hill when there is snow melt to drink on top

First sign of snow on the road, uh oh...

The snow was over 6 inches deep in spots, so we had to hike-a-bike on the side of the road.

The snowy section was about two city blocks long, with easy spots and some not-so-easy spots

Sweet, we made it through the snow with dry feet

Over the top and back down the west side of the coast range, we encountered some wicked fog. We were out of the gated Weyerhauser logging area now, so we saw motorcycle singletrack everywhere

Erik- bombing the gravel downhills

We eventually popped out of the woods onto pavement on Trask River road, and finished the 12 miles into Tillamook by pacing each other in. We were quite worked and hungry upon arrival, so we sat outside the grocery store eating whatever we craved (chicken salad, jojo potatoes, chocolate milk, cookies and bananas) until our ladies and dogs came to pick us up and take us home.

The ride to the coast had now been done in a day and we discovered some new routes. This ride also layed part of the course for the upcoming Rapture Ride.

Ride profile here