Outside Features

The party in the Grand Canyon started in the parking lot of Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe even before we left Bend. The group of nine of us gathered on the grasses near Geoff Frank's large passenger van, sharing beers and stacking gear and kayaks on top of the roof. Although we had a fourteen-hour drive ahead of us that Saturday night in late September, our spirits were soaring with anticipation of three weeks of rafting on the Colorado River.

It's the full-finger gloves, warm tights, warm inner layers, windbreaker jackets, beanies-under-the-helmet season. It's time for mountain bike riders who don't ski, or skiers simply looking for a change of recreation pace when the snow conditions aren't that good. And during most winters, there are always trails that will be snow free and worth riding. Here's a few of my favorite off-season rides:

October is here and that means the river will rise! Canals that flow out of the Deschutes to irrigate agriculture in the surrounding areas will be shut off, and flows will increase substantially, making it possible to kayak down sections of the river that are too boney and shallow for a kayak during the warmer months.
I interviewed a few local kayaking experts about their favorite fall kayak trips and both the Riverhouse Run and the Middle Deschutes were mentioned as the best around.

Cuckoo for Cross
Back in the day, autumn used to lend itself to a period of relative debauchery for competitive cyclists. It was typical for the lean-and-mean to gain a few pounds, stay up late and let all the rigors of training slide until after Christmas. Cyclocross has pretty much ruined the off-season and if it weren't so much bloody fun, it would be easy to dismiss. And, for an increasing number of cyclists, 'cross isn't an off-season way to stay fit – it's the focus of their entire year's training.

The Miller Landing Project is a campaign to raise funds to acquire the last remaining undeveloped river front property just north of the Colorado Bridge and across from McKay Park. If purchased, Miller's Landing will become a commun-ity river park through the Bend Park and Recreation District and provide a critical link in the Deschutes River Trail system. Although the land has been regarded as a public park for decades, it is, in fact, owned by the Miller family and Brooks Resources who were at one time considering developing the land into 37 townhomes.