This past weekend my dad and I headed down to Paradise Campground on the McKenzie River, which is about an hour East of Eugene, OR, to do a little mountain biking and fishing. We met up with a few of my cousins and my uncle from Eugene. They were kind enough to go secure a campsite as my dad and I didn’t arrive till 11:30pm on Friday night. The weather for the weekend didn’t look good as there was a good chance that it would be raining. Typical Oregon spring conditions. So being sturdy Portlanders, we braved the possibility of a pretty wet weekend in the hopes accomplishing two things: 1) carve some sweet singletrack 2) catch, gut (clean), cook and eat a fish that I caught myself. Simple enough.
We lucked out Friday night with no rain and warm weather so we stayed up very late, shooting the shit around the campfire and putting down two 22oz bombers from Ninkasi and a growler of McTarnahan’s Spine Tingler Belgian. Good beer always makes any situation better! We got an early start to the morning as my cousin Justin and I wanted to get some mountain biking in before going drift boat fishing in the afternoon.
All you need to know about this area is summed up in three words: McKenzie River Trail. Bike Magazine ranked it as America’s Best Trail. Done primarily as a shuttle starting above Clear Lake, the 26.7 mile trail winds by multiple lakes, waterfalls, clear pools, volcanic conditions, log bridge crossings, lush forests and tight singletrack. Adam and I attempted part of the trail over my birthday weekend last years, but we got a late start and had to pull out of the trail due to darkness and ride back to the car on the highway. Since my cousin had never mountain biked before, I decided the lower sections would be best so we started a right where Adam and I pulled off last time. The trail conditions were prefect and we cruised down the amazing trail with no problems. Justin got spoiled on his first MTB adventure! And it didn’t rain!
Later that day, we met my uncle and his buddy, Stanley Manly, (yes that is his real name), for some drift boat fishing on the lower McKenzie. Stan is a part time fly fishing guide so I couldn’t have picked a better location or instructor for my fish time fly fishing. Justin has way more experience fly fishing, or any kind of fishing, than I do so I tried my best to pick up tips from him and Mr. Manly. The river has just been stocked with first so we were expecting to pull in a lot of fish. In the end, our two boats pulled in 12 keepers and threw back countless more. I accomplished the first step for the second part of my goal for the trip and caught a nice rainbow trout on a fly rod. The rain still holding off for the most part… Onshore, I learned how to clean and gut a fish, something I’ve always wanted to learn but never had the possibility (well not recently anyway, I was a bit squeamish in my younger years).
That night, we were tired from a long day of adventure, so we decided to have eat spaghetti and save the fish for breakfast. More beer was polished off and many marshmallows were consumed has we sat around the fire again. That night, as I crawled into my tent, a slight misty rain began pitter pattering on my rainfly. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain.
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| Justin and Ryan preparing some of the trout |
The next morning during breakfast, I learned a few different ways to prepare trout. Turns out its pretty easy, just put lemon slices and onions inside, wrap in tinfoil and bbq. In the end my breakfast included, fresh trout, Italian sausage and eggs. Mission accomplished! We cleaned the campsite and packed the cars, then waved goodbye to my cousins and uncle. The weather appeared to be getting better so my dad and I rushed to the Belknap Hot SpringsResort Trailhead and took off on our mountain bikes up the MRT. Although the MRT is recommended as a shuttle from the top, the lower sections of the trail barely climbs at all and it actually a lot of fun to ride up. Plus it always feels good to earn your turns for the way down! In the end, we put in 17.3 miles in 2.5 hours. Absolutely amazing ride, with spring finally coming to the area and fantastic trail conditions. We finished our ride with the obligatory Fat Tire Ales and salami sandwiches then headed back to Portland, where it absolutely poured the whole way home. Luck of the Irish!
UNT
Bryan
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