This was a big adventure ~2 years in the making. I knew I was moving out of the PNW (sad!) in July, so I wanted a challenge that could both require me to use all the skills I’ve learned in Seattle for the past few years and give me some quality time to enjoy this incredible region. I’d say mission accomplished. This trip was challenging in all the ways– logistically, physically, mentally, emotionally– but, as it goes with Type 2 Fun, that’s what made it so worthwhile.
This post will recap my “Bikeventure” trip, how I planned it, how it actually played out, and what I learned from it. Here goes!
The Trip
Bike from Seattle, WA to Portland, OR via Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood, climbing and skiing each of these volcanoes along the way. Basically combining the skills I’ve developed in trip planning, camping, biking, ski mountaineering, and general endurance suffering.
Why did I choose to do this?
Ha, I asked myself this a lot before, during, and after the adventure. Sometimes I was more compelled by my reasons than others, but I still stand by them:
- To fully immerse myself in a challenge that scared me
- When I backpacked around the world in 2018, I promised myself that I would make time every few years to go for a big adventure, allowing myself to be pulled away from everyday life and be fully encompassed in a novel experience. I was terrified of losing my sense of possibility, so I promised myself that if I kept ruminating on an idea over time, I should listen and pursue it. So this was a fulfillment of that promise to myself.
- To have dedicated time to enjoy the PNW before moving away from it
- I really love the PNW. The landscapes, the big trees, the volcanoes, the space, the whole feeling of it. I wanted to have time to just move through it and see it in all its glory– from crowded strip malls to entirely isolated forests. I’ve learned a ton of outdoor skills by adventuring throughout the region, and this felt like the right adventure to combine them all.
- To have some personal time to reflect on where I was in life
- I was only moving away from the PNW to go to grad school in Boston– a time that allows for a lot of flexibility to figure out what I want out of a career and life more broadly. It’s also a BIG transition for me, so I wanted space to really understand what I was doing, why I was doing it, and what my priorities should be for the year ahead.
- To inspire other women to take on endurance challenges just because they can– I used this adventure to fundraise for Girls Gotta Run, a non-profit that supports invests in girls in Ethiopia through running and education
- To test if I might want to fully commit myself to pursuing a career in outdoor adventuring
- To have a big adventure with my partner Will
- While the first 2 weeks would be me on my own, Will joined me for the last week in the woods. He also was undoubtedly my biggest supporter, helping me plan logistics, encouraging me when I was doubting everything, and being safety chief as I checked in with my Garmin InReach throughout the trip.
- As I’ve learned before, nothing makes or breaks relationships like tackling big adventures together 🙂
I also had a list of priorities and non-negotiables outlined to ease decision making when my brain would be more tired. I make sure I do this for any big adventure so I can keep my tired brain on track and not make any decisions I might regret in a big way/ i.e. make a dumb mistake to continue in bad conditions by getting caught up in “summit fever”.
Priorities:
- Maintain relationships
- If climbing with someone, stay with them
- Prioritizing meeting friends in different places along the way/ will adjust schedule/wait a couple days if I can climb with a friend
- Contact Mom/Dad and Will daily via Garmin inReach or phone if in service
- Safety
- Call it off if ever in doubt
- See list of non-negotiables below
- Have fun!
- Can stop at any time, never a failure of an experience
- Make it to Portland
- With Rainier, Adams, MSH done
- Hood and onwards will be a stretch goal
- Plenty of other beautiful things to do in the PNW!
- Alone time– think, write, read
- Be curious about motivations and feelings– write them down
- Meditate
Non-negotiables:
- Family/friends in need, leave and go to them
- If my Garmin inReach is not charged/not working, get to service ASAP
- If weather is questionable (high winds, low viz, storms), do not climb/ turn around
- No technical glacier routes without a climbing partner
- Ali for Rainier
- Will for Hood
- If low on water or food for any reason, call for help
- If my body is getting weaker and weaker or feeling sick, stop
- Warning signs from previous experience: constant leg aching, no power on hills, any nagging injuries, etc. Listen to my gut.
Logistics
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the crux of this adventure was logistics. How would I get home? How would I charge my devices? Where would I sleep? What roads would I bike on? Which routes on the mountains would I take? For the technical climbs, who would join on my rope team? What gear did I need? What safety systems did I need in place? I started by just listing everything out. The key pieces were:
- Gear prep
- What needed to be set up before leaving Seattle
- All gear packed
- Garmin InReach tested and working
- A plan for my friends to meet me at Longmire to climb Rainier
- I gave them extra gear to bring me (my heavier skis, rope)
- My car keys available for Will to pick up later when he’d drive to meet me
- Necessary permits (for Rainier and Mt. St. Helens)
- Know the route to Rainier
- Seattle to Rainier ride
- Camped at Alder Lake, so this was an 85 mile day and 22 mile day to Longmire
- Rainier climb (Fuhrer Finger route)
- This one is by far the most technical route (and the only one where I’d need a rope team for glacier travel). We assembled a team of 5– my 4 friends drove from Seattle the day after I left and met me at Longmire, where by then I had arrived by bike.
- Biked in the AM, rested in the shade until about 6pm when my friends met me, and we started climbing around 8pm.
- Rainier to MSH bike
- Unfortunately the roads I wanted to take were not snow free yet, so I had to do a big traverse on more travelled roads to get over to MSH
- Mt. St. Helens climb
- Had to wait out the rain for a couple days, but it paid off. Great climb up the winter route. Also the chillest climb by far.
- MSH to Mt. Adams bike
- Again, the forest roads that I wanted to bike between MSH and Mt. Adams were closed to snow 🙁 which made me scramble for a plan B
- I ended up biking to the Columbia River Gorge (specifically Home Valley Campground), where Will met me with the car. We drove together to Mt. Adams (a much needed break from the biking and a necessity given how dangerous biking on the roads would be).
- Mt. Adams climb
- A spectacular day, and I got to do this one with Will!
- Mt. Adams to Mt. Hood bike
- The same road back to the gorge was dangerous for biking, so Will and I drove to the Dalles, OR, and I biked to Mt. Hood from there. Basically all uphill…
- Mt. Hood climb
- We splurged for a night and stayed at the beautiful Timberline Lodge for this one.
- The climb here is pretty straightforward and quick. I will say that unfortunately I got a later start than I should have (3:30 am on a very hot day during a hot spell), so by the time I was just below the summit, I was really not liking the looks of all the ice falling. Went up old chute.
- Mt. Hood to Portland bike
- Very straightforward back West to Portland from Mt. Hood. I skipped the first 20 miles of highway with a limited shoulder, so ended up being a little over 40 miles.
Other Logistical Notes
- For people interested in the routes, I tracked every day on my Strava account.
- If you want an example of a trip planning sheet (better for smaller adventures than this, but still helpful), here’s one I’ve used in the past for summiting Glacier Peak in WA.
- For route planning, I was relying heavily on cross-checking Google maps routes, and maps.me routes I found (logging roads, forest roads, etc.), and the National Forest website to check when certain roads would open. Sadly, the main forest roads I was relying on did not open in time (late May is pushing it, but I was hoping for early June…). Washington had a big snow year– very hard to combine ideal mountaineering conditions with high altitude travel.
- It’s worth noting that route planning was BY FAR my biggest logistical hurdle. I was checking and rechecking routes all the time, seeing if the elevation was likely to have snowfall, how far away from civilization I’d be, the elevation change, and distance. A combination of factors would lead me to choose one vs. the other. For example, I had mapped out a route to Mt. St. Helens that would cut off some of the distance and take me away from the highly trafficked I-5 area, but it was on a logging road that I knew nothing about, had a ton of elevation change, and was very far from civilization. I decided to just cut my losses and go the more civilized, but longer way.
- For mountaineering routes and beta (really only needed for Mt. Rainier and Hood), I was using some facebook group trip reports and gpx tracks posted on these forums. Asking around is always good– helped us to know what conditions to expect.
- Always check if you need permits for traveling in specific areas. In my case, we needed permits in advance to climb Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. I could get a permit for Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood day of. I also carried my America the Beautiful pass to gain entry into the National Forests & Parks.
- I was constantly sharing my location via my Garmin InReach, and I was checking in with messages to Will every morning when I started moving and evening when I was all settled in camp.
- I’m also very lucky that Will was able to take a week and join me. I left my car keys for him in Seattle, which he was able to take when he arrived and drive the 3.5 hours down to meet me at Home Valley. From there we had the car and each other, a HUGE help for the last week! And of course this is how I got back home to Seattle.
Gear
I broke this up into pieces to make sure I’d have what I needed for each component of the journey:
Bikepacking
- Bike
- strong gravel bike that can handle more weight, I have a Salsa Fargo that I love
- Trailer
- made the decision to bring a trailer instead of load up with bigger bags/use all of my potential mounts. I think either would have worked, but the trailer just made everything a whole lot easier and there was really no downside for me. If you’re doing more singletrack riding, probably better to be compact, but for open road riding, the trailer was great (and made me bigger/more visible for cars!)
- Panniers
- Ski straps
- this is how I attached my skis to my bike, with one strap around the center fork and one underneath the seat
- Rack
- I outfitted my bike with a rear rack to be able to mount the panniers/clip on additional gear
- Frame bag
- Handlebar bag– CLUTCH for snacks and my phone!
- Tire pump
- Multitool (this one! love it)
- Repair kit stuff
- Bacon strips (plugging smaller tire holes)
- Rag
- Duct tape
- Curved needles/thread for sewing up a sidewall if needed
- Sealant
- Valve core removal tool (in case I need to refill sealant)
- Chain lube/rag
- Extra chain rings
- Duct tape
- Electrical tape
- Alcohol wipes
Camping
- Stove
- Fuel
- Pot
- Bowl
- Mug
- Spork
- Knife
- Tent
- Sleeping pad
- Sleeping bag
- Steripen
- camping towel
- Bear cannister (to hold some food)
- a few baggies/garbage bag (comes in handy)
- Extra AAA batteries for headlamp, steripen
- External battery
- I made the decision to bring my quite heavy Jackery battery (which I really love, purchased it for a big road trip where we were often off the grid and it is really awesome). It definitely added some serious weight, but the charge lasted so long and I never wanted to worry about losing charge on my phone and Garmin InReach– my lifelines). I had the space in my trailer and I’d make the same decision again. But you can definitely go with a lighter external battery depending on how much you’ll need to charge/how long you’ll be away from outlets
Ski Mountaineering
- Skis
- I brought my lightest mountaineering skis, but for the Fuhrer Finger route on Mt. Rainier, my friends brought along my more solid touring skis
- Touring boots
- Skins
- Poles
- Helmet
- Pack
- Harness
- 50m glacier rope
- I didn’t end up bringing this myself– my friends who met me on technical routes brought the rope, but it’s obviously a must have for the ascents
- 7 locking carabiners
- 2 slings
- 2 hand, 2 foot prussik cords
- Ice axe
- Crampons
- Ski crampons
- (did not bring a picket, planned on using my skis and/or ice axe in case of a crevasse rescue event)
General and Personal:
- Garmin inReach mini
- My Salomon vest
- wore this while biking for easy drinking/snack carrying
- Water bladder
- Headlamp + batteries
- Book(s) (have friends bring me new ones)
- Headphones
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Glacier goggles
- Buffs & Mask
- Journal
- GoPro
- Chargers
- Phone
- Garmin InReach
- Garmin watch
- GoPro
- Basic toiletries
- Running shoes
- Massage roller stick
- Cash (for campsites)
- Advil
- Vitamins
Food
I mostly stopped along the way in towns to refuel or load up on easily made groceries, but there was a lot I prepped in advance:
- Poptarts (Adventure food!)
- Boxes of couscous and pasta
- Peanut butter
- Picky Bars (my favorite energy bars)
- Scandinavian swimmers from Trader Joe’s (always good to have candy)
- Some gatorade powder
- Lentils (easy to make while camping and good protein)
- Cheddar cheese block
- Oatmeal
- Dehydrated mashed potatoes
Note: I find it helpful to lay out exactly how many calories I have with me so I can get a sense of how many days I can be self sufficient without refueling. It was a little unnecessary, but when I pulled out of Seattle I had ~22k calories with me, enough (by my estimate of activity) for my first 5 days (biking day 1, biking/climbing day 2, climbing day 3, resting day 4, biking day 5).
Clothes
I packed all of this into a few packing cubes that I typically use for big backpacking trips– super helpful!
- Shell jacket
- Shell pants
- Puffy
- Melanzana fleece
- Long underwear shirts x2
- Comfy sweatshirt
- Tshirts x2
- Bike shirts x2
- Socks x5
- Sports bras x5
- Bike shorts x2
- Shorts x2
- Chacos
- Running shoes
- Leggings x2
- Comfy pants
- Neon bike jacket
- Hat
- Warm hat
- Lightweight gloves
- Heavy gloves
- Buffs x2
What I learned
Like any big endeavor, it came with some big reflections and lessons. Overall, this adventure was about as physically and mentally hard as I expected, but it was so much more emotionally challenging than I thought it would be.
Physical strain:
I’m very glad to have gained the experience of being very active for long periods of time for several consecutive days. Even if it doesn’t feel too bad in the moment, all of this certainly adds up. It took me about 3-4 weeks to feel fully physically recovered from the strain of this trip. Getting good sleep is particularly important, and, to be honest, I was not sleeping well. It was also hard to properly feed myself as a vegetarian with mostly gas station snack stops and camping food. I tried to get extra protein from shakes or lots of nuts, but I don’t think I was really keeping up with my caloric needs too well. That’s no reason to not take it on, but just know that it will take a while to recover from a big adventure like this, and it will be tiring. I originally had plans to read and write a ton in my downtime, but honestly I was too tired from everything to do much more than listen to audiobooks in bed.
Loneliness:
After backpacking solo for 6 months, I thought I’d be fine to be alone. In fact, I was kind of craving some good solo time because I still romanticize that experience for myself. But this time around, it did not feel as good. I think a big part of this was being in a committed relationship– I knew Will was worrying about me and I just really really missed him the whole time. I spent a lot of time wondering why I was doing this and if it was just super selfish (in some ways it definitely is, but it’s also incredibly meaningful to me, so I’m still ok with it). But bottom line, I definitely felt very lonely at times, particularly when setting up camp for the night. And with all of the logistics constantly floating through my head, my brain felt hyper active. This made my anxiety much more challenging to manage, especially without anyone else to talk through things with. Hence the poor sleep– I basically would be very alert, stressing about whatever noises I heard outside my tent, and then finally fall asleep between 3-4 am, which made my ability to recover physically that much harder.
Adapting:
When I originally had this idea, I thought my travel would look a lot different. Mostly forest roads, wild camping, different routes, etc. But the snow conditions, weather, and timing didn’t really work out that way. So I changed it up, didn’t get too upset about achieving a very specific outcome, and continued on. Which was definitely something I wanted to practice anyways. I feel like I stuck well to my priorities and non-negotiables, which I’m proud of. I didn’t summit Mt. Hood despite being incredibly close because I didn’t feel entirely safe. I still wish I had, but I’m fine with how I erred on the side of caution. I know that what I choose to do will never be riskless, but I want to feel confident in my abilities to make good decisions, and I think I developed that sense. So that was a big takeaway– confidence in my ability to adapt, make good decisions, and still have an outcome that I’m happy about.
