OBCDR – Route 3

During late August I took a couple days off of work so that Kim and I could do an overland trip from Hoodoo Ski are to northern California on the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route – Route 3. This route runs north to south (or south to north) along side of the cascade mountain range. The route (as we went) was roughly 464 miles long, ~90% was off-road. Most of the off road was dirt/earth roads and gravel roads, but we spent roughly 20 miles on OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) trails and around 50 miles on highway.

The plan was to take 4 days and 3 nights to complete the trip. At the end of the first day we made it only 50% as far as we had planned. There were a couple reasons for this, first was that we were taking it slow (too slow) and enjoying the scenery, second was that we had a very time consuming re-route due to a road that was closed, and finally much of the roads on the first day were very overgrown with thick bushes. Those bushes were a real pain in the ass, the clear coat on the truck will never be the same. I also succeeded in putting the first dent in the truck when I came off a log and it flipped up and hit the lower passenger door. Not very noticeable unless you get down and look along the bottom of the truck. With the exception of the overgrown roads the first day was a lot of fun. We started out on OHV trails, then on to the overgrown roads, and finally back on some fun dirt roads. Around 5:00 we found a spot off the road to camp. It was a nice spot, nobody around, clear skies. We ate dinner played some cribbage and went to bed.

Day 2 we woke up ate breakfast broke camp and went on our way. We weren’t but 10 miles from the main road leading into Bend Oregon. We took the highway into town and got some gas and doughnuts. Then back to the trek. When we got back to the route, we discovered that in this area the Forest Service maps (both the paper maps and the ones in the navigation software) were completely wrong. Maps indicated that there were roads where there were none, and vice versa. Knowing the general direction that we wanted to go, we mucked around until we found a road that actually went through. The road we took was very small and was used primarily by mountain bikers trying to get to the trail head. Small enough that the truck and the mountain bikers couldn’t be on the road at the same time, good thing we were only going 2 mph. All of the bikers moved to the side to allow us to pass, though some gave us a dirty look, as if the road belonged to them. We just smiled and kept on driving. After a mile or two we finally intersected a road that was part of our planned route and away we went. When I think back on the second day of travel a couple things stick out. First, in the middle of nowhere (of course you could say that about most of the trip, that’s kind of the point of the trip) we came across two downed trees across the road with no way around them. Not a big deal, we stopped, I looked at Kim and said “See I told you we would need the chain saw”. I got out and proceeded to cut the first tree. By the time I was done with the first cut a white Dodge Durango pulled up from the opposing direction. Two men who worked for the Forest Service got out of the rig. After the customary greetings one of them said “I am glad you are cutting those trees, I kind of forgot to pack any saws before we left the shop.” We chuckled a bit then finished with the trees. With their help it didn’t take long to clear the road. Once again we were on our way, but not for long. 20 to 25 miles further down the route we ended up on another overgrown road. Determined to stick to the route we proceeded. However, the road just kept getting worse and worse. Finally it was to the point that the amount of clear space between the bushed was less than 3 feet, you couldn’t see the edges of the road you just had to aim down the center and give it gas. I had had enough, but how to turn around on such a road? Finally we came to a spot that had a steep incline on one side with no bushes. We drove past it, put it into 4-wheel drive and backed up the incline. I swear that the incline was at least 45° and all I could see was dirt out the windshield. No sky or even bushed. For some reason the picture see to tell a different story, I prefer my version though. Now turned around we headed back to the primary gravel road. I quickly learned that going through the bushes where no one has been is not nearly as bad as going through the bushes in the opposite direction that someone has been. Instead of widening the road my first time through, I merely bent all the branches so that on the way back they were all pointed directly at me like knives waiting to peel the clear coat off the paint as if it where the skin on an apple. Whatever, away we go. Eventually we stopped near the PCT and made camp ate dinner and played cards. Perhaps the most memorable thing about the evening was that for the first time Kim beat me at cribbage, she was so excited she could hardly stand it.

The next morning we woke, ate, broke camp and hit the road. The road out from our campsite was nice enough, but when we got to the next section we really started to have some fun. OHV trails made up the majority of the next section of the route. The trails were very narrow, very steep, and had some interesting 180° switchback. They aren’t exactly meant for a full size truck, but we made it through without incident. Without a doubt they were some of the most interesting driving of the trip. We went up and down, we went left, we went right, and we went through the “whoops” with a decent amount of speed. There was a lot laughing and a few “oh-shits”. After the OHV trails we came out onto the highway that leads to Crater Lake. For sure we were to close to not go and see the lake. So after a few miles of highway driving we were there. Paid our entry fee and drove to the top. Once at the top we got out looked around, looked at each other and I said “yup, it’s a lake. Let’s go back to the entrance and eat at that restaurant.” Kim agreed and away we went. The restaurant was an over price buffet with substandard food. About half a step below the quality of the food that Sodexho serves. Yet it was a hot meal that we didn’t have to setup camp to eat, so I suppose it was good enough. At this point it was obvious that both of us were tired and not sure how much further we wanted to go, we didn’t really want to camp out another night but didn’t want to give up before reaching our goal. We talked it over and decided that we would not spend another night camping, instead we would continue on our route all the way to California and then drive home. The benefit being that Kim would be able to sleep the entire way home, the benefit for me was that we would make it all the way. So we paid our bill and went on our way. We did a couple more miles on the OHV trails, then back to the dirt roads. This section of the route gave us some of the best scenery we had seen yet, possibly due to the sun setting. Suffice it to say that there were many more interesting roads. Eventually we came out on highway 66. This was the longest stint on a paved road as we headed east to pick up the last leg of the route. By the time we got there it was dark, no worries turned on the lights and away we went. The road was very rough with large rocks but what the hell no need to slow down. Kim made the comment that she liked driving on these roads at night because it was more exciting.

At 9:30PM we made it to Dorris California. A very small town couldn’t even see a gas station. We stopped so I could air up the tires and Kim got the inside of the truck ready for the long drive home. I got back in the truck and we left. Kim made it all of 2 minutes before she fell asleep. She slept the entire way home. It was 3:30am by the time we got home, which made for 18 hours of driving. A long day indeed, but without a doubt it was worth it.

Okay, so that is the story of our trip. However there is one very important thing that I have not talked about. How the hell do you navigate the vast system of unmarked logging roads and OHV trails? Well the answer is simple, we used a program call Overland Navigator sold by Spatial Minds. This navigation software was written specifically for navigation off highway (of course it works on highway just as well). The interface is uncluttered easy to read and easier to use. There were a few times when we had to do some significant re-routing for various reasons. Overland Navigator made it easy to find alternative routes and kept us going in the right direction. No I don’t get any kickbacks from Spatial Minds, but when a piece of software does exactly what it is advertised to do, just as easily as they say it does, well then it deserves some recognition. In case you are wondering, the answer is yes, we do always carry paper maps for where we are traveling. You just never know when your computer or GPS is going to die. At any rate if you like to travel off road I highly recommend that you give Overland Navigator a try, you won’t regret it. I also should mention that in May when we did Route 4 of the OBCDR we purchased paper maps from Oregon Off-Highway Vehicle Association’s web site. The maps were difficult to read and it took me many hours to plot the route for the GPS. This time I purchased the GPS tracks from TrekNow. The CD was cheaper than buying the maps, and the tracks were extremely accurate, this saved me a bunch of time and aggravation.

To see all of my pictures click here.

Normally I would allow you to download my GPS track, but since I purchased it from TrekNow it seems fitting that you do the same.