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North Chuckanut Mountain (MTB)

October 7, 2012 in Mountain Bike | Tags: Bellingham, Cedar Lake, Chuckanut Bay, Dos Padros, doubletrack, dragonflies, Fairhaven, Hemlock Trail, mountain biking, Mt Baker, MTB, North Chuckanut Mountain, North Lost Lake Trail, Pine Lake, Raptor Ridge, Salal Trail, singletrack, trails, Washington, Western Washington University, WWU | 5 comments

North Chuckanut Mountain Trails – Mountain Biking – October 6, 2012

Saturday was a perfect, autumn day for mountain biking in the Chuckanut Mountains. On a clear day like this, we were treated with unobstructed views of Mt Baker from the Cedar Lake viewpoint. This trail system is located just south of the Fairhaven neighborhood of Bellingham, WA. The Chuckanut mountains are tucked between Chuckanut Bay to the west, and I-5 to the east. They reach a high point of about 1850 ft.

Our route: (~12 miles round trip, 4 1/2 hours)

NORTH CHUCKANUT TRAILHEAD to INTERURBAN TRAIL to LOWER SALAL TRAIL. This section is fun, both up and down. The path is mostly smooth gravel, smooth dirt, and a short section of doubletrack.
LOWER SALAL TRAIL and SALAL TRAIL to HEMLOCK TRAIL. These trails vary from “rideable rooty/rocky” to highly technical, “get off your bike and push.” NOT for beginners. Be careful if descending this trail. (We saved it for another time.) I’m just imagining what all the roots would be like when wet…
HEMLOCK TRAIL to PINE LAKE. A relentless climb, with some places where you lose and gain elevation. Get your workout on!
PINE LAKE to CEDAR LAKE and the CEDAR LAKE VIEWPOINT. We enjoyed watching the dragonflies buzzing over Cedar Lake. Around the lake, you will be off your bike more than on. The view of Mt Baker and the Sisters on a clear day is worth the climb to the viewpoint. Be careful that you don’t fall off the ledge!
HEMLOCK TRAIL to RAPTOR RIDGE VIEWPOINT. This section is way steep and rocky…Try to enjoy the push! The rocky viewpoint is another no-fall zone. There are no views of Mt Baker from here. Not recommended for small children or clumsy/intoxicated adults!
RAPTOR RIDGE VIEWPOINT to a new, unmarked trail, down to NORTH LOST LAKE TRAIL. The new, unmarked trail was definitely the highlight of the day 🙂 . This was totally worth the effort to get there…a blast of a descent. Will repeat!!
NORTH LOST LAKE TRAIL to INTERURBAN TRAIL and NORTH CHUCKANUT TRAILHEAD. The North Lost Lake trail is a long, fast descent on a seemingly never-ending doubletrack. The final section of singletrack (mentioned above) gets you back to the car with a smile on your face.

After the ride, we ate veggie fajitas/veggie burritos for dinner at Dos Padres, in Fairhaven. That was the first restaurant we went out to eat together…21 years ago! (We met each other at Western Washington University (WWU).) The sunset in Bellingham was worth one last picture.

[Click on an image to enlarge and view in a photo gallery]

: Map #1 – Our route took us from the upper left corner to the lower right corner.

: Map #2

: Map #3

: North Chuckanut Mountain Trailhead

: Trail Sign

: Interurban Trail

: Doubletrack

: Eric

: Lower Salal Trail

: Yes- those roots are the trail!

: Pine Lake

: Elisa at Pine Lake

: Skunk Cabbage

: Boards Around Pine Lake

: Pine Lake

: Eric at Pine Lake Camp

: Pine Lake

: Rosy Spirea

: Pine Lake

: Pine Lake

: Pine Lake

: Pine Lake

: Pine Lake

: Cedar Lake Boards

: Trees at Cedar Lake

: Cedar Lake

: Cedar Lake

: Cedar Lake

: Cedar Lake

: Dragon Fly at Cedar Lake

: Eric

: Cedar Lake

: Cedar Lake

: Dragon Fly

: Forest above Cedar Lake

: Mt Baker from Cedar Lake Viewpoint

: Mt Baker & The Sisters

: No Fall Zone

: Mt Baker & The Sisters

: The steep and rocky climb to Raptor Ridge

: Raptor Ridge Viewpoint

: Raptor Ridge Viewpoint

: Shadows

: No Fall Zone

: Eric at Raptor Ridge

: Eric at Raptor Ridge

: New trail at Raptor Ridge

: New trail at Raptor Ridge

: Sign for the new trail

: Elisa– happy!

: Veggie Burrito at Dos Padres

: Bellingham Sunset

Alder Ridge (MTB)

September 16, 2012 in Mountain Bike | Tags: Alder Ridge, Backcountry, Basalt Peak, Basalt Peak fire, burned, Chickamin Tie, Chiwawa River Road, Downy Woodpecker, Entiat, fire closures, flat tire, forest fire, Glacier Peak, Highway 2, Highway 207, hunters, Lake Wenatchee, Lower Chiwawa, Mad River, Minnow Ridge, mountain biking, MTB, mushroom, North Cascades, outdoors, singletrack, trailhead, Washington, Wenatchee, Wenatchee fire | 2 comments

Alder Ridge – Mountain Bike – September 15, 2012

This mountain bike ride to Alder Ridge (trail 1523) was actually “Plan B.” Our intended ride was Chickamin Tie (trail 1561) via Minnow Ridge (trail 1524). Although the Chickamin trails were open when we checked, they were closed at some point before we arrived at the trailhead. The closures are/were due to extensive forest fire activity in the area.

The Alder Ridge trailhead is located just down the road from the Chickamin trails. This is near Lake Wenatchee, WA. To get there, turn off Highway 2 onto Highway 207, then take the Chiwawa River Road to the well-marked trailhead. This general area is called the Entiat/Mad River/Lower Chiwawa area.

This was a solid day trip and worthy of a repeat. We started at 2400 ft and climbed steadily to a high point of 6200 ft in about 8 1/2 miles. The singletrack tread was mostly smooth toward the bottom and a bit more rocky toward the top. It was “steepish” but mostly “rideable.” (Subjective, I know!) I felt strong and I didn’t have to get off my bike too many times 🙂 . Due to dry conditions, the trail was sandy in places, but not bad. Dust…yes, there was plenty of that. The descent was a blast and over too fast!

This is a multiple use trail system…which means that our fresh air was briefly fouled with the toxic fumes of several motorcycles on the ascent. (Cough, cough – deep, forceful exhales!!) That was the only negative part of the trip. Fortunately, the motor traffic was probably “light” due to the fire closures.

Our biking group of 3 vegans and 1 omnivore also met a pair of hunters. They seemed nice enough, though I’ll never understand how anyone can take pleasure in killing a deer.

After that, I rode on, repeating silently in my mind over and over…

“I manifest good luck to the animals in the forest.”

Click on an image to enlarge and view the photos in a gallery. In the photos, you will see maps of the area, views of Glacier Peak, and views from our high point of 6200 ft. (We didn’t quite make it to Mad Lake.) We photographed the Basalt Peak fire to the north and the Wenatchee fires to the south.