8,000 MILES LATER NO LONGER NOVICES

Pacific Northwest, USA

Written by Kyle Ledeboer / Images by Kyle Ledeboer & Sam McMillan

It was set to be a summer of firsts, acknowledging that personal growth and new skills would be gained in the process. And we had a big goal ahead of us, marrying mountain biking and packrafting for our finale bikerafting trip in Deschutes, OR at the end of the season.

We both knew from the very beginning that outfitting ourselves with the right gear would mean the difference between pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones and a mundane tourist existence. We made the right choice when we decided to partner up with Kokopelli and Niner to kick off the adventure of a lifetime: an 8,000-mile summer road trip spanning three months.

To say that Samantha and I were novices with regard to paddling and pedaling would be a tremendous understatement. Between us we had about 15 rides total on mountain bikes. Only one of us had ever floated a major river with rapids of consequence.

We picked up our gear from Colorado in midJune, heading into the “testing phase,” or as I like to refer to it, a lot of trial and error. In just a few short weeks we had to learn how to inflate, deflate, paddle, clean, dry, and store our packrafts. For biking, we planned to escalate to bigger trails. Once we mastered that, we needed to tackle mounting our bikes to our packrafts, aiming to maximize how they could be used in conjunction with one another.

Rather than jumping into bikerafting out of the gate, we agreed to expand our comfort zones slowly with each respective sport.

We got our first taste of dirt when we pulled out the mountain bikes in Steamboat Springs, CO. We climbed a strenuous trail to get a bird’s eye view of the sleepy mountain town, getting a feel for the carbon fiber human powered machines which flowed beautifully across the sticky dirt.

The very next day we were off to Steamboat Lake for our packrafting debut. The 35 mph constant winds and white capping waves put our lack of experience on full display as we drifted across the lake from our starting point. Every stroke Samantha made had water pouring down her oars and into her lap, leaving her sitting in several inches of water.

At the start of our adventure, we decided that at the end of each section we would sit and have an honest evaluation of what went right. In what areas could we improve? What are the next steps we need to take to continue to push ourselves toward our goal of running rapids with bikes securely mounted to our rafts?

Evaluating our Steamboat experience, we reached the realization that Colorado’s high country, still covered by several feet of snow, wasn’t the right location for our endeavors. In search of open trails, snow free pathways, and calmer waters, we pressed on. After a quick stayover in Dubois, WY for several relaxing days of home cooked meals and fly fishing with close friends, we made our way to Grand Teton National Park.

Underneath the watch of the towering Tetons, we secured the mountain bikes to the packrafts for the first time. We practiced taking off both tires and experimented with different ways of layering the frame and tires in a way that it would remain balanced and stable on the front of our packrafts. We headed into the local rafting shop in Jackson Hole to purchase some carabiners and NRS straps so that we could solidify the union before making our way down to the water for a paddle.

With summer supposedly well underway, weather should have been the least of our worries. Yet with Steamboat Springs receiving 24 inches of snow on their summer solstice just a few days prior, our luck wasn’t looking up.

Plagued yet again by high winds, white capping waves, and hail, Samantha decided to stay on shore while I paddled into the wind, bike securely strapped to my bow. After 20 minutes of getting tossed around, I headed back to shore. With the confidence that the rafts could perform even under the worst conditions, handling anything we novice paddlers threw at it, it was time to get comfortable on two wheels.

Bozeman, Montana promised ample biking playgrounds. Heading through Yellowstone National Park, with several stops for camping and fishing, we met up with our good friend Porter in the small Montana college town.

Porter wanted to take us riding out at Cooper City, a newly constructed trail system near Three Forks, MT. We were elated to not only ride some real trails, but also to experience our first “flow track,” a term we just learned. Porter stressed the importance of keeping our weight forward on the bikes as we pressed upward, grinding through switchback after switchback. In the end, we did a fair amount of pushing, maneuvering the carbon fiber bodies over rocks. All the initial

effort melts away once you crest the last hill and start your descent. There is just nothing that compares to the weightless feeling of flying over rollers and around steep banks.

With a new level of confidence, we prepared for our next -more challenging- ride, the Mountain to Meadow Trail in Big Sky, MT. Tackling a blue section of downhill pushed us even further outside our comfort zone yet helped solidify our love for being in the saddle. The trail can be insanely fast and exhilarating. Some switchbacks were so tight and narrow that they felt like certain disaster for a novice rider. But with a little trust, and a heavy dose of peer pressure, we overcame all the obstacles. I finished slightly before Samantha. As she appeared in my field of view, I could tell that she had taken her first wipe out and survived.

On to Idaho and our first river in the packrafts.

Meeting up with our friend Alex, we launched from a small tributary of the Henry’s Fork River in Eastern Idaho. A local sports store had recommended it, so we decided to try our luck. We Launched about a mile upstream from the Henry’s Fork on the Warm River, which is much shallower and way rockier than its more significant counterpart. Struggling to find the correct put-in, we floated 100 yards before seeing signs we had to exit. We pulled our ultra-lite watercrafts out and bushwhacked down the road to a more appropriate put in. Continuing on, our rear ends got mildly abused by boulders before we reached the confluence. From there the mild rapids basically equated to splashy water. As we meandered down the river, I was extremely upset that I left my fly rod back in the car. After successfully floating into our designated finish line at Ashton Reservoir, we bid Alex farewell and headed toward Glacier National Park.

If there’s one thing visitors of National Parks know, it’s that the 4th of July is one of the most popular days. We quickly realized our mistake, landing ourselves in a never-ending sea of cars clamoring to enter the park. Seeking nature’s solitude, not the ambush of tourists, we bailed from the never-ending line and kept driving north.

Arriving in Banff, we were both eager to paddle this Northern Rockies gem. Yet again we found ourselves plagued by a stint of bad weather and a lack of credible information on sections of river. Without wetsuits and with highs only in the mid 50s, the cold glacial water presented real consequences if we were to flip. So, we pressed onward.

Whistler, a biking mecca, provided a plethora of trails accessible just a short pedal from the hotel. Bonus was that our hotel had a bike washing station right out front. After a series of enjoyable bike rides, time constraints had us cutting our stay short to continue our trek south.

Outside of Seattle, we discovered Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park. Here we spent an entire day trying out more difficult trails. This treasure allows riders of all levels to slowly scale and expand their comfort zones by giving each person options. Jumps, drops, and technical sections for every level. We spent the entire day exploring only a fraction of the 120 acres, moving to more difficult trails as the

This bike allows you to experience the kind of bliss that only hard core mountain bikers know about . Being a novice rider, the JET 9 RDO model from Niner initially seemed a bit like overkill, but I really wanted a bike that I could grow into. One quick turn of the rear dial and the suspension was locked, which made climbs less strenuous. The dropper post allowed me to turn every downhill into my very own carnival ride. All I had to do was keep my pedals level and let the bike handle the details! ”

- KYLE LEDEBOER

day progressed. This included our first black diamond trail. Although we had to pick our way through it, we came out the other side unscathed.

Next stop, Bend, OR for our bikerafting finale.

We chose to camp at Sparks Lake, along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, with the hopes of floating a section of the Deschutes River and running our own shuttle with the bikes. We spoke to a local rafting shop and found

maps depicting which sections were doable. I say doable because there are a few significant Class V rapids on the Deschutes. Our packraft models were rated only to Class II and III, not to mention we weren’t prepared for anything too rowdy.

We zeroed in on a short section above Lava Falls and strapped our tightly rolled packrafts to our handlebars. We stored our paddles, PFDs and Feather Pump in our dry bags and hit the trail. After pedaling upstream a few miles, we stopped to scout rapids, made mental notes about how to run them, and identified reference points to signify our takeout.

With our nerves getting the best of us, we

watched as guided trip after guided trip put in before us. We took our time getting the rafts inflated, bikes broken down, and securely mounted. This allowed us to get more information from the professional guides as well as to clue them in as to what exactly we were doing. Most of them were extremely interested in the fact that we were going to float with our bikes mounted to the packrafts, something they had never seen done before.

Launching into the river, Samantha and I picked our way through each rapid. I made the most of eddies to periodically get photos. As Samantha approached one of the bigger rapids, I climbed out on a lava outcropping to capture the moment. She inadvertently selected the worst

line and hit the roughest part of the white water. Upon returning to my raft, I met up with her further downstream. She was bailing water out of her packraft once again, but this time only had her shoe to serve as a bucket. Once she cleared the excess water, we continued to our takeout, enjoying the glow of successfully combining biking and packrafting.

All in all, our road trip served as the best learning experience. There was no better way to progress from novice to the point of competence in such a short time. We walked away from our trip with a much deeper love for both sports as well as the confidence to combine them again in the future.

As for our personal goals, this trial helped us spearhead tremendous personal growth, both individually and as a couple. While expanding our comfort zones, we also grew closer together as a couple. Having successfully married packrafting and biking, we can now prepare for our next big adventure, getting married in the near future.

Kyle Ledeboer is a Phoenix based commercial photographer, but his heart and soul live in the mountains. He spends his summers traveling from place to place searching for his next great adventure.

@KplOutdoors

Samantha McMillan is a hospitality professional who has a passion for people and sharing their stories. She’s absolutely obsessed with watersports and has been known to use her own shoe to bail herself out of trouble. @SamMcmillan