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SPRING 2019 ISSUE 01 / VOL . 04
Being far from anywhere , we had campgrounds largely to ourselves and we were fortunate to have either a stream or lake nearby .
central and eastern Oregon is all but empty , yet it ’ s crisscrossed with so many access roads that without GPS tracks and paper maps , getting lost is all but assured . The OOHVA ’ s maps were created in 2002 , and in the years since some roads have been closed and new ones have been cut . Even following the purple line on Paul ’ s GPS , we still made wrong turns or hit dead-ends and had to figure out how to re-route ourselves . We also encountered the unexpected , such as fallen trees and man-made barricades . Therein lies the adventure . Completing a backcountry discovery route is not like following the Yellow Brick Road ; it requires not only preparation and riding skills but also teamwork , patience and adaptability .
We quickly established a routine — waking early to heat up water for coffee and oatmeal using portable stoves , breaking camp , riding for several hours , stopping for lunch and gas , riding for several more hours , then stopping early to set up camp and relax . Paul was always in the lead , which meant his gear stayed clean and we had someone to blame for wrong turns . I followed Paul and Marten followed me , and even