Bike Overnight to Ainsworth State Park (Columbia Gorge), 24-25 March 2015

Ah yes! Another month, another bicycle overnight camping trip. As has become almost a tradition in March, the destination was Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia Gorge. (We seem to go here in March because it’s the first month it’s open for the season.) Five of us total made it out there. I’ve written about camping at Ainsworth pretty extensively in the past few years (go do a search), so I’m not going to bore you with the minutiae. But here are some savory details:

• This was the first time Zack had biked out in the Gorge, so I rode with him. It’s always fun biking with a Gorge newbie, and helps remind you how amazing this area is.
• The weather forecast was, how you say, crappy. But we couldn’t back out since we made reservations. Thankfully the rain mostly held out. Zack and I got a sprinkle at the start and a decent rain for the last few miles between Multnomah Falls and Ainsworth, but the real rain had the decency to hold off until after midnight, after we were all in bed. And it ended before we woke up, with just some light drizzle on the ride home. Thankfully Nate brought a good-size tarp, which we set up over a picnic table. While we never needed to huddle underneath it, it did keep the table dry for the morning.
• Just like the trip I did here during Spring Break two years ago, the place was pretty packed, including all of the prime hike-in sites where we were. Good call on reserving them!
• The crappy bike rack at Crown Point was gone! While it was fairly useless, it was still a bike rack. After an comical (in hindsight) exchange with the “help desk” (ha!) folks at Vista House (which resembled a “Who’s on first?” routine), I found out that it will be replaced with something functional. But when? I don’t know.
• We opted to take I-84 back, with a quick stop at Bridal Veil post office to get our post cards hand stamped. Zack and I stopped at Rooster Rock State Park to make coffee. This place is loaded with ground squirrels! They are sort of cute…when they aren’t trying to get into your food. (Which they will.)

Okay, April looms. Where will I go next month?