Took a quick ride up NF road 45 (on the way to my favorite riding/shooting area). The temp quickly dropped to 30 degrees, and the snow started closing in. You can't ride in very far this time of year! 

Took the new GSA out to Timothy Lake, using Forest Service roads to get there. It handles very well on soft gravel, washboards, and mud... and it's super handy to adjust the preload and damping with the touch of a button :)

There she is, sitting in front af a meadow:

 And sitting in the woods:

Next, I stopped at Timothy Lake dam. They were letting water out, through The Pipe:

 Some closeups and random shots:

Ready for the trip to AK now!

The road to Windy Ridge was closed again! I don't know if it has been open since last year's slide wiped out the road...

So I rode as far in as I could, hoping to find a way to the forest service road that winds through the destruction area north of St Helens. No luck - the road was closed long before the turnoff, and they blocked it off so even motorcycles couldn't go around. There is a mountain bike trail, though, that eventually meets up with the road I was looking for, so I took that. About half a mile in, the trail was blocked by a big fallen tree, which I did get around, only to find a valley full of snow. I wussed out and turned around, because I was riding alone and I was certain to get stuck at least once on that crazy trail.

Oh well, it was still a fun ride. I'll hit up the forest service road once Windy Ridge opens again, and eat lunch at Ryan Lake - some day.

 The Route

You can see snow to the left. About 300 feet up the trail, was a huge drop-off and way too much snow for me.

Love this picture. It represents why I love Oregon's forests.. so very green :)

I found it!

3,875 feet (1,181 m)

45°08′00″N 122°17′22″W / 45.133333°N 122.28944°W / 45.133333; -122.28944 (Clear Lake (Clackamas County, Oregon))

This isn't easy to get to, if you don't know where you are going. The road NF45, then a branch of NF4510, requires high-clearance vehicles. Lots of big holes and rocks, but a beautiful area.

 Sorry, forgot the camera (as usual) - these were taken with my iPhone.

The TW200 taking in the lake view after making the journey easy. What you can't see in any of these images, is that this lake is surrounded on three sides by mountains (very close).

These flowering bushes were everywhere...