A short stint on Rt. 22 put us just about to Detroit lake when we turned off onto Boulder Ridge Rd and began to climb. Quickly gaining elevation, navigation here became difficult with a multitude of 5 way intersections, the route occasionally taking the path less traveled - a departure from the earlier sections of the route.
Some sections were pretty tame
while some were a bit more difficult - though the toughest sections I didn't get photos of.
Occasionally we'd pop out on a ridge and be treated to an excellent view,
but for a couple of miles we rode long disused roads, very steep in a few places and soft in others.
At points I spied the valley we were trying to reach.
Slides were pretty common here
We reached the valley before too long and emerging onto a nicely paved road NF-46, we raced North. The two lane road would take us closer to Mt. Hood and without another vehicle in sight I sped ahead.
The road deteriorated bit by bit the further North we went, reaching deeper into the National Forest and growing closer to Mt. Hood by the minute.
Mt. Hood in the distance
Before the road became to Rt 225, our route turned and began to climb again on NF-4680 - a narrow one line road peppered with warning signs about log trucks..