#klamath

Train Mountain is the longest miniature railroad in the world, and it's free to visit. It's near Chiloquin, around 30 miles north of downtown Klamath Falls. The Klamath Tribes, with its tribal admin building in the reservation in Chiloquin, runs a free bus service that primarily serves tribal members in remote areas. I took this bus to Chiloquin, and then biked to Train Mountain. This is the view on highway 97 by Upper Klamath Lake next to Amtrak's route here. #klamath #landscape #wetland #cascades #photography #railroad #darktable

After taking the last photo, I turned off my camera only to never turn it back on because the switch lever broke, probably because of dust buildup inside after riding gravel. So I only have iPhone photos at Train Mountain. This is my first time visiting a reservation, which is today very fragmented and only a few buildings. I got to ride one of the 1/8 scale miniature trains, and then I rode my gravel bike on the dirt roads to see Lillyville. It was quiet and mostly empty there. Should I visit again, I should go during their member meeting.

I wanted to repair my Olympus camera after returning to NYC, but official service for E-M5 Mark II had ended, and third party repair was too expensive. So RIP, my Olympus camera 😭 You have accompanied me to so many adventures since 2022, and have been through so many rough conditions. I'm sorry for not keeping you clean enough. You will be forever remembered by the thousands of photos I took.

Back to Olene and Lost River, in a different light later in the afternoon. #klamath #oregon #gravelbike #gravel #gravelride #river #landscape #darktable #photography #ruins

Trail-side flowers on the OC&E. I haven't seen arroyo lupines for a long time. The ones I saw here tend to be smaller than the ones I see in California, probably because it's more arid here. #klamath #oregon #flowers #summerblooms #photography #darktable

View along the OC&E trail, on my way back to downtown Klamath Falls #klamath #oregon #gravelbike #gravel #gravelride #railtrail #landscape #photography #darktable

Almost getting to central Dairy, my turnaround point. This place is called something like Swedish bend (forgot if "bend" is the right word), presumably named after the Swedish workers who blasted through rocks to build this line here. #klamath #oregon #gravelbike #gravel #gravelride #landscape #photography #darktable

As this trail was still railroad tracks in the 1980s, there are remnants of railway signs by the trail. #klamath #oregon #gravelbike #gravel #gravelride #railtrail #landscape #photography #darktable

There's a short stretch of the trail that is very overgrown around the intersection with highway 140. I rode the trail out and back to Dairy. On my way to Dairy, I got so frustrated by the vegetation that I rode highway 140 for a mile to bypass it, not knowing how long the overgrown part is. I thought about returning to downtown Klamath Falls right away if it's too long. On my way back, I rode through the overgrown part, only to find that it's pretty short. #klamath #oregon #railtrail #gravel #outdoors #landscape #photography #darktable

Here's where the OC&E gravel begins, Olene. The upper river is B Canal, and the lower one is Lost River (see Battle of Lost River: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lost_River) #klamath #oregon #river #landscape #railtrail #photography #darktable

I hit one of those gaps in the pavement every 10 meters or so, so annoying. There's a little irrigation channel by the trail, branched off from B Canal. What is grown in the field? I guess alfalfa. That's it for photos from the paved part of the trail. I'll post photos from the gravel part tomorrow. #klamath #railtrail #cycling #farmland #landscape #photography #darktable #oregon

Where the canal trail meets the OC&E woods line rail trail. The OC&E trail is over 100 miles long. It stands for Oregon, California, and Eastern, and was used to transport timber. From Klamath Falls to Olene, it's paved, and the rest is gravel. I turned around at Dairy because the trail was closed due to a nearby wildfire. #klamath #oregon #canal #railtrail #landscape #photography #darktable

After Link River, I rode the trail on A Canal to get to OC&E. There are many of these canals here from the Klamath Project in the 1900s to "reclaim" land from wetlands and lakes and to irrigate the farms on the "reclaimed" land. So the following few photos will show these farmlands. #klamath #oregon #canal #landscape #photography #darktable

August 18: I slept in because I stayed up because the train was late and I still had to shower because I rode gravel the previous morning. I had to get up early on August 17 to pack up and to make sure to have enough time to ride gravel, in case the trail is rough (phew it wasn't). After getting enough sleep, I had brunch in downtown Klamath Falls, and rode the little gravel trail by Link River before riding the OC&E. It was HOT, but at least it was arid, as this is high desert. Just before the Link River trail, I visited the Favell Museum of indigenous art, which has artifacts of indigenous peoples not only of this region but also many other regions of the West Coast (can't take photos inside). So where are the falls of Klamath Falls? The answer is here, the rapids of Link River, which became less prominent because of the dams such as the one in the last photo. 4 other hydroelectric dams downstream were removed in recent years to restore the ecosystem. #klamath #oregon #river #landscape #photography #darktable