Clean clothes and provisioned out I drove up the Methow River to Gold Creek rd which started out 2 lane paved then 1 1/2 lanes paved then wide single lane gravel climbing up to Crater Lake TH at 4,4xx’. Steep in places and tight and twisty in most others. I believe that my transmission is what is causing the rumble noise and that the transmission slips or was the jerky ride caused by the traction wheel rolling over the bumps and loose gravel?. The temp gauge almost made overheat. I slithered over the stutter bumps. I scored the same camp site I have used during previous visits. The drive up and the following drive down were almost main reasons for not doing the ride. I made the drive, the next morning would reveal how I would dress: Big boy pants and get’er done or just enjoy life sitting in a chair working on my tan.
Friday I put on my bike gear, made bfast, and got stuff ready. A brief test spin in the parking lot: systems check: pedal onward and upward. I left a little after 9AM. MTBProject ride data was 21 miles and 5,000′ climbing. Big day. The first part was down in the trees until Cooney Lake on a rideable trail. I walked spots as my engine lacked the desire to surmount the challenge. Cooney lake basin is almost alpine, tree cover is mostly tamarack.
Trail continued climbing to the left of pic to gain the ridge line. Shortly above the lake it became an increasingly steep drag a bike climb. My head was down as I fought for every vertical foot gained. Backcountry Navigator is an app I use and record ride data. It spit out elevation data: descent 22%, climb 42%. This year the snow had melted away leaving just talus. Previous rides I kicked steps in the snow but I rode w/ rigid clipless shoes. Today I rode in the flats shoes which would have been too fragile to kick steps. Up on top at 8,XXX’:
Up here and until I got down below Eagle lake the trail was badly churned up by horses. The trail continued along the ridge until almost the left hand edge. From there the drop which is the ride name sake switchbacked over chewed up talus. I encountered 3 riders carrying their bikes up. I asked one guy why this way and he said variation. They were gone by the time I made the parking lot.
Down below Cooney lake I encountered 2 dirt bikers. They both stopped and were very courteous and we engaged in conversation. We encountered each other again on this side of the ridge, again pleasant.
Horse damage
It’s just that a whole lot of us are recreating on finite land, each user group created their own impact on the land.
I finally set down for a break at Boiling lake and ate my almond butter honey whole wheat sandwich at 2:15PM, thsi was my first real break since my 9AM start. The trail up to Horsehead Pass and the long downhill was badly loosened by horse hooves causing me to walk almost the entire climb.
Then looking down and out east over Eagle lake
From the pass the trail dropped from 7,xxx’ down to 4,xxx’ at the TH. There were several short climbs.
I gather ride data from my Garmin edge 800 which is GPS, a wheel driven computer and backcountry navigator. I have suspected the 800 not capturing completely the effort. The garmin recorded 17.98 miles pedaling 3 hrs 8 mins and gaining 5012′. The wheel recorded 21.6 miles for 4 hrs 30 mins. Backcountry recorded almost exact data as the wheel.It took me total time of 7 hrs 11 mins. Big day. I proved to myself that I can still complete a mass effort.
On the way down from Horsehead my dropper refused to push the saddle back up. I could manually raise it and it would stay at that height. Not good. Back at my van I removed the saddle to gain access to the air valve and threaded on the shock pump: no pressure. I pumped pressure up that the post let escape. Product failure: Won’t hold air. Not good. I removed it and reinstalled the LEV.
Thursday night I scanned the skies looking for meteor showers. I saw 3 short streaks. I wanted to sleep more than I wanted to trip on a potential light show.
Today I dallied leaving to listen to Wait Wait. Before I drove away a rider came up to me. He said he has down this ride maybe 20 times. He owns the bike shop in Winthrop where he worked on my brake several years prior.
Today I have a gathering with friend Randy and Lisa in Spokane. Wide open spaces. I’m city camping parked in their driveway.
So I am here in Spokane for a short visit.
I like this part of the country: the high tamarack alpine. I want to make a backpacking trip. To me this mountainous area is my favorite.