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Posts Tagged ‘Cascade Mountains’

Håkan Söderbom planned for an around the world adventure, we hit eastern Washington instead.

My ride companion and I meet up in Monroe, Washington. US Highway 2 provides a scenic, yet quick escape from the hustle of Seattle. The city of Seattle would offer much to riders if it weren’t for that hustle and bustle. The many conveniences are wrapped in all directions with potential adventure. The mountains to the east, volcanoes to the south and north, and saltwater that splashes the urban shores and calls to us who breathe adventure. It is the weekend and we need to take a deep breath of life.

True adventure is the goal of the weekend. I’m meeting with fellow MSF-coach Håkan Söderbom to SEE if we can find a great motorcycle adventure a short distance from Seattle.

Hakan has planned an extraordinary route for us to open our throttles on and exercise the off-road side of our adventure motorcycles.

Up and over Steven’s Pass we climb and descend through the thick evergreens. Their scent is strong in the air. With every mile we escape further into the possibilities of adventure. The broad pavement of Highway 2 continues east as we connect with US Highway 97 just outside of Leavenworth. Up and over Blewett Pass we travel 25 miles to the Mineral Springs Restaurant.

Mineral Springs Restaurant serves up a decent hot meal. My burger was good, but Hakan’s chili burger looked incredible.

Mt Rainier as seen from 6,240 feet on Lion Rock.

Food now down the hatch, we continue a few miles to Liberty Road, Fire Service Road 9718 and FS 35. The route up to this point would leave most riders satisfied. The adventurer comes out and plays from here on out. The road surface quickly changes to dirt and small rocks. Our bikes handle the terrain with ease. The road climbs quickly. With each foot of elevation the views grow in magnificence. We climb up to 2,000; 3,000 and 4,000 feet. As we climb the road becomes a bit more challenging. Our bodies sway gracefully directing the motorcycles’ wheels over slight ruts and avoidable boulders growing in diameter. The road climbs to 6,240 feet. This is the lookout at Lion Rock Spring. The views stretch for miles. The Table Mountains and the rest of the Cascade Range are in full view. Mount Rainier pokes above the mountains far to the west.

The very rocky road could easily eat the vulnerable underside of the Suzuki V-Strom. It is still relatively easy to navigate up to this phenomenal viewpoint. There are a few primitive camp spots at Lion Rock Spring. We pitch out tents to reserve a place to sleep for the night.

It is 2 p.m. by the time that we have camp set and Hakan has replaced his street tires with proper knobbies. This guy comes prepared. We mount up and head down the mountain and into Ellensburg via FR 35 and Reecer Creek Road.

Leaving Ellensburg on Umtanum Road we carve the few miles of pavement to Durr Road. This is the route that we came all this way to ride. It soon becomes double track with two way traffic. This is fine as we only come upon one 4×4 the whole time that we’re out here.

Umtanum Creek water crossing. Bounce, bounce, splash and wahoo!

The road curves around the south side of a hill to allow a view of the canyon below. Just a couple hundred feet down is Umtanum Creek. It crosses the road and will be my first water crossing. The road passes under the water for 25 feet. Fairly large rocks exercise my suspension as I follow Hakan through the water. The BMW 1200 GS Adventure glides through the water. To my surprise, so does the V-Strom. Hakan was slow to pull out the camera, so I oblige him with another photo-op run. It felt great to make it through and make it look so skillfully done. Thanks for the photograph my Swedish pal.

The trail on the other side of the creek quickly becomes filled side to side with the same large rocks as the creek bed. “Clunk” goes each rock under the bike. Each time the familiar terrain meets metal sound makes me cringe. No skid plate under my bike means that the metal noise is likely the center stand hitting, but perhaps the oil filter or worse.

Second gear is too fast. I slow and shift to first gear only to get bounced around even more. Powering on, the bike becomes a bucking bronco.

I used to break horses on our 50-horse ranch as a kid. I can hold my own when it comes to rodeo-style rides. After dropping my eyes and looking for the very next rock and buck thereof, I go exactly where I was looking. Instincts kick in and I muscle the bike down to the rocks as softly as I can as I tuck and roll off into the ditch.

The trail ate my right blinker, GIVI crash bar, body panel, headlight bezel and passenger foot rest mount that day. The views were spectacular, but the roadway brutal. That first fall laid the groundwork for what seemed like a dozen more.

Durr Road and the trail that we jutted onto was made of softball to football-sized rocks. Beware the underside of vulnerable bikes.

The hills rolled up and down with each slope becoming steeper. We arrive at a “Y” intersection and we turn left. Let me tell you, left made for one hell of an adventure. Turning right would have taken us right into Selah. This, by the way, was our intended destination.

Durr Road is a primitive road with minimal maintenance. It runs from Umtanum Road south of Ellensburg to Selah near Yakima, Washington. Durr Road runs through the heart of the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area. This area is as much of an adventure as you can find. It is adventure motorcycling at its best. If you’re going to attempt this journey, then I suggest a good map, GPS and travel with a suitable riding partner. Hakan travelled this route solo a year prior to our visit. Now that I’ve done it, I wouldn’t go back without someone to help lift a bike off of me in a sticky situation.

Back to the adventure. We’re now several hours into our ride and exhaustion is setting in. Our intended route became too steep to traverse. With the sun hanging low in the sky, we turn around and head back the way we came. The more difficult sections are now more complicated by the harshness of the setting sun pointing blinding light directly into our eyes. We would have been just as well off had we shut our eyes completely.

This is exactly what we could see as we climbed the hills directly into the setting sun.

We find our way back, but not before the fatigue catches up to me. Yet again, the bike bounces off of the rocks and concern for the underbelly causes my wrist to react. This causes a chain reaction that ends in the final dirt nap of the day. This time Hakan has ridden up ahead. My ankle stuck between the side case rack and some rocks. There wasn’t any way that I could lift the bike or wiggle my leg free. I was trapped.

After a few futile yells for help, I resorted to honking the horn. Hakan heard my beeping pleas for assistance and came back to lift the 500-pound hunk of bike off me.

With wheels back on terra firma, we make it back to the “Y” intersection, cross Umtanum Creek and head back to Lion Rock Spring campground for the night.

We uncork a bottle of wine and toast to the pursuit of adventure and to sleeping under the stars at 6,240 feet above sea level. Despite a few tumbles, the day was amazing. Stamina and skills were tested and with that comes accomplishment.

Close estimate of our route (had technical issues loading full map to page).

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Group rides on dirt roads are best served wet. Putting a bunch of two-wheeled hooligans on a dry dirt road puts the strong taste of dust in all but the leader’s mouth. Lucky for us, we live in the Pacific Northwest. Rain is not in short supply.

Our route as seen from up above.

Sun and weekends seem to be a particularly rare combination this year. Even though dry dusty roads can put a bad taste in your mouth, it is still more fun to ride on a nice sunny day. Luckily, the skies parted for a single Saturday and allowed 13 motorcyclists to join up for a day of riding wet forest roads in the glorious sunshine through the Cascade Mountains.

I recently had guests in town from out of state. I brought them up to Mt Rainier to take in its grandeur. The heavy cloud cover made it impossible to experience just how amazing the landscape is.

During the  June 5 group ride, experiencing the landscape was not an issue. Heavy insulated gear was stowed away and the light summer gloves covered my hands from the near 70-degree weather up on Snoqualmie Pass.

A group of riders, mostly on Suzuki V-Stroms, met at the Pancake House to consume the human fuel needed to burn through dirt roads for the reminder of the day. Stacks of cakes filled the plates and the wait staff was understanding of our boisterous group of two-wheeled misfits. The cakes ranged from whole grain to buttermilk and the toppings ranged from my diabetic shocker of fruit and syrup to the more traditional maple syrup. The Pancake House at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass is a great place for motorcyclists to start a long day of riding.

There is just something about semi loose surfaces that makes me want to do spin outs.

Wiping the syrup and fruit from my face, I pay my bill and march outside to get prepared for the day. One of our breakfast crew departs us for the day. His Honda ST1300 wasn’t up to the task ahead. The planned route would take us high into the elevations of the Cascade Mountains on national forest roads. The incessant springtime precipitation promised mud and snow along our planned route.

The first loop of the day would take us to about 3,800 feet of elevation along National Forest Road (NF) 110. The group quickly gets its groove as we make our climb to the top (map of intended route). Unfortunately, at about 3,600 feet we meet hikers and skiers who were marching through the snow that covered our planned route. That’s how these things go this time of year. Our single-track vehicles are no match for the heavy and wet snow that covered the road. We head back down the mountain to try another route.

The microclimates of this area get progressively drier to the east. We decide to use that to our advantage. We ride eight miles further east into the mountains in hopes that we can find a loop with less snowpack on the road.

River water sucks the road down to its level.

A theme for the day was that plans are great, but they often change. Our plan was to ride up and over Stampede Pass. We arrive at the “Y” junction for Stampede Pass and NF 54. The group keeps left and skips Stampede Pass. Our new route takes us along NF 54,NF 52 and NF 410 up to 3,800 feet of elevation. The dirt road switchbacks up and down the mountain. The V-Stroms’ suspension gets a full work out dodging and slicing through puddles, and bouncing along the washboard sections of the road.

Perhaps it was the slower nature of the roads we were riding, but the way our group worked together surprised me. Normally, a large group of riders can be cumbersome and a recipe for problems. The guys from the Stromtrooper.com forum just seem to jive. We all take turns at different points within the group. Some ride fast, others take their time to take in the views. The best way to describe it is that the group had a good flow.

Riders paused at a lookout on NF 54 in the Snoqualmie National Forest.

Side stands went down at numerous high-elevation vistas. Each stop had new stories from the day so far and past experiences. The more that I ride with this group of riders the more I enjoy it. It is an eclectic group ranging from PhD candidates to truck drivers, from 20-somethings starting families to empty nesters. Enjoying the group dynamics makes me wonder if there is any other sport where such a random group of people would meet regularly and enjoy the challenges of the day together.

That is perhaps the single common characteristic of the riders. We all just want to find a new challenge and conquer it. Motorcycling is just an extension of this need to experience life. No matter how green or wise we are.

Bruce "Orangesicle" crossing the slippery snow

Each route that we took required us to turn back for snow or washout. Each roadblock was first traversed before deciding to turn back. By the end of the day three bikes took snow or dirt naps. There was one instance where a rider braked too hard in the dirt and low-sided. Another time, traction gave out on the snow and down went the bike. Another bike went softly into the trees after climbing a section of washed out road. Each incident was cleared quickly with the bikes being picked up, riders dusted off and back on the trail we went.

The mountains know no mercy. It is June yet there is still plenty of snow just under 4,000 feet. Each route was planned to make a loop, but ended up being an in and out instead. That’s just how these things go. It is all part of the adventure. At least this time, it was an adventure with 13 riders to share the story. We left the Pancake House around 9:30 a.m.  and road nearly 100 miles of dirt roads until 4:30 p.m. It was a long, memorable day.

Check back soon to watch the video from this ride. A new camera tends to push my technical abilities to mesh video and editor. That’s a story for another time.