2013: Trail Wish list!!

The world didn't come to an end in 2012 much to everyones surprise (sarcasm)!! I'm still alive and well (no sarcasm)!!! 2012 was amazing as I accomplished two of my hiking goals and crossed off trails from my "to do" list.
I accomplished my goal of hiking over 30 miles in one backpacking trip by Hiking 42 miles!! I also went for my first snowshoe hike and will be buying snowshoes soon!!
Trails I knocked off my 2012 list:
Mt Rose trail, ONP
Grand Valley trail, ONP
Badger Valley trail, ONP
Gray Wolf trail, ONP
Part of Dosewallips trail, ONP
Putvin trail (Lake of the Angels), ONP
Three Forks trail, ONP
Part of Cameron Creek trail, ONP
Lost Pass trail to Cameron Pass trail, ONP
Elk Mountain trail, ONP
Part of Obstruction Point trail, ONP
Coldwater Lake trail, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

2013 brings another 356 days to experience the marvelous NorthWest!! I still have trails on 2013's list that have been passed on from last year and years pass. As I knock each one off I add new trails!!
The following list is not a "have to do" list but rather a "get to do" list. Over the years I've realized I can't hike to every trail on my list as hiking is a PART of my life. Hiking, in of itself is not my life. My life is blessed by my family, church, friends and my career. Hiking definately completes the package.
As you will see in my list I would love to combine my love for biking and backpacking to conquer my first bikepack!!
Firsts in 2013 would include a bikepack, three night/four day backpacking trip, and a 50 mile backpacking trip!!
In no order:
Previous trails to conquer include:
Skyline trail, ONP
Sundown lake, ONP
ONP's wild coastal trail!! Can't wait for this one!
Six Ridge, ONP
Upper Lena Lake, ONP
Mt. St Helen's loop, Mt. St. Helens National Monument
Mt Washington, ONF

New to 2013's list:
Bikepack Mt Margret Backcountry
Sol Duc trails, ONP
Marmot Pass trail, ONP
Mt Ranier loop, MRNP

See ya out on the trail!!

A Nice Suggestion!

Recently on my FB page someone made the suggestion for me to enter some of my pics into REI's photo contest. I was very thankful for the suggestion and pondered it for a day. In the past i have thought of doing this but never had the nerves to try. Its worth a try isn't it!!
I'm not a natural photogragher or have an amazing soupped up camera but i try my best.
I don't know which contest i will enter yet. I will look into REI's and WTA's contests for starters!!
But i need your help!!!
I have plenty of pics and plenty of favorites!! So i will present to you my favorites and ask if you could respond by telling me your top two loved pics!!
After the vote is done i will enter your selection pics into a contest.
Thanks for the help ahead of time!
Simply comment on by blog, FB page, or on twitter your top two! My FB and twitter name is also BACKPACKIN4EVER! I will post the link a little later.
They are in random order.

Photos appear skewed om my mobile site!! Sorry about this. Im trying to fix it!!



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Thanks again! We will see how this goes but for sure we will have fun with it!! I will give everyone until jan 21, which would be a whole month to pick! If there's any pics you love that aren't in my top pics please mention them and I will add them to the selection! Have fun!!

42 MILES 4 PASSES in 3 DAYS: Day 4

Looking southwest from Hurricane Ridge at Mt Olympus

Day 3, I slept in an extra hour as I was sleeping well!! Which I'm not always able to do while backpacking. With already 26 tiring miles behind my belt sleep came alot easier!
Last night at bedtime it rained. It was the only time on the trip it rainded. I was under cover for the night so the rain didn't dampen the night! The weather for the whole trip was lovely, partly cloudy with temps in the high seventies in the mountains!!
Breakfast was quick with no stove. Only three energy bars. After sleeping in I was an hour past my scheduled trail start time.
Leaving camp the skies were clear again and my camp friends, the retired couple, had already left. I had my longest mile trek in front of me, 16 miles!!!

South basin of Grand Pass

Once again my first task in front of me was hiking up a pass. 6,400 ft tall Grand Pass, with 2,300 feet to gain from camp. I didn't plan this as I planned a 4 day trip but was excited it workout this way! My first post, Day One, talks about why 4 days turned into 3 days. Gaining elevation the first part of the day is key, if you can, to long milage days.
Grand pass is mostly straight up with a small amount of switchbacks. Once up in the south basin wildflowers dominated with what seemed like a large marmot community. Piles of freshly cut herbaceous plants were nicely placed at the entrance of almost every marmot hole. Winter is coming!! No laziness here!!! I could definitely take some pointers!
Once on top of Grand Pass I passed my first fellow hikers of the day with many to come! 20 plus hikers were scene on my last day. 15 of them in Grand Valley alone which is not surprising. 

Grand Pass looking north

 
Grand valley is popular for several reasons. Its not far from Port Angeles, only 3.5 miles from the trailhead to the valley and hosts three lakes. I enjoyed the area so much on only a hike through that a month after this trek a friend and I spent a night in the valley. Which will be the topic of my next post!
The valley is almost pristine with Human activity evident throughout. Hence the reason why special wilderness permits are needed for overnight stay. Three lakes lay within the valley. Lake Gladys, Moose Lake and Grand Lake. If your staying the night them pick Lake Gladys for solitude.
I quickly hiked through the area! I finally saw my first large mammal, a deer. I was hoping for some bear or elk but nothing on this trip.
From the top of Grand Pass the trail was all downhill until I met up with Badger valley. No badgers either!! The upper section of badger valley boasts of beautiful meadows and like most of the Olympics, marmots can be seen.
At this point of the day I was starting to get very tired from my feet to my shoulders. My right shoulder which I had strained the day before was aching and my feet were very painful when I was off my feet. This made me push harder as hiking actually was less painful compared to resting on my hinnie or on foot!
I veered off Badger Valley trail to the cutoff trail that connects to the Hurricane Ridge trail. Again this was almost straight up. I felt like I could count the number of total switchbacks on two pair of hands for the whole trip!!

Looking down into Grand Valley with its lakes

After reaching the top of Hurricane Ridge it was all worth it!! With the Strait of Juan de Fuca straight to my north and the entire Olympic national park to the south. Snack time!! My favorite, green sour apple gummies!!
There's absolutely nothing like ridge hiking. The views always end up slowing me down and that's not a bad thing.
The sun was setting as low clouds were rising up through grand valley. The Strait and Port Angeles were already covered. Every 10 minutes the clouds moved higher as I hiked lower. At a moments notice we crossed paths as I suddenly laide in its misty swath! Soon I would be at my car, hoping and praying it would start!
The trek was over! It seemed so long and too short at the same time. My car started up and soon enough I was singing to the same song I on the drive up to the trailhead two days ago!!

The Needles from Hurricane Ridge

Train on Hurricane Ridge

The view from Hurricane Ridge

Heading up to Hurricane Ridge

Heading up to Grand Pass

Looking south at Cameron Basin

 

42 MILES 4 PASSES in 3 DAYS: Day 3

Continued from 42 MILES 4 PASSES in 3 DAYS: Day 2


Looking up from Gray Wolf Basin (7,060 ft)


Day 3 began at 7 am as daylight woke me up. The temperature was chilly but nothing long john's and a jacket couldn't take care off. I have never been able to jump right out of bed. Except when late for work!!! It's mandatory to lay for 10 minutes and enjoy the alpine scenery!! Overall my first night was warm and cozy as I slept most the night! Hiking 15 miles the day before helped!
Breakfast was hot and fast, Craisin Pancakes!!! Forget oatmeal, I needed something new! The day ahead of me held hiking over three passes, Gray Wolf Pass, Lost Pass and Cameron Pass. I aimed for 14 miles!

Wellesley Peak (6,758 ft) on the left

Breakfast and packing was finished by 8 am. Up to Gray Wolf Pass I headed which was less than a mile up. Gray Wolf Basin is amazingly beautiful. A cascading waterfall revealed itself on the right side of the trail. Reaching the top of the pass the view takes over. Mt Deception, Mount Mystery, Sentinel Peak , Hayden Pass, Wellesley Peak and Dosewallips Valley stared me down! The sun's beaming rays finally broke over the Needles (mountain ridge to my east) warming me from head to toe. I've always enjoyed camping at the bottom of a pass where good elevation is gained early in the morning when you have the most strength. Wildflowers were in full bloom on the trail down, where I hooked up with the Dosewallips trail. As I came to the "T" in the trail I came across a Park Ranger! We where both heading west up the trail towards Bear Camp. We hiked about two miles together. It's always great to meet people on the trail and hear their stories! Especially when you meet someone who has similar passions and has worked in the same industry!! The Park Ranger and I talked the whole two miles about backpacking and our similar careers.
I found an interesting fact about hikers on this three day trek. It seemed to me that the major difference between day hikers and backpackers (overnighters) was the fact that day hikers were less talkative and less friendly compared to backpackers. It think it goes to show how all people are social beings and after a certain time away from people we long for fellowship!! This is our commonwealth!!
Bear camp was being remodeled along with weed whacking along the Dosewallips trail! The Ranger explained that shelters can't be built anymore in National Parks but existing shelters can be preserved.


Sentinel Peak with Hayden Pass on the right

After parting ways with the Ranger at Bear Camp I continued east up to Dose Meadows Camp. Thanks to a tip by the Park Ranger I stopped about 1/2 mile up from Bear Camp to refresh in a deep river pool on the Dosewallips River! 1.7 miles later I spilled into Dose Meadows Camp.  This camp was amazing, but I couldn't stay the night! If your in this area I recommend staying here as the meadows are beautiful with a river in camp and Hayden Pass close by with its surrounding mountains staring at you!

I took a right onto Lost Pass trail or thought I did. I realized after a 1/2 hour that I was not on the trail and heading up to Hayden Pass instead. Therefore I decided to hike off trail and connect with Lost Pass trail. Yeah right! After 1 1/2 hours of not connecting with the trail, straining my shoulder by falling and becoming dirty by thick brush and trees I returned back to Dose Meadows where I found the trailhead! 
Lost Pass is extreme and goes straight up with little switchbacks! My body was starting to tire at this point! Once to the top, wildflowers surrounded me as far as the eye can see with dark purple lupine the most prominent flower. Even though my body was aching the surrounding wildflower and alpine views made all my aching feel well worth it!! This is why I love to backpack!!

Mount Cameron Ridge

Next the trail takes you from Lost Pass only to gain more elevation by climbing to 6,400 foot Cameron Pass. Cameron Pass was the most windy all four passes. Down through Cameron Basin I hiked to set up camp at an unknown campsite off the trail just before the Grand Pass trail junction. The only reason i found this primo campsite was by running into a retired couple. Their camp was already set up and as I said hello as I hiked by they suggested the campsite, which was behind there's.
I hope that when I retire I can still physically backpack! I respect the older generations who still enjoys exploring the outdoors!
After 2 days of 29 miles of backpacking I had come across 17 people on the trail who also realized the amazing summer West Washington was in the middle of!
Day two was successful as all three passes were accomplished with 14 miles logged all done one hour before dark. Jumping into my hammock I quickly fell asleep to the mesmerizing sound of swift Cameron creek.

Cameron Basin looking at Grand Pass

Mount Cameron

Mount Cameron Marmot

Mount Claywood

From the top of Lost Pass with Lost Peak

7.639 ft Mount Mystery (L) with 6,941 ft Little Mystery (R)

Looking north from Gray Wolf Pass

Looking north from Gray Wolf Basin back at where I started the day

My first fight with poison oak

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I hiked into Grand valley, in the northern Olympic National Park!! The trip was amazing! It was everything I thought it would be and that i promised it would be to my friend. Thanks goodness!! Beautiful snow capped mountains, amazing sunsets, 35 brook trout caught (all released) , wildlife (black bear) and POISON OAK!!!
I had never experienced poison oak before. I had heard about it and seen it occasionally but this time it stung me!
A five days after our backpacking trek while at home I spotted a red zit like nuisance on my left ankle. Not thinking, I scratched it and opened up the sore. The zit like volcano on my ankle was slightly hard to the touch. After opening it a clear liquid leaked out.
I remember two days later seeing a patch of itchy rashes pop up a couple inches above the zit on my high ankle. At this point I still didn't put two and two together.
Within a week from first discovering the "zit", I had itchy rashes on one arm, chest and one both hips.
My first guess was hives. I'd never been allergic to anything or had hives before.
I talked to a friend who is a nurse and showed her the rash. Her response was poison oak or ivy!!! She asked if the rash was moving toward my groin?!!! Huh yeah it is!!! She explained that it was a sign of poison oak!
The situation was looking grim!! That night i quickly bought the following: Calamine lotion, gold bond medicated lotion, and Zanfel
Gold bond helped the itching go away for up to 4 hours but then had to reapply. It did nothing to stop or dimish the rash!
The Calamine lotion was the cheapest of all three! The kind I bought was generic. It worked well stopping the itching lastly longer than gold bond! I applied three times daily. Three times per 16 hours which equals about just over 5 hours per treatment. It was hard to apply as it was in liquid form then dried as i applied.
Then their was the Zanfel!!! It worked like a charm. Amazing stuff! Definately worth the price of $40$!! Yeah I know $40$ dollars. Albertsons was going out of business so the total came to 28. Still spendy but at that point the rash was spreading and heading towards my groin!! Throwing down 28 bones, $, took no time at all!
Zanfel comes in a small plastic squeeze tube at 1 ounce. Directions :
1- wet the affected area
2- squeeze 1 and 1/2 inches, no less , of Zanfel onto one palm
3- wet both hands and rub the product into a paste. This activates the ingredients.
4- rub both hands on the affected area, working Zanfel in until itching stops.
5- rinse area thoroughly

I rubbed Zanfel into my rashes for several minutes. Zanfel is gritty, like bath scrubs, and while rubbing you can feel it literally rubbing into the rash!
The itching stopped instantly after washing! I had to reapply a couple areas which were very bad. I noticed that the 1 and 1/2 inches of Zanfel works best when rubbing into an area the size of your hand. With a larger area than a hand it's not as effective!
Poison oak does not quickly effect you. It took 5 days for the first spot to pop up. A friend and experienced hiker told me about this and how poisen oak will effect people differently. He had friends who ran into poisen oak but never developed itching or a rash.
I'm now well prepared next time I come across this enemy. No more surprises here!! Next time, knocking on wood, I will just use calamine lotion at first. Only if the rash is small and caught in time. Zanfel would definitely be step two! When poison oak is moderate to severe I suggest Zanfel!!

42 MILES 4 PASSES in 3 DAYS: Day 2

Continued on from 42 MILES 4 PASSES in 3 DAYS: Day 1

The nice thing about not being in the mountains on my backpacking journey yet was the fact that i woke up to a hot continental breakfast and slept in until 9 am! The extra sleep would eventually come in handy!!!
Packing up, i left the motel at 11am and walked down to the auto shop only to find out there's nothing wrong with my car!! Really?!! That morning the mechanic came to work on my car and it started right up, no problem. I remember the mechanic saying to me, " oh yeah go backpacking like you planned. If it dies again you have 4,000 downhill feet to pop the clutch into gear!". I laughed and agreed!  I paid my $ 35 $ and threw my backpack in car and off i drove to the trailhead arriving there at 1pm. Nineteen hours later than planned. The dirt road heading up to the trailhead was nerve cracking, to say the least. It was one lane with quick corners and a huge severe drop off on the right! I felt like I was back in china just traveling to the next town on an average road in a filled to capacity average bus!

Once at the trailhead a volunteer park ranger insisted on taking my photo. She said my mom would definitely appreciate it!! And She was right! We started to chat and I explained my situation: The choice! Either keep the plan of hiking a 42 mile loop or cut the trip in half because of loosing 19 hrs. She was surprised I hadn't made my choice yet.
I would like to take the time to thank all the volunteers who spend many summer hours helping our state's and national  parks and trails!!! Endless thanks!!
The view from Deer park campground is amazing!! 5,000 feet up the trailhead started. I stood for a couple minutes analyzing the ranges which laid to my south. My route lead me to hike .2 miles on Slab camp trail to the start of the Three Forks trail. Three Forks trail heads down 4.1 miles of switchbacks through an old burned area as it looses about 2,750 feet!! This backpacking trek I had a lot of firsts and this was one of them. I had never lost so much elevation at the start of a hike let alone starting a hike at 5,000 feet! Three Forks campground boasts of a nice shelter.
On the way down Three Forks trail i realized that my 1.5 liter camelbak was having problems. The tube while on the ride up had something large pressing on it. A small hole was visible along with the tube being almost completely flattened along 1 inch. I was still able to suck water through the tube but it took extra power! I had to be careful to not fully rip the tube as my sawyer water filter was spliced into the tube, or so i thought. Somehow when i cleaned it last i never put the clamps back on. The tube still gripped the filter tightly. Thank goodness!
Crossing Cameron Creek i had to make my final decision!!! 38 more miles or 21.5 miles in three days!?? My original goal or the smaller goal? It was only 2:30 pm and i had been able to go down 4.1 miles in a hour and a half. Great time! The rest of today's journey wasn't estimated as hard elevation gain and i knew i would have the most energy today, day one! The decision was made and 38 miles it was! All four passes!! If finished would be another first!

Cameron Creek trail is needed for about .4 miles to connect to Gray Wolf trail. Seven and half more miles lay between me and my first camp, not to mention back up to alpine beauty! The Gray Wolf river is definitely a river compared all the other flowing bodies of water i passed on this trek! The river basin is pristine with rapids, log jams, with tall firs and cedars hovering over the river. Out of all the rivers and creeks i passed over on this trip the Gray Wolf was the most majestic!!
On the way up to camp i passed by a group who was heading up to Cedar lake junction for the night. They were going to conduct a marmot count up in Gray Wolf Basin the following day. The monitoring was to learn if the population was struggling or not. Once in the basin i only counted one marmot! Of course it was the scout who boastfully sounded his alarm almost endlessly!!

I stopped at Fall camp, where the Marmot counters were staying the night, and took a short brake. The trail for Cedar Lake starts at Fall Camp and two hikers i crossed sang it's praises! Next time, with a fishing pole in hand!!
Next switchbacks suddenly popped up and i knew i was almost to camp. Salmonberry bushes covered the forest floor and i was able to eat to my heart;s delight for about 10 minutes. I must have been the first hiker up the Gray Wolf in awhile as spider web after spider web tried to ensnare me.  The Lower Gray Wolf basin opened up after the switchbacks were defeated. The basin was perfect with open meadows, enough trees for my hammock and a creek to use for supper's cooking. All in all, even with all the obstacles i waded through i couldn't think of a better way to spend the evening watching the sun's rays slowly rise up the 7,000 ft tall peaks of the Needles!!

42 MILES, 4 PASSES IN 3 DAYS: Day 1

It's 12 pm at work and 2 o'clock (work day 6-2) can't come fast enough!! Especially when it becomes 3 pm and my car key finally turns the ignition. It's finally time to leave work and well... head back home. I forgot my camera....bummer!! There's no way I'm leaving my camera at home for an epic adventure of catastrophic proportions!! Good catastrophic proportions!!! Well that's what it felt like to me. I'd never backpacked for more than 30 miles consecutively and tonight will start me on my 42 mile backpacking t rip.

My Campsite for Thursday night

My camera is now in my possession and Port Angeles is on my iPhone's GPS as I'm running two hours late. So far not good, but my trip has to get better!!! As i turn right onto Deer Park road, which leads right to the trailhead, my car dies completely. Yeah no joke, this sucks!! A friendly man helped me push my car into a local movie theater and a hour later I'm laying down in  my new campsite for the night. A queen size bed at the "luxurious" AirCrest Motel in Port Angeles. My car has been towed to a local auto shop and i am playing the waiting game until Friday morning!!! The crappy part about my motel is that i my can view exactly where i was supposed to be setting up my hammock for the night at Deer Park campground. Feeling frustrated, i walked down the main drag of Port Angeles and found a Mexican restaurant to eat my final REAL meal for the next three days. Back to the campsite (Motel) i walked, deciding not to take Mike's invitation to go drinking with him. Mike was the tow truck driver. Back in Mike's early years he was in the minor leagues in California playing baseball for one of the Athletics farm team's. The people i met and the stories i heard made my epic 42 mile backpacking trip even better, which hasn't even started yet! It put the frosting on the cake. Home made cream cheese frosting that is! I promise this epic will start tomorrow or has it already? Day 2: 12 miles to Gray Wolf Pass is coming!!

Looking South up at Mt Angeles and on the far left is where i should have been spending the night

Gray Wolf Loop : Itinerary and Maps

In the coming weeks I will embark on my longest backpacking trip to date!!! Northeastern Olympics here I come!!
Arrive at trailhead about 5 pm

Day one : Deer Park to Three Forks camp 4.3 miles via FT 846 trail and Three Forks trail

Day two : Three Forks to Bear Camp 15.2 miles via Gray Wolf Pass trail and Main Forks Dosewallips river trail
                 This will be the most miles I've hiked in one day!!!

Day three : Bear camp to Grand Lake 12.7 via Cameron Pass trail and Grand Pass trail

Day four : Grand Lake to Deer park via Grand Pass trail and Obstruction Point-Deer Park trail

Highest Elevation : 6,649 on the ridge between Elk Mountain and Maiden Peak

No off trail excursions are planned....but spur of the moment adventures do conquer my mind at times.

Hike up Run down

Mt Elinor (l) and Mt Washington (r)

I tried a new adventure a month and a half ago. I wanted to get some solid excercise while hiking. Not that hiking can't be good excersise but I wanted more than a hike could offer while viewing mountain vistas at the same time! I decided to combine hiking and trail running!!! I picked Mt Rose, in the southern Olympic Mountains, as my first test. This trail is no easy task with 6.5 miles round trip up a steady elevation gain of 3,000 feet. Ok, i didnt run up 3000 feet in 3 miles....thanks for thinking for a moment that I did. I split my adventure to hiking up the mount and my trail run to down the mount.
Mount Rose, 4,500 feet high, starts out in the Olympic National Forest but the top of the trail ends in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness. The trail goes for 3 miles before it y's and becomes a loop trail which is nice as most day hikes are down and back's. This loop brings new scenery thoughout the trail.

Lake Cushman

The trail is comprised of many switchbacks especially at the beginning but tapers off once the Y is hit. The last mile i hit snow and the trail became non-existant. Thank goodness for foot prints!! At least for a half mile or so. The last part of the trail i bulldogged my way through hard compact snow. Navigating through a forest to bag a peak while off trail is actuallt easy......it's simply up and up again. Once to the ridge that climbs to Mount Rose i came across the trail which was the rightside of the loop, even though i took a left at the Y.
Mount Rose is a decent peak with views only on the west, northwest and southside. The peaks on the west and north side are amazing. The mountains you see aren't crazy high but numerous as the Olympic National Park's southern to middle peaks surrender themsleves to you. The best view i enjoyed was staring down at Lake Cushman!! The different shades of blue from the depths of the lake are evident on a sunny day and today it was sunny!!

The view

I pulled out and ate my lunch.... almonds and a ripened mango... and down the mount i scurried. Once out of the snow i took off my hiking boots, through on my runners, scinched up my backpack tightly and down the trail i ran. Tighting your backpack is a huge part of trail running with a pack. The tighter the pack the more of a controled balance you have.
The work out i received was simply amazing. I couldn't stop running as it was all down hill. My body was saying stop but i pushed through easily. Any other day that im running i constantly tell myself to not give up but not with running down hill. It takes several seconds to put the brakes on and come to a complete stop. My legs were aching and i was surprised how many muscles i was using. I decided to go extreme and do a little winderness parcore!! Jumping off logs, rocks and shrubs. Leaping over switchbacks as they turn a sharp left or right. My heart rate was high and calories were dropping like crazy and i couldnt stop myself.
I was able to enjoy my hike up and take my time knowing running down would go crazy fast. My next day hike i will for sure do the same, saving time while getting an awesome cardio-workout!!

My training begins!!

Mt Rainier from Cap Forest

August 25th is coming soon! June is here and before you know it the heat of August will be pressing in. 76 days until the starting line (Capital Forest 50 miler) crosses beneath my stubby tires. I need a plan, not to mention enough endurance to meet my plans.
June equals 30 days of training. I will be focused on finishing the 50 mile designated route by riding and walking my bike, hopefully less walking. I am no fool and realize that the first couple trail runs(hopefully not every try) I will most likely have to jump off my bike and walk as the elevation gained on this track is a killer. I'm reminding myself as I write this that my first goal is to finish!! An accomplishment in of its self!!

Woodward Bay

I would love to finish the 50 miles by mid July with never walking my bike. As of now I will take one month at a time and one ride at a time.
My training will include hitting the trail once a week at minimum and twice if time permits. With work and other events on my calendar I have decided to ride the Western Chehalis trail daily with the notion of getting miles in. I can ride the trail 16 miles round trip to Woodward Bay.
The W. Chehalis trail is convenient being next door to my apartment and runs from Woodward Bay all the way to Yelm and Tenino. The trail north from the Sand Lake trailhead is flat and all paved. Three bridges confront you crossing 14 ave, Martin way and Interstate 5. These bridges bring the most uphill the rider will see with all other elevation change being very gradual. Heading north to Woodward bay the trail is slightly downhill overall. There is no bridge for crossing busy Pacific Ave. The trail ends at a T on the south side of Pacific. Picking up the trail is easy as it restarts between Music 6000 and Sizzlers.

No need for sunscreen!!

Once past the three bridges comes several wetlands where ponds present themselves right off the grade of the trail. From here the next 3 miles are shady with beautiful trees and brush that line the trail. Ponds occur in several parts along the trail. Ive seen people bird watching along these wetland areas. The trail is very popular with the residents who live close by. The trail also has many off road trails which parallel the main paved trail. They are designed for Horses. I haven't come across a horse yet, as it's fun to jump onto the dirt trails and cruise through the shady trees and brush. When the rains come the pavement becomes littered with slugs and I can imagine walking isn't pleasant. Call me "slug killer" as every wheel rotation another slug was terminated. It became the norm as i raced to Woodward Bay but one slug will be remembered above them all. It was a giant Oregon Slug about 18 inches long. In no time that slug was cut in two, probably making two slugs. If they can regenerate. If they can, then last week the slug population doubled. I have to throw out props to thee "Slug Killer" of all slug killers.... Jeanie Earls. You wont find any slugs in her garden, they know to migrate around her property!!!

singletrack

A daily ride will be important but I'm more concerned with how I handle Capital Forests trails. The race will bring alot of firsts for me: first 50 miler, gaining 2200 feet on a bike and my first bike race. Gaining 2200 feet on foot I do every summer backpacking, but on wheels, never. My first time out on the race route I rode 25 miles, or so i thought. Tracking the miles by trail signs I tallied 17 miles but my cateye odometer read 25. I realized I had to recalculate my cateye to my exact tire size. The trail route was muddy. I would guess about one third of the trail was muddy with some deep puddles here and there. Come August that wont be a problem, thank goodness. My tires became coated with mud to the point were gaining traction was impossible on steeps slopes. My tires came with the bike and are average grade mountain bike tires but I am assuming that special mud tires would be needed in winter and spring in the Capital Forest. The 17 miles I rode was nice singletrack with a occasional root and rock on the trail. These trails have been maintained superbly! Along the trail "stop" signs greet you, letting you know of forest road crossings where logging trucks and vehicle traffic can slow your passe. Horses along with hikers are aloud on the trail with horses being the main concern for coming around a tight corner. I have come across horses every trip in Cap forest. The horses can be skittish so be careful. My second time in the forest I nearly collided with a fellow mountain biker. There is no signs telling a rider which direction to ride. Therefore one always needs to be alert and looking forward and listening to what lays ahead.
Every ride i come home sore but knowing that crossing the finish line will be worth it all!! Times running out, this blogpost is over and I'm hitting the trail!! Talk later, hopefully sooner than the gap between my last posts.... I promise.