Northwest Fall Gathering Round 2 - China Hat / Bend Oregon Oct 2011

China hat is awesome, we do it every year in April and October - about 15 guys (various bikes). Only issue in October is that it is sometimes very dusty with no wind, so the dust just hangs between the trees. Otherwise it is balls out rididng (fast)

Well, sometimes in April there's a foot of snow still hanging around on the south end of the network too. Hey Lonnie, did you find out anything about the race that is on the calendar?

Going someplace new sounds good to me. Is it still pretty hot in October at Shasta?
I suppose the weather is as unpredictable as China Hat?

There's nothing wrong with having a couple fall gatherings though, Not everyone can make a particular trip. I'd like to do Shasta too but China Hat is a lot easier to pull off.

Why not shoot for the 29th/30th of October, the race isn't till after that and the hunting closure is over by then?

I remember last year the hunting closures ended a couple of days before our get together.

True, last year it was in the middle of the month but I have a prior engagement the two weekends prior to the 29th/30th so I was hoping to get first dibs on the date

USFS Website

Restrictions:
"Fox Butte Green Dot Area (late September - mid October)"

"About half of the trail system is within the Fox Butte Green Dot Area which restricts access to designated roads during the general deer hunting season. This is roughly a two week period from late September to mid October. Any roads or trails within this Green Dot area will be subject to the Green Dot restrictions."

General Rifle Season Runs October 2 - October 14th as far as I can tell, last year the area was closed thru the 13th.

"The trail system is open all year, however hot, dusty conditions normally inhibit riding from mid July through September and cold, snowy conditions restrict riding from mid December through March."

Late October Expected conditions: highs in the 50-60's. lows possibly in the teens overnight, expect at least 32° or less overnight. Expect it to be "generally" dry that time of year but rain/snow can happen, I've seen 6" of snow overnight then blue skies and perfect conditions by mid-afternoon. The "rain" season starts around then end of September so the worst of the dust is gone by the time the hunting closure is over.

The nearest weather station is Pine Mountain, unfortunately there's no 2010 data but you can go back to 2009.
http://www.wunderground.com/weather...ND17&graphspan=month&month=10&day=7&year=2009

Pine mountain is higher than the trail system so the temperatures are lower there but it catches the same weather.

There is a race scheduled on the OMRA calendar for November 5/6 but no more details than "2011 Enduro/Race November 5-6, 2011"

I've gone to China Hat during big events and there were still plenty of open trails to ride. It would be advisable to avoid the race weekends, but it doesn't necessarily make it a deal breaker IMO. Hunting... I have no idea. I've been there Sep thru Nov numerous times and never saw or even heard about hunters. Weather can be an issue later in the year, but is usually great up into mid Nov (if you've gota heater at night!)

I dont think I'd make a Shasta trip. I've been road tripping all summer (in Mammoth again right now) and I dont have another run across OR in me.