On Sunday, I led my second scramble for the Mountaineers – Satulick Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park. We started on the Wonderland Trail near Longmire and hiked over Rampart Ridge to the Kautz River. The trail was washed out by flooding here in 2004, leaving behind a dramatic example of nature’s awesome power.

We weren’t quite sure how to scale the bank to reach the trail. We ended up heading down stream a bit to a waterfall (a mistake in hindsight) and climbed up the other side. We were greeted by sticker bushes that drew blood and a lot of swearing.

Once we were through it, however, the forest opened up and we headed on to find the crossing at Pyramid Creek. Vineeth spent a few minutes building steps for us to access the bridge.

Then it was onward and upwards to the summit.

Nick got tuckered out a little before the summit, so he opted for a nap.

The descent was quick and unremarkable. And we were back to the cars in no time!

Getting There: Enter Mount Rainier National Park at the Nisqually entrance. Drive about a ½ of a mile past Longmire to a large parking area where the Wonderland Trail crosses the road.

Statistics:

Round Trip: 13 miles
Elevation Gain: 3700’
Highest Point: 5577’

TH to Summit: 5 hours
Summit to TH: 2 ¾ hours

Great rides often start with unusual inspiration. On Sunday, the words “feel like a Quilcene burger?” sent David, Robert, Nick and me on a super fun loop around Hood Canal on our motorcycles. Lunch – and the Quilcene burger in question – was at the Tuana Roadhouse Cafe, where the kitchen looks like your mom’s house and the fries are baked. The Cafe also has a large selection of salads and had no problem whipping up an “everything salad” for Nick and me – as in put every vegetable you have in the kitchen on a plate! Delish!

Our route, in case you’re interested in a repeat:

One finger on the summit of Quartz Mountain

 
One of the great things about living in this area is the endless number of peaks to climb. I think I could go my whole life climbing a different peak each weekend and never have to repeat one. In the spirit of climbing something new, I joined a large group of Mountaineers on Saturday to add another notch to my belt – Quartz Peak.

We drove to North Bend and headed out the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road to an overgrown logging road. (It was so overgrown, actually, that only a GPS waypoint gave us a clue that it was there.) After the usual introductions, we were off.

We followed the logging road about a half mile to a non-distinct point just past the junction with the CCC trail, but before a really nice looking bridge over a creek. (If I did this again, I think I’d just take the CCC trail and avoid the overgrown road.) Thinking the brush looked about as good as anything, we headed more or less uphill to about 2200’ on the ridge leading to Quartz Lake. The brush was minimal for second-growth forest, so the going was fairly easy.

We continued straight up the ridge, donning snowshoes at about 3000’.

At 3400’ we encountered a big rocky outcropping. To pass it, we dropped about 25’ to the right of it and traversed about 50’ to a steep snow chute back up to the ridge. We stuck with the ridge until about 3600’ at which point we traversed to the saddle and lake between Quartz and Bessequartz. (Who names these peaks anyway?)

The flattest spot by far on our traverse

 
Along the way, we were treated to peek-a-boo views of the surrounding area.

McClellan Butte

Garfield

No passable road goes there anymore

 
At the lake, we had a quick snack before making the final push up Quartz.

At the summit, we each took turns snapping a summit picture and settled in for afternoon tea. The summit was mostly treed, so our views were limited. There was a nice view of the seldom-climbed Bessemer.

The descent was unremarkable, albeit a bit slow owing to the conditions and size of our group. Before we knew it, we were back at the cars dreaming of a delicious dinner at the Riverbend Café.

Big thanks to Richard and Lynn for organizing such a great climb! To John for his navigation skills on the descent, and to David, John, Mike and all the rest for their step-kicking skills.

Getting There: Take exit 34 off I-90 and turn left under the freeway. Turn right on the SE Middle Fork Road. Continue on FS 5600 to a spot about 5 miles after the bridge over the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and about ½ mile past the CCC trailhead. Look left; there will be an overgrown road in there somewhere!

Statistics:

Round Trip: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 3850’
Highest Point: ~4650’

TH to Summit: 5 hours
Summit to TH: 4 ¼ hours

Some people call the peak Hellfire. Others call it Salvation. Either name pays homage to the closest neighboring peak Damnation. The sweet views from the ridge approaching the summit would make angels sing, but the fiery burning in my legs from the effort required to get there has me leaning towards calling the peak Hellfire.

Last week, Lisa convinced a fabulous group of folks – Fay, Jim, Eileen, Paul, Bill, and me – that this would be a worthy destination for a sunny Saturday. We met up early in the morning in Kirkland and headed for the North Cascades. The snow had melted out enough that we could drive Bacon Creek Road all the way to the junction just before the bridge across Bacon Creek (elev. 820’). We took the middle, most overgrown, spur road about a half mile before heading more or less straight up the hill in mossy woods.

The first obstacle - crossing Jumbo Creek

 
The terrain was quite open despite it being second-growth forest.

We're still smiling as we ascend our mossy carpet in the forest

 
It was warm, and the trees spit ice chunks and snow melt on us until we reached snow at about 2600’. Only a short 500’ later snowshoes became necessary. One of our party members – Paul – didn’t get the memo about bringing them unfortunately, and he was forced to suffer, plunging up to his knees with every step. His progress was so slow compared to the rest of the group that we didn’t think he’d be able to ascend much farther. Lisa rescued him – giving him her snowshoes and taking over plunge stepping duties, albeit slightly less because she weighs less than Paul.

We continued uphill to the notch between Oakes and Hellfire (elev. 4800’). The ascent is steep and relentless with nothing but trees to keep you entertained. Once we were at the notch, however, the pain in our thighs subsided as we got our first views of the surrounding area.

Diosbud Butte, Logger Butte, and Electric Butte

Damnation Peak

 
Lisa and Paul opted to rest at the saddle after their arduous ascent, while the rest of us walked along the open up-down ridge for a mile to the summit of Hellfire (elev. 5563’)

The ridge leading to Hellfire Peak (left most bump in the distance)

Making our way along the ridge...almost there!

The final approach to the summit

Despair & Triumph (with a bunch of Pickets in the background)

 
An icy wind drove us off the summit to a sheltered spot behind some trees where we enjoyed afternoon tea. At a quarter to five, we knew we better start heading down, lest we have to do too much of the descent in the dark.

The ups and downs on the ridge back to the saddle were nothing short of torture. Even after our break, I had nothing left in the tank. I followed closely behind Fay, thinking that if she keeps putting one foot in front of the other, so can I.

Looking back toward Oakes and all the uphill we have to climb to get to the saddle

 
We took our snowshoes off just below the ridge to make descending the steep forest slopes a little easier. What followed was a comical amount of postholing and the accompanying whoops each time the snow collapsed under our feet. Each of us must have ended up hip-deep two or three times.

We were off the snow and back into soft mossy forest by the time the sun set. We only had to descend the last 1000’ or so by headlamp, which is not too bad considering the late start that morning.

Huge thanks go out to Lisa for organizing such a great trip, to Bill for his crack navigation skills in the dark forest on our descent; to Fay for being my inspiration to keep going when I was SO tired; to Paul for his entertaining motorcycle stories; and to Jim and Eileen for their awesome company.

Getting there: Drive Hwy 20 past Marblemount to Bacon Creek Road (just shy of MP 111). Turn north on Bacon Creek Road and continue about six miles to the road junction just before the bridge over Bacon Creek. Approx. 2 ½ hours from Kirkland.

Statistics:

Round trip: 7 miles
Elevation gain: 5600’
Highest Point: 5563’

TH to Summit: 6 ¼ hours
Summit to TH: 4 ¼ hours

Saturday started out predictably cold – it’s still March remember – but we had heated clothing so the blast up to the border was comfortable, if not a bit boring.

We left a few minutes later than planned and encountered a long line at the border, which resulted in us missing our ferry in Horseshoe Bay by 20 minutes. Fortunately, Horseshoe Bay is more than just ferry-side a coffee shop. It’s a proper Canadian seaside town, complete with a grassy beach promenade.

We wandered around for a bit and settled on a second-story restaurant for lunch, where we could enjoy vegetable sandwiches on the outside balcony and watch the boats come and go. It was here that I discovered my new heated motorcycle gloves might have been turned up a bit too high. Without realizing it, I’d given myself burns on the back of my hands – ouch! (Yes, that’s a blister on my right forefinger knuckle.)

Before too long we were boarding the ferry (first on, first off!) for a 40-minute crossing full of mountain views.

When we travel by bike or motorcycle, Nick and I end up talking to some pretty interesting people. This trip was no different. On the ferry we met a group of downhill skateboard racers. We swapped information about our respective riding suits (apparently, downhill skateboarders wear custom motorcycle leathers but without the armor) and good roads to ride on the Sunshine Coast. Skateboarders like the same types of twisty roads with good pavement that motorcyclists like. We also learned that the current speed record on a skateboard tops 80 mph. Holy mole!

Armed with insider beta on a new road to explore, we headed off the ferry. Our pole position wasn’t as good as you’d expect. The first thing you encounter after departing the ferry is a town…and slow-moving cars…By the time we got a few miles north of Sechelt, though, we had plenty of room to twist the throttle hard enough to start worrying about sight lines through the never-ending s-curves.

Admittedly, I was all over the road. The burns on my hands hurt, making it hard to hold onto the handlebars properly, and I really underestimated how much differently the Monster 796 would handle than my previous bike. With a little patience and practice, I’ll be as good as I ever was on the old Monster, I’m sure, hopefully a little better.

In Eggmont, we settled into our room at the Backeddy Resort and headed off for a short hike to the Skookumchuck Narrows, the tiny entrance of Sechelt Inlet. We were pleasantly surprised to pass “Brown Lake” along the way. Who knew?

 We got to the lookout near the Narrows a few hours after peak flow, but still caught sight of the tidal rush of water that famously forms into whitecaps and whirlpools.

Each day, tides force large roughly 200 billion gallons of seawater through the narrows which isn’t much wider than a football field. The resulting current can exceed 16 knots. There is no picture that can do the standing waves justice, so you just get a pretty picture of the area just north of the rapids.

The tidal patterns keep the water moving virtually all the time in the narrows area, which attracts a plethora of interesting, and apparently very large, sea life. From the shore we could see the veritable city of starfish.

Whitewater kayakers and surfers play in the rapids, which I imagine would be a lot of fun. The park service has even set up a storage rack where kayakers can lock up their boats between sessions.

Back at the hotel, we had just enough time to shower before dinner at the pub.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that this little pub in the middle of nowhere was packed on a Saturday night. Turns out it was the 70^th birthday of a local legend – Artie – and he’d invited everyone within 200 miles to celebrate.

There was a huge spread of salmon, shrimp, and crab – all caught that morning by Artie and cooked moments before the party. (If you’re going to be a 90% vegan, it pays to save your meat-eating moments for times like this!) Surprisingly, Nick gave the shrimp a try and decided he actually liked it! This led to good times watching Nick figure out how to shell shrimp and mine crab legs for succulent morsels of meat.

With a belly full of caesars, Kokanee, and seafood, we headed to bed. The next morning, we explored the resort, walked around a bit, read books, and generally relaxed. No need to hurry home when it’s sunny and you’re on vacation. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the pub and then geared up for more twisty roads.

This time, there wasn’t a single car or speed-tax-collector to impede our progress. With a few miles and a bit more confidence, I twisted the throttle and enjoyed the surge of the motor beneath me.

Of course, all good things have to come to an end. Back in Vancouver, it was hand-to-hand combat all the way to the border. The line wasn’t too long, but it’s never a bad idea to switch the bike off and push it up to the crossing. The border guard interrogated me relentlessly about where we’d been: Where did we go? What’s there? What’s the name of the road? I was starting to wonder if I was in trouble, when he finally let on that he drives a sports car and was interested about our destination on a personal level. Whew!

With the sun getting lower in the sky, we hopped on the freeway and headed home as fast as we thought the cops would let us get away with.

At the end of the weekend I’m 400 miles, I can say I’m pretty happy with my new bike and even happier to have spent a lovely weekend with my favorite motorcycle companion.

1. It only takes me an hour and 10 minutes to ride to work. That’s about twice as long as my commute by car, but I’m multi-tasking – commuting AND getting a workout at the same time. Getting home on the bus is easy and fairly quick, and I can enjoy a good book.
2. The route to work is actually pretty bike-friendly. About half of it is on neighborhood streets and bike paths. The small section of roads through downtown Bellevue are not that busy, and the sections of road in Seattle have great bike lanes.
3. I have a shower. I’m a lawyer and have to look half-decent at the office. Having a shower at work makes it super easy to clean up before starting my day.
4. I have a place to store my bike at work. Sure, that place is in my office, but who cares? Everyone who comes to visit me will know how awesome I am for riding to work.
5. I’ll save money. Gas prices have shot up to $4.39 a gallon. Yikes! If I bike/bus instead of drive, I’ll be saving $34 a week, $147 a month, or $1764 a year! And my bikes cost less to maintain than a car.
6. Riding bikes makes me happy. As a result, I am in a better mood at work. I can even ride more miles on the way home if I like.
7. All that good stuff about helping the environment – no emissions, no burning petroleum, smaller manufacturing footprint, less road wear and tear, etc.
8. I’ll stay in shape. Let’s face it: a full-time job really cuts into my workouts. My distance between my house and work is 15 miles. If I ride just one way, that’s 75 miles a week – nearly 6 hours of cardio! Depending on how hard I ride, I could burn an extra 2600 calories or more. Awesome!
9. I have four bikes to choose from – one of which is even built up as a super-commuter / touring bike.
10. I get to meet interesting people. There are several places along my route where riders congregate. Usually everyone is in a pretty good mood (see #6 above) and happy to exchange a few pleasantries about how great their day is. It makes me feel connected to my community in a very personal way.
11. I notice more things. I don’t get the entire gist of a place when I’m in the car. Traveling at the speed of a bicycle, though, I’m looking around at stuff. Sometimes I notice a new shops or restaurants that become go-to places.

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