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WABDR: Castle Rock to Packwood

DAY 1: Castle Rock to Packwood


Bikes loaded. Pictures taken. Music playing. Finally, it was time to get on the road. Yes, I said road. While many people will trailer their bikes to get to the trail, we rode the two hours to get to the start of the BDR. We paid no attention to the darkening clouds off in the horizon. We were doing this! Our epic adventure had officially begun! 

I don’t know how many of you have ridden a tiny bike with no windshield on the road going the speed limit. Let me just say, it is very different than riding a cruiser down the road. Not to mention the racing helmet I wore. Bike shaking. Head thrown back. Full on wind in my face even through the googles. Smile frozen on my face. Like really frozen. It was COLD! We watched the gray clouds roll in and laughed. A little rain wasn’t going to stop us! But, damn, it was cold! Another layer was needed.

We stopped in Mossy Rock at a gas station to add a layer. As we were adding more clothing, a car drove up to us. “Where you guys headed?”

“Packwood. Going to ride the BDR.”

“You might want to wait a bit. I just came from that way. A major storm hit. Parking lots are flooded. I ride also. Don’t want you to get caught in that.”

“Thanks! Do you know of any hotels or campgrounds in the area?” My sister asked.

We weren’t even at the beginning of the trail and here we were talking about stopping for the night. Ugh! 

A man pumping gas spike up, “There is a campground nearby. I live there. You can follow me.”

Jennifer and I looked at each other, “Why not?”


We followed Omar back to his campsite, parked our bikes by the olive trees, and learned a little about Omar’s experiences riding through the world on a dualsport bike. All the while, we waited for the office to open so we could get a campsite. It didn’t. We grew impatient. Looked like the rain let up, so on we went after showing gratitude to Omar for his philosophy of spreading kindness when given the opportunity. 


We arrived in Packwood in time for dinner, which meant the local saloon and conversation with some locals. We had a decision to make. Get on the trail or set up camp for the night. 


We chose to camp at La Wis Wis Campground in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We set up camp right near the river. It was absolutely gorgeous! 


Because the clouds still looked dark, we stowed our boots under the picnic table. We were in bed before the sun set...me in the tent, Jennifer all snuggled up in her hammock. 


Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, it began to rain causing Jennifer to join me in the tent. I was back asleep in no time. 

Unbeknownst to me, there was quite a storm in the middle of the night. I heard none of it. However, I experienced the effects in the morning...everything was wet. And by wet, I mean we dumped water out of Jennifer’s boot.


The only way to dry it was to ask our neighbors if we could use their fire for a bit. Not only did they get the boot dry, they gave us some blueberry cake as well, which was especially nice after we realized a rodent of some sort got into Jennifer’s trail mix. 


Wet boots. Rodents and trail mix. Damp everything. It was time for this trip to start for real. A quick trip back to town for breakfast and finally, we were ready for the trail.


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