Bikepacking the Nubwiggle, a gravel ride through the Blue and Wallowa mtns of Washington and Oregon

This ride is for those who love remote, seldom traveled roads leading to spectacular vistas, rugged canyons and deep forests. The tradeoff is, you'll spend much of the time climbing steep and rough roads. Riders should be in great shape and their bikes should be fully tuned, especially brakes and tires. Though several small towns are passed with good options for resupply, there are some long stretches in between towns so plan on carrying 3 days worth of food. The full trip is 500 miles with 42,000 ft of vertical. We started in late May knowing that the snow pack was very low this year, but most years won't be snow free in the higher elevations until mid June. July and August can be very hot at the lower elevations. Though the routes designer intended this to be an 8 day ride and noted campsites that followed that plan, we took 10 days and found even that slower schedule to be quite taxing. Wild camping in the National Forests was generally easy to locate and often beautiful. Water was plentiful but may be more challenging later in the summer. A rest day in Joseph, which is about half way, would be a nice option if time allows. Some good restaurants and walks found there. Overall, this was an amazing though difficult ride.