BestScenicRoutes.com

Archive for the ‘North Cascade Connections’ Category

Looking northeast from Mount Vernon, Washington you can see the very tip of volcanic Mount baker. From a few spots in this medium-size town on the Skagit River, the foothills give way to a valley that affords a good view of the mountain. For the most part, Lyman Hill and Mt Josephine at 4,257 feet and 3,956 feet, respectively, block the view of beautiful Mt Baker.

Viewpoints of beautiful Mount Baker are worth seeking out.

On a sunny and warm day very late in the season, I set out to find a route that would get me quickly over the foothills for a better view. Francis Road provides a quick escape from town. The road drops down 150 feet to the Skagit River Valley. Farm fields and the smell of freshly bailed hay greet you at the city limits. The Mount Vernon area has many modern conveniences, but also is seconds away from rural relaxation.

Francis Road twists along with the Skagit River to State Highway 9. Just a couple miles more and Hwy 20 takes me east to Hamilton. A right turn (north) onto Hamilton Cemetery Road takes me past homes and makes a 90-degree turn west. Just past this bend is Medford Road. If you cross the bridge over the creek, then you’ve gone past Medford Road.

From here, unnamed logging roads take you up into the hills of Mt. Josephine. The road climbs and the view of the Skagit River Valley opens up.

Unnamed logging road just south of Mt Baker

I tried several offshoots heading north in an attempt to find a good view of Mt Baker. All of them were fun roads to ride with grass down the middle from lack of use. This is just how I like them. They typically dead ended with evidence of leave plenty of trace camping. Makeshift fire pits and beer bottles were framed with shotgun shells strewn in all directions. Some people shoot guns for the noise of it. This seems to be the case in these wooded areas.

My secondary goal of this route was to find dirt roads that skirt the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) and connect with Baker Lake Road. This much was accomplished. The unnamed logging roads eventually spit me out on Baker Lake Road near milepost two, Just southwest of Grandy Lake. With exploring of offshoots the dirt route took approximately 75 minutes. Without exploring, time could be cut by 25 minutes or so.

The nicely paved and frequent curves of Baker Lake Road make it a joy. It is far too easy to outpace the speed limit. Be aware that it is a road designed for 60 mph or faster with frequent 35 mph zones patrolled by many policing agencies.

The bridge over Boulder Creek offers a great place to photograph Mount Baker.

Head northeast on Bake Lake Road until the road curves to the right, passing over Boulder Creek. Mt Baker rises up above the valley making for an incredible photo opportunity. With the camera stowed in my tank bag, I round the corner from this viewpoint and turn onto Fire Service Road (FR) 1130.

FR1130 is a fun dirt road that climbs Boulder Ridge. Keep to the right of the “Y” junction just a mile or so down the road. The left option would take you up FR1131. During early summer, Rainbow Falls crashes down near the road causing a refreshing spray. The light deflects off this spray, spreading the spectrum and giving the falls a just name. This being September, the reduced volume of water clings tightly to the rocks. Still a pretty falls, it just lacks the refreshing qualities of the early summer rush.

The climb from 2,000 feet offer many views of Baker Lake and Mt Shuksan. Finally, near 3,500 feet the road looks like it will run smack into Mt Baker. The mountain fills the area cut through the trees for the narrow road. About a mile further and the road ends. Mt Baker, aka Kulshan, at 10,781 feet is in full glory at this point. The view is truly worth the trip up here.

According to Wikipedia, Mount Baker is thought to be the youngest volcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It is the third-highest mountain in Washington State and is only topped by Mount Saint Helens for volcanic activity in the Cascade Range. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world. The Mt Baker Ski Area recorded 95 feet of snowfall in a single season in 1999, a world record. In short, this is another incredibly beautiful place to have in my backyard. Encrusted below the surface is the true power of Mother Nature that is realized every few millennia, but deems respect for all time.

View of Mt Baker from end of FS 1130

Be cautious on the roads in this area on your motorcycle. They are built from the Andesite rocks from the hills that they cover. These rocks can easily puncture well-worn tires. Rocks cut a triangle-type hole in rubber as pressure is applied. Ask me how I know! Throwing every plug I had at it wouldn’t seal the tire back up. Luckily, the Michelin Anakee 2 tire held up to 60 miles of complete deflation on the road to get me home.

Next time I may try to connect the unnamed logging roads passing back over Lyman Pass for a loop route that should afford good views of Mt. Baker. I only hope that the roads aren’t gated as so many others are in this area.

Ride this route at your own risk. This is a rough guide to the route. Please use a legitimate map to reduce your own personal risk.

The hotel room is cozy, but the road beckons. Today promised to be a very memorable ride.

I head south from Grand Coulee on SR 174. The landscape rolls gradually. It is scenic, but I was hoping for more excitement to pull me from the no-coffee fog I was in. The sun rises quickly in the eastern skies as I point the bike directly into it on Jurgensen Road. Luckily, I’m only heading east for two miles until I head north on SR 21.

Highway 21 switchback. One of many.

SR 21 is exactly the excitement that I needed. The short 12-mile ride take you from the rolling fields to steep cliffs that ocerlook the Columbia River. I didn’t count switchbacks, but they are plentiful as the road carries me down to the Keller Ferry. This stretch of Highway 21 will make motorcycle riders of all types very happy.

The Keller Ferry is a 12-vehicle vessel that crosses the 1.5 miles across the Columbia River, which is known as the Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake in this area. The river isn’t naturally this wide in this area. The Grand Coulee Dam is just 15 miles down stream from here and creates the easy-going pool of water known as Franlin D. Roosevelt Lake. This is the only way to connect Hwy 21. Luckily, the ferry is free.

With blue skies overhead I watch the Keller Ferry, also known as the Martha S., approach the southern shores. The basalt cliffs across the river are so big and beautiful that they don’t appear real. It is this kind of view that my meager photography skills can’t do justice.

Silver Creek Road winds up, up and away.

The ferry is light with my Suzuki V-Strom being the only vehicle onboard. We make the short crossing and I climb up from the river on Hwy 21. About 10 miles from the ferry dock, I turn east onto Silver Creek road. This is a gem of a road. Some riders may shy away from the dirt surface of the road. It undulates and wraps around and over itself. The road is loose and requires a slower speed for the hairpin turns. That is completely fine with me. The slower speeds allow more time to enjoy the incredible scenery that fills the valley below. This is yet another scenic route that Washington state hies beyond the reaches of pavement. Everyone looking to make time and simply get from point A to point B misses the splendor hidden in Eastern Washington.

After a few stops, the motorcycle finds pavement and begins to burn it up. The surface heaves and swallows from its age. The V-Strom’s suspension soaks it up as I lean from peg to peg in a dance high above the Columbia River.

The road descends to the Gifford-Inchellium Ferry that carries vehicles across the upper Columbia River from Inchelium to Hwy 25 and the town of Gifford, Washington. This one is slightly larger than the first ferry. It carries several cars. The ferry jostles out from the dock. The moving water pushes the boat sideways almost as fast as the captain can power across the wide river. A skilled captain he was, as I sat on the bike and it hardly moved as he docked on the east side of the river.

From here it is just 25 miles up Hwy 25 to Kettle Falls. Kettle Falls has gas, food, coffee and most amenities that a rider may need. I fill the gas tank on my motorcycle, buy a cup of coffee and eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before continuing out of town. US 395 takes me the short distance north to FR 61 or Boulder Creek Road.

The ride along Boulder Creek Road slices through the northern tip of the Colville National Forest. The scenery is again spectacular. There are ample dirt roads that branch off of the paved Boulder Creek Road for additional exploring. This area certainly whetted my appetite. I’ll have to journey back to explore Little Boulder Creek Road and other Forest Service roads around the Deer Creek Snopark and Green Mountain areas.

I continue my westward journey to the small community of Curlew, Washington. It appears that this is a former railroad stop town, but now lives on the few farmers, loggers and miners that remain in the area.

There isn’t much to explore in Curlew, so I leave town on West Kettle River Road following the snake-like pattern of the Kettle River. The river provides ample drink for plant life. The river, trees hugging the shore and mountains combine for an easy place to enjoy being alone on a motorcycle. Some roads are easy to daydream and drift off on. This is yet another road on this ride that demands attention to the quickly changing details.

Along a short straight-away is a historical interpretive sign. It talks about Ronald McDonald. No, not the clown of restaurant fame. This is the Ronald McDonald who happens to have been the first person to teach the English language in Japan. This Pacific Northwestern-born man grew up near Oregon and apparently met some shipwrecked Japanese sailors as a young lad, which sparked an interest in their homeland. Eventually, he travelled there teaching actual samurai the English language. The sign says that his final resting place is just north a mile or two. I head in that direction but soon after crossing a river the road comes to a “T” intersection. A few teenagers swimming at the river didn’t know which direction the burial site was in. I get back onto the main road and chase the sun instead as time didn’t allow for too much added exploration if I was going to make my destination before dark set in.

Black and white treatment seems fitting for the ghost town of Bodie, Washington.

West Kettle River Road connects with Toroda Creek Road which makes a large curve and begins heading south. Just as the sun begins to warm the right side of my body, I notice several old weather worn buildings just off both sides of the road. The Okanogan County historical society is nice enough to place information boards to keep the curious traveler informed of the areas rich history.

The old buildings are the remnants of Bodie, Washington. It is a ghost town now, but it was once the nearest town to the gold mine of the same name that was established in 1896 and helped spur the Okanogan County gold rush. In 1902, the Bodie Mine was purchased by the Wrigley family. You know, the same Wrigley’s of chewing gum fame. They actually started what became the Bodie Mining Company in 1903. At the time, the mine was worth $1.5 million. Here we are, more than a century later and all that is left are several run down buildings that make for incredible photo opportunities right next to an incredibly fun motorcycle road.

The Ghost Town of Bodie, WA is easily viewed and explored from the road.

From Bodie, the road passes through Old Toroda before connecting with SR 20 in Wauconda. My wheels push up and over the great North Cascades Highway and don’t stop turning until I reach home on the wet side of the mountains.

This trip included viewing the largest concrete structure in the United States, climbing dirt switchback mountain roads, two small ferries and finding a ghost town and mine once owned by a famous gum manufacturer. How’s that for a weekend well spent on two wheels?