Pacific Northwest - SR 20: Newhalem to road closure at Ross Lake Trailhead (pics)

This being the Pacific Northwet forum, none of this should need much introduction here. I'll say that the North Cascades Highway might be the best ride in the state. It's closed at mile 134. I think a big part of the reason is avy danger; I saw the recent aftermath of a few avalanches, one reaching right down to the road heading toward the gorge. (It had killed some trees that looked about 3 to 5 years old, so the last one that ran out to the roadway was 3 to 5 years ago.)

It was a pretty spectacular ride.

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00628.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00417.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00475.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00512.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00523.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00545.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00547.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00578.jpg

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00527.jpg

I'm a mountains person, and seeing the icy spires towering over the road is what does it for me ... and why I like this road.

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00468.jpg

Here's Diablo Lake - the campground is toward the left.

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00472.jpg

But winter isn't quite ready to give up its grip.

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00476.jpg

Also Diablo Lake:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00491.jpg

The summer overlook:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00517.jpg

You can see a hint of the lake here - don't fall!

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00563.jpg

Empty road ahead:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00564.jpg

Here's the northern and eastern flank of the Pickett Range:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00521.jpg

The Picketts were a blank spot on the map until the 1930s ... nobody had any idea what was in there. They have names like Mounts Fury, Terror, and Despair. While the road passes within a few miles of these mountains, it's hard to get a glimpse of them because the foot hills block the view, and because the forest is too thick. There were a few places where I could see the tops of a few of the spires.

And here's an "empty road ahead" panorama, bleached out by the sun:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00559.jpg

N Cascades Hwy being the best ride in the state is debatable, but without question it looks like you picked a stellar weekend to ride it. What was the air temp near Diablo Lake? Cold return trip for sure. great pics

Looks like a nice ride. Thanks for the pics SF!

Very nice pics! I might have to try that route this coming weekend after my gran fondo in Ephrata.

N Cascades Hwy being the best ride in the state is debatable, but without question it looks like you picked a stellar weekend to ride it. What was the air temp near Diablo Lake? Cold return trip for sure. great pics

I can't think of a better ride, but if you can, I'm all ears. There are other routes by the beach and whatnot, but that's just a bunch of water. ;)

The bike computer says the temps ranged from from 37 to 63 F, depending on whether I was in the sun or not. The forecast (for Seattle) called for brilliant sun and warm air into the 60s, which happened, but not for as much of the day as I'd hoped.

My plan was to enjoy a garden burger in Marblemount before the start of the ride, but the restaurant was closed for the season (all of them were, I think). Which means I did the ride on a bagel and some espresso. The reason I mention this, is that anyone thinking about bringing their bike up this way should bring food, too.

One more, from Gorge Lake:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00412.jpg

I think a big part of the reason is avy danger;

Not just a big part - the whole reason!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/5242152485/in/pool-73467289@N00/

It's an awesome ride. My favorite is coming down the other side of the pass in the summer. After working up and over the two passes, you get miles and miles downhill were you struggle to keep your eyes on the road and off the scenery.

Thanks for sharing!

I think a big part of the reason is avy danger

My ears are burning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4F0zTcfzMk

N Cascades is beautiful and without a doubt an inspiring ride; summer tourist traffic, RVs and big rigs are a bit of an issue for me.

Sequim to Neah Bay, opposite from the eastbound logging trucks. Overnight with Sunday return.
Sumner to northern entrance of Mt Rainier National Park.
Castle Rock to Mt St Helens overlook (Tour de Blast route)
Hwy 14 (north side of Columbia River)

Point being, there are many excellent routes. The best ride = ???
YMMV

Thanks for the suggestions, Wildwood. I'll try some of them out. Have you had your bike on Mount Baker, or in the Nooksack area? Are there roads around Baker Lake that can accommodate a skinny tire road bike?

Never been to Baker or Nooksack, but just looking at the map Hwy 9 north from Sedro Wooley HAS to be a relatively quiet road. Never ridden in the southeast corner of the State. There should be nice rides in the Blue Mountains, too (but a long drive to get there).

I think a big part of the reason is avy danger; I saw the recent aftermath of a few avalanches, one reaching right down to the road heading toward the gorge. (It had killed some trees that looked about 3 to 5 years old, so the last one that ran out to the roadway was 3 to 5 years ago.)

Not just a big part - the whole reason!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/5242152485/in/pool-73467289@N00/


My ears are burning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4F0zTcfzMk

The avalanche track map (on Flickr) is great! Thanks for posting that. How did you find it?

My thinking was that the road is closed at a point that's clearly not in any avy danger, but just after the last real destination for a while. That seemed to imply that there were other reasons, like the sheer expense of plowing, and the relatively light use of this road compared to I-90, otherwise they'd close the road right before a runout zone. But I seem to be wrong.

This isn't very artistic or terribly interesting from the perspective of a cyclist, but here's the first avalanche remains I saw on the route, not very far east of Newhalem, coming into the canyon that Gorge Lake runs though. This is the one I was talking about in the OP:

http://landscapephoto.us/Events/NorthCascadesMarch2012/DSC00401.jpg

You can see downed trees on both sides of the debris.

The avalanche track map (on Flickr) is great! Thanks for posting that. How did you find it?

WSDOT has a North Cascades Highway page which has a lot of interesting information, history and photos of the highway. They usually post regular photos and updates of their yearly clearing operation as well.

North Cascade Passes (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades)

To quote this page:


Why we close the road
We close the North Cascades when weather, snow conditions and avalanche danger threaten the safety of drivers and our maintenance crews. We close the highway on the west side at milepost 134, east of Diablo, and on the east side at milepost 171, 14 miles west of Mazama. As the snow gets too deep for the plow truck, the east closure point is moved 7 miles down to the Early Winters Information Center at milepost 178. This winter that happened Nov. 29.
Avalanches typically close the highway between late November and mid December.
Reopening in the spring usually falls between late March and early May.