Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Bekologist
04-25-06, 07:25 AM
Just put in 180 miles as a weekend overnight trip. rode from Seattle into the heart of the Cascades where a huge amount of snow persists, clogging the roads and trails above 2,500 feet.
I rode from Seattle out 50 miles north to the little gravel town of Granite Falls. A lot of dump trucks live there. From Granite Falls, the Mountain Loop highway heads into wild country, and ends in a serious washout 35 plus odd miles out in the Cascade mountains, across Barlow Pass.
I rode the 80+ odd miles up to Barlow Pass, where at 2,300 feet, the road was still blocked, several miles prior to the washout, by several feet of snow and drifts much higher. I took some photos, then descended back to a more reasonable altitude and picked a campsite by the river.
I saw a big cat of some sort dart across the road on my ride up to the pass- cougar or bobcat,but bigger than any bobcat I've seen before- this gave me good cause to find a campsite a few miles distant and across a major river! This is wild country in Washington state- a few years back, I spooked up a wolf in the same neck of the woods.
Pitched up camp by 6 or so; caught a little last sunlight before cooking dinner, then a lil' comfy tarp sleeping. Check out the camoflage tarp/poncho in the picture of me packing up- they are very effective for stealth camping.
Messed around in the mountains the second morning, soaked up the AM sun by Big 4 Mountain, the rode back towards civilation and got dead ended in due course trying a 'shortcut' across the hills back to Granite Falls- the two track was going well, and the road seemed to 'go'- but then it petered out at another washout...the road had grown thick with popple across the stream, so I backtracked, got a great gravel descent in the process, and returned to the paved road, and Seattle by 7 that evening.
180 miles, 36 hours, 1 big cat sighting, 1 wrong turn on two track, sunshine the whole weekend...sublime spring Blitzkreig to snow country and back.
I rode from Seattle out 50 miles north to the little gravel town of Granite Falls. A lot of dump trucks live there. From Granite Falls, the Mountain Loop highway heads into wild country, and ends in a serious washout 35 plus odd miles out in the Cascade mountains, across Barlow Pass.
I rode the 80+ odd miles up to Barlow Pass, where at 2,300 feet, the road was still blocked, several miles prior to the washout, by several feet of snow and drifts much higher. I took some photos, then descended back to a more reasonable altitude and picked a campsite by the river.
I saw a big cat of some sort dart across the road on my ride up to the pass- cougar or bobcat,but bigger than any bobcat I've seen before- this gave me good cause to find a campsite a few miles distant and across a major river! This is wild country in Washington state- a few years back, I spooked up a wolf in the same neck of the woods.
Pitched up camp by 6 or so; caught a little last sunlight before cooking dinner, then a lil' comfy tarp sleeping. Check out the camoflage tarp/poncho in the picture of me packing up- they are very effective for stealth camping.
Messed around in the mountains the second morning, soaked up the AM sun by Big 4 Mountain, the rode back towards civilation and got dead ended in due course trying a 'shortcut' across the hills back to Granite Falls- the two track was going well, and the road seemed to 'go'- but then it petered out at another washout...the road had grown thick with popple across the stream, so I backtracked, got a great gravel descent in the process, and returned to the paved road, and Seattle by 7 that evening.
180 miles, 36 hours, 1 big cat sighting, 1 wrong turn on two track, sunshine the whole weekend...sublime spring Blitzkreig to snow country and back.