Wallowa Lake Oregon
I haven’t done much writing recently. Instead, I have been out enjoying the great outdoors.
This past weekend me and my friend took some time off work and did some camping at Wallowa Lake State Park near Joseph, Oregon. Wallowa lake lies between the south end of a scenic glacial lake and the towering peaks of the Wallowa Mountains.
This is a great area if you like hiking and water activities, but there are plenty of other things to do. We played some mini-golf, shopped in the local tourist shops and even stopped for a bit of ice cream. Of course we did a little bit of hiking and enjoyed the surrounding trail on our bikes. In fact, this was my roommates first time. She did great keeping up, though I know she will never be a serious cyclist.
We spent the weekend in a tent and found out shortly before we left that we could not have a campfire. Extreme dry conditions in the Northwest have caused one of the largest outbreaks of forest fires in years. Of course the weekend I am camping is when it decides to rain. That’s Murphy’s Law right?
We still managed to stay somewhat dry, even in a tent, but by the end of the trip though we were ready to leave. The last morning I got up early and slept in the car. I never got warm from the dampness of the rain and it got just a bit too cold for me. But by late morning the weather was perfect for our excursion with the Joseph Branch Railriders. We quickly packed up and headed into Joseph for our departure location.
We are railriders!
A railroad line once connected the towns of Joseph and Enterprise in Eastern Oregon’s Wallowa Mountains. Trains no longer run the rail line, however it is now home to the Joseph Branch Railriders.
A railrider is part-bike and part old fashion rail car that rides on top of the railroad tracks. It has two recumbent adjustable seats, and pedals that propel the unit forward at whatever speed you can pedal. Our route was a 12 mile round trip, from Joseph to Enterprise, but there is a more adventurous, 26-mile route, that runs from Minam to the city of Wallowa and back.
The railriders are one of just a few legal railrider lines in the US. The line takes you away from traffic, through the fields and landscape of the region with the Wallowa Mountains rising in the background. The trip down was quite easy, but coming back there was a slight climb. But no worries if you are out of shape or slow, you can always get a push from the operator who follows you.
Beautiful landscape followed the trail and we even saw a doe and her baby. If you have a couple of hours in your day and are in the Wallowa’s. I highly recommend taking at trip down this quiet, lazy route back through time.
You can find out more information about the Joseph Branch Railriders by visiting their website.
Pedals & Ponderings 