When Singletracks spoke with Kurt Refsnider back in June ahead of his attempt to become the first person to ride the entire 5,000-mile-long Orogenesis bikepacking route, the initial 700+ mile section through Washington loomed large.
“The relief in Washington looks daunting — so many 4,000- and 5,000-foot climbs and plenty of tough, old trails,” he said.
Thirty-two days into his journey, that’s in the rearview mirror, and now he’s almost through the state of Oregon as well.
“After roughly 750 miles of riding and 120,000′ of descending, Brandon [Baker] and I dropped into the Columbia River Gorge at White Salmon, [Washington],” Refsnider posted on Instagram last month. “We were both relieved and proud to have wrapped up the toughest big chunk of Orogenesis…and tired.”
As of today, Refsnider has ridden over 1,400 miles and climbed 140,000 feet through Washington and Oregon. That’s almost a third of the way along the 4,661-mile Orogenesis route, a significant accomplishment in the span of just over thirty days. Refsnider initially estimated it would take about five months for him to ride from the Canadian border to the southern tip of Baja, Mexico, and it appears he’s on pace to do so, or perhaps even finish a bit early.
This week Refsnider posted, “Nearly to California, but there still are a few more rugged, steep, and deadfally (that’s a real word in my world) days remaining in Oregon.” Though he notes the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance and volunteers continue to invest in re-opening and maintaining the Oregon Timber Trail / Fremont National Recreation Trail, the going is slow in places where the trail is overgrown and blocked by deadfall trees.
The upcoming California section holds still more question marks for Refsnider, as he told Singletracks earlier this year.
“I’m hoping the unknown miles through Washington and California are less demanding than the Continental Divide Trail (the trail, not the Great Divide MTB Route),” he said. “But I’m trying to avoid being too blindly optimistic since I don’t want to sandbag myself.”
The Orogenesis trail
The Orogenesis Trail has been years in the making. When complete, the bikepacking route will connect the Cross-Washington Mountain Bike Route, the Oregon Timber Trail, and the Baja Divide into one continuous 5,000-mile spine of singletrack, gravel roads, and backcountry riding. Promoters claim it will be the longest mountain bike trail in the world.
While the entire Orogenesis Trail route hasn’t been officially published yet, many of the route’s segments are stitched together from existing trails, legacy routes, and freshly restored singletrack. Gaps remain — roughly 200 miles in total — and some sections will require new trail construction in the years to come. For now, riders like Refsnider will have to navigate a mix of purpose-built segments and temporary detours.
The trail concept was originally envisioned nearly a decade ago by Gabriel Amadeus Tiller, who also led development of the Oregon Timber Trail. With support from volunteers and local trail organizations, Tiller and the Orogenesis Collective have been gradually assembling the route, which became its own nonprofit in 2024 after being incubated by Bikepacking Roots.
Follow Refsnider’s progress along the Orogenesis route
Refsnider is sharing his real-time progress on Trackleaders and also through regular updates to his Instagram page. In addition, he’s sharing audio dispatches on the Escape Collective’s Spin Cycle podcast.
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