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range that runs from British Columbia down through Washington and Oregon to Northern California . Whenever possible , I like to fill in the blank spots on my mental map — to experience firsthand what roads and scenery are really like . So I sketched out a route from the Columbia River to the California border that zigzags several times over the Cascades , winds its way through four national forests and one national park and follows three designated scenic byways . Like any good motorcycle route , it would take at least twice as long as a more direct path .
With the GT ’ s saddlebags packed and a tail bag strapped to the passenger seat , I hit the road at 6 a . m ., crossing the mighty Columbia — and into Oregon — on the Bridge of the Gods , a steel truss bridge named after a natural dam that was created by a landslide at the same location nearly 1,000 years ago . The narrow , 90-year-old bridge has no pedestrian walkway , but it ’ s where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the river , so weary hikers with heavy packs must contend with cars and trucks .
What makes the Cascades special is its many stratovolcanoes — the coneshaped variety we learned about in grade school — that rise thousands of feet above the surrounding mountains . I ’ ve ridden along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in California dozens of times , and every time I pass through