Month: July 2011

At the end of this week I'll be on a 5-day backpack with my friend Mark and hopefully part of the way with Jenny.  To get ready for this backpack I've been dong as much hiking as time permits.  None of the hikes have been worth mentioning because they are training hikes that I've done hundreds of times.  One of those hikes was in the rain.

Yesterday was sunny and my friend Shannon agreed to go on a long hike to Goat Lake, which is in the Henry M Jackson Wilderness.  It's not hard to get there from here so we agreed to meet at the leisurely hour of 10 a.m.  We drove and chatted up the Mountain Loop Hwy then got to the trail head, along with about 100 other people, found parking, changed shoes, put on bug spray, got Jodee harnessed and leashed around noon.

We took the Upper Elliot Creek option, which is an old road that is turning into trail but the road bed is still obvious.  A little more than three miles later this trail joins the main trail.  We happily chatted and hiked until we came to a creek that had obviously been scoured by spring run-off fed by last winter's very heavy snowfall.

The trail kind of disappeared at that point but there was an obvious foot path along hiker's left of the creek.  We followed it for a while, picked our way up the slickrock in the creek.  At that point I unleased Jodee because it was too sketchy for us to be connected.  Shannon and I consulted the map and found that there was a creek crossing then the trail continued along hiker's left of Elliot Creek.  The problem with all maps is that they don't always show ALL the creek crossings and we had already crossed a half dozen creeks.  We were in the steep section of the trail to the lake so we didn't pay much attention to that final creek crossing before the final ascent to the lake.

We found what we thought was an exit point out of the creek.  That part was short but we had to self-belay using vine maple and other handy natural assists.  Once we were all safely on the other side we figured it would an easy cross country traverse to the trail.  As we traverse we angled up the slope to continue gaining elevation.  We traversed and ascended, made our way around blowdown and holes and vine maple patches and so on.  Finally we got to a sheer rock face.  Our other choice was bush-whacking through vine maple.  No thank you.

On the way back down and toward the creek it was clear that other people had tried the same thing.  A few anyway.  We'd run into boot prints periodically.  Finally we hit the trail, and I recognized exactly where we were — just before the big, scoured creekbed.  We decided to go back up there to figure out where we went wrong.  The young ladies were filtering water and sunning themselves on the bank when we arrived.  In front of them were three cairns that pointed across the creekbed.  They confessed that they would not have known to cross the creek because the path up to the left of the creek that Shannon and I took was somehow more obvious.  However, they had seen hikers come out from across the creek so knew that was the way.

Shannon and I felt a little silly but we did find our way back and knew when to turn around when and how to use the creek as a guide to bring us back to where we had started.  Still, feeling a little sheepish we continued up the switchbacks and found the lake.  Most of the little day use areas were filled up with other hikers but we found one where we could take a break, wash the sweat and trail dust off.

We left our little spot in the sun at about 1630 and hiked out, which was uneventful and long.  The dogs were tired, our feet were tired, and my left shoulder blade was beginning to ache.  Still it was a beautiful day, the bugs were only at the parking area, we had a dip in a freezing cold mountain lake, and front row view of a snow-covered mountain that we decided was Foggy Mountain, based on the where it sat in relation to the lake.

Here are a few pictures.  Unfortunately I did not take one of Shannon.  Bil is Shannon's dog.  Jodee is mine.  Stats: Total mileage, probably 11 or so given our trek onto the flank of Sloan Peak.  Elevation gain, maybe 2500' or a little more.

We decided to go on a weekend bike tour for the last weekend in June.  Ideally we wanted to do something local, like the San Juan Islands.  However the weather wasn't looking promising so we opted to go east.

Last year we had gone on a bike tour with friends and part of that tour was down Banks Lake, which begins near the town of Grand Coulee.  We quickly sketched out a route that began in Grand Coulee, repeated the stretch down beautiful Banks Lake then went east on Hwy 2 to Wilbur and finally north on Hwy 21 to a place called Keller Ferry.  The ferry is free and shuttles vehicles and passengers across the Columbia River daily from about 6:30 a.m. until almost midnight.  It's actually a Washington State ferry.  We became more intrigued by this ferry and were practically centering this ride around the ferry.  The route continues north for about 5 miles then due to time constraints goes back west across the Colville Reservation.

Route plan in hand, we quickly got ready — bikes, panniers, tents, then logistics.  We found a motel in Grand Coulee (Trail West) that would allow us to leave our car until Sunday after we checked out Saturday morning.

On Friday before we left we slightly panicked about the distance the first day of our ride.  Our first day would cover nearly 70 miles.  I'd been riding anywhere from 15 to 25 miles at a time on my bike commute two to three times weekly for maybe a month.  Randy's training consisted of occational jogs, one bike commute home and a couple mountain bike rides.  Now, riding a road bike isn't terribly strenuous in itself if you're used to biking semi-regularly.  However, the backside usually is the first to suffer if you're not used to it, followed by the neck, shoulders, and arms.  Still we had all day to ride the distance so we only fretted a little.

We arrived in Grand Coulee Friday night around 9:30 p.m.  Just long enough to settle into sleep.  Surprisingly we slept well and got up early without prompting by a pesky alarm.  The sun was bright but the temperature still cool so the first part of the downhill to Safeway was brisk. We provisioned at Safeway because provisional stops along this route would be rare.  We bought full sized sandwiches (mistake) each, a muffin, coffee, and an orange for breakfast.

Our first stop wasn't very far away but it is mandatory to stop at the windmill sculpture garden on the south side of town.  It's a cool place.  You'll see in the pictures.

Then we rode down Banks Lake, which is lovely.  However, there are cracks in the pavement about every second or third pedal stroke that we had forgotten about the previous year.  They are annoying but not enough to never ride it again.  Banks Lake is a beautiful ride.  It was my favorite part from last year's tour.

It only took a couple hours to get to the end of Banks Lake, which was surprising since we were both loaded with panniers.  We stopped at the crossroads of Hwy 155 and Hwy 2 to eat a quarter of the sandwiches we had bought.  There's a broken down old cafe and gas station that is picturesque in an eerie way.  You'll see in the pictures.

The next leg of the route heads west through the rolling wheat fields, which are incredibly green this time of year, on Hwy 2.  Traffic was light, the shoulder was good enough.  The route was continually uphill on a slight grade but we had a bit of a tail wind so even that part when more quickly than we thought it would.  Still, by the time we got to Wilbur, our next provisional stop, our bodies were feeling the effects of bicycling.  We had traveled 55 miles already and it was only 1:00 p.m.  After the mandatory grocery store stop we ate another quarter sandwich.

The clouds were rolling in so we briefly debated staying in Wilbur but instead we put on jackets and opted to continue the final 14 miles to Keller Ferry where we would camp in a National Park Service campground for the night.  The route up Hwy 21 to Keller Ferry is more uphill with climb that appears daunting at about mile 65.  There isn't much of a shoulder but n much traffic either.

At the top of the hill, the view opens up to the Columbia River basin.  And there's a sign that warns motorists to travel at only 15 mph.  If there had been traffic we'd pass it.  The down hill was 4 miles of curves that did require some braking to make the turns.  It was fun and well worth the long uphill ride to get to the top.

To our surprise it was only 3:00 p.m when we arrived in camp.  The campground host was very friendly and helped us find a spot that was quiet, grassy, scenic, and away from hordes of children.  The screams of delight are fine from a distance.  We went to the marina store to buy coffee that we had forgotten at the grocery store in Wilbur and a bag of potato chips, which is essential after a 72-mile ride.

We enjoyed a can of Guinness and potato chips at our picnic table while we took in the sit around us.  We walked to the ferry, rested on the grass, puttered with our stuff, watched all the people, boats, fisherman cleaning their catch.  Better than tv!

Dinner was some vac-packed pulled pork from the Wilbur grocery store, reheated on a tiny alcohol stove, baker buns, sliced cucumber, and a second Guinness.  After dinner we wandered back to the ferry, puttered a little more before we decided it was late enough to turn in.  There was still plenty of campground noise but we fell asleep in the midst of it all.  My bladder woke me up at around midnight.  Camp was quiet and the stars were bright and shiny.  The next thing I remember is daylight.

We were up early, breakfasted on oatmea, turkey jerky and coffee.  Even though the route for the day was only 32 miles, we packed a lot of water because there were no provisional stops for about the first 30 miles and it was warmer and hillier today.

The ferry ride across was quiet and pretty.  The river was dead calm since there was no wind and no boats out yet.  Across the river our ride took us along the Columbia onto the Colville Reservation.  Hwy 21 doesn't have much of a shoulder but there's no traffic either.  The route is rolling until we had to turn west on Manilla Creek Road.

Manilla Creek Road is about 14 miles long. The first eight miles are a long slow climb for an elevation gain of about 2500'.  My knee was a little sore so I couldn't really stand on the pedals.  Plus that's difficult to do with panniers because it makes the front really unstable.  It's possible; it just doesn't feel secure.  I spun away up the hill and Randy waited for me here and there.  It took about 2 hours to climb the hill but we were glad we had plenty of water.

The rest of the road is a fun dowhill all the way to Hwy 155, which goes back to Grand Coulee.  We spotted a packed gravel path that paralleled Hwy 155 along the Columbia River so we took that.  Riding the path was peaceful and scenic.  The path eventually ended in front of Grand Coulee Dam, which is very cool.

But then we had to figure out how to get back to the highway and back to Grand Coulee.  We got lost briefly but I asked for directions in a grocery store and found out that we had to cross the bridge we had ridden under then climb up and over the dam to get to Grand Coulee.  By then it felt hot but a little rest in the shade and we were ready to finish the ride.  We knew we were within a few miles of the end.

Turns out you're supposed to walk your bikes across the bridge but I didn't see the sign until I had zoomed past it.  Oh well.  We rode down a shady street for a short distance then started the climb in the blazing sun.  The climb was short compared to the one on Manilla Creek Road.  Still we were glad to be at the top and coasting down toward Grand Coulee.  And then a short final climb back up to the motel and our tour was over for a total of 104 miles.

We stopped at Safeway for Vitamin Water, potato chips, and quarters for a shower down the road.  The previous day when we had stopped at a rest area to use the bathroom we noticed showers for a few quarters.  It was perfect.  We showered and had a snack before continuing the journey home.  Here are the pictures.

The annual camping trip to Rimrock area (between White Pass and Yakima) is supposed to herald the beginning of mountain bike season.  However, we usualy go early enough that the trails are still under snow and the weather is crummy.  And that's precisely what we did this year too.

The true purpose of Rimrock is to get together with a group of wonderful friends, catch up, hunt morels, hang out, hang loose, and have our pores infused by campfire smoke by the end of the weekend.

We actually did that twice this year.  First in May, just before Memorial Day weekend and again in June, the second weekend in June.

The first weekend was predictably rainy but we managed to find a lot of morels and accomplish the rest of the items on the "purpose of Rimrock" list.  The second weekend was much nicer and most of us got in a mountain bike ride, at least up the fire road until we hit snow (about 4 miles up).  Once we did that, we accomplished the remainder on our list.

The pictures are from the first weekend.  For some reason I didn't dig out my camera on the second trip even though the weather was suitable for sunning and other warm weather activities.  Still, you get the idea from the pictures I did take.