I have thought about LTD to get to the base of the McKenzie Pass. But, part of the idea of riding one's bike is to actually ride one's bike.

I did catch a ride to the McKenzie Bridge Ranger Station a week ago. Rode to the top of the McKenzie Pass, then back to Walterville. It reduced about a 150 mile ride that is enough to push me over the top down to about a 100 mile ride which is long, but tolerable. It still left me on the McKenzie HWY for half the trip.

I have assumed that one of the reasons that ODOT maintains the McKenzie Pass during the winter is so that it could be used as an alternative if they manage to loose the Santiam Pass for some reason, even if they only allowed small vehicles and one-way traffic on the road.

Like the North Bank road along the Lookout Point, more route redundancy would seem to be a benefit to residents and users on the south side of the McKenzie river, and potentially be an alternative route for a McKenzie Highway closure.

I have thought about LTD going westward, but apparently it stops in Veneta.