I feel like a dope for not getting down to this gem sooner since I grew up here and remember when she blew up ~26 years ago. I haven't been riding too many burly rides lately due to home and car projects and somehow I missed analyzing the one we planned for Saturday....let the death march begin.
After a ~3 hour drive we arrived at the Windy Ridge Visitor's center:
Not too many places around where you can see 4 volcanic peaks from one spot. If you hike up to the top of the stairs in in the background, you can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, St. Helens, of course, and Mt. Adams:
(here's St. Helens)
Yes, it's evening. Left the truck at about 7pm for a ~27 mile, 2640' gain, night ride: Smith Creek-Ape Canyon-Windy Ridge trail-Plains of Abraham with the goal being to bike through the Plains under the moon.
It starts off with a big descent down a hill of pumice through which you're surfing. Once you get the hang of it (no front brake!!) it's a blast but you're ready for it to be over by the time you hit the bottom of the canyon.
I ate pretty well before this ride, my buddy didn't and I used up 3 liters of water with about 7 miles and 1.5-2 hours to go. He put maybe a liter of Gatorade in his camelbak and had about 6 oz left at the end. He is the Lance Armstrong of our clan. Oh yeah, he was riding a 42 lb Dare on this trip and still kicking my ass.
By the last 5 miles our quest became simply to get back to the truck alive (there's more pumice surfing at the end which is a little difficult in the dark and we could see creatures with glowing eyes watching us...Not comforting in Cougar country. Once again the Lume HID came thru without a hitch). We didn't manage the arrival at the truck until 1:30 am due to stopping for pix, taking in the moon views, a spousal snafu on my buddy's part (who knew there was cell coverage on the east flank of an active volcano?) a couple good diggers (mine and his) and my legs giving out for climbs in pumice about 6 miles from the end.
Here's some of the last pix I shot before it got too dark for the equipment I was shooting with. Even these have more noise than I expected so I apologize for the crappiness of these photos. Still learning.:
We were both pretty shagged by the end and didn't get settled in to camp until ~3 or so but an ale and Anejo soothed the pain and was the perfect lullaby for me after mowing thru some antipasto for dinner.
Managed to crank out a short loop the next day with some good views of St. Helens and Spirit Lake. I haven't gone thru those pix yet though.
Here's a more technical description of the "Smith Creek Epic" that is pretty spot on imo.
http://www.nwsource.com/outdoors/scr/of_detail.cfm?category=biking&rt=41382
After a ~3 hour drive we arrived at the Windy Ridge Visitor's center:
Not too many places around where you can see 4 volcanic peaks from one spot. If you hike up to the top of the stairs in in the background, you can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, St. Helens, of course, and Mt. Adams:
(here's St. Helens)
Yes, it's evening. Left the truck at about 7pm for a ~27 mile, 2640' gain, night ride: Smith Creek-Ape Canyon-Windy Ridge trail-Plains of Abraham with the goal being to bike through the Plains under the moon.
It starts off with a big descent down a hill of pumice through which you're surfing. Once you get the hang of it (no front brake!!) it's a blast but you're ready for it to be over by the time you hit the bottom of the canyon.
I ate pretty well before this ride, my buddy didn't and I used up 3 liters of water with about 7 miles and 1.5-2 hours to go. He put maybe a liter of Gatorade in his camelbak and had about 6 oz left at the end. He is the Lance Armstrong of our clan. Oh yeah, he was riding a 42 lb Dare on this trip and still kicking my ass.
By the last 5 miles our quest became simply to get back to the truck alive (there's more pumice surfing at the end which is a little difficult in the dark and we could see creatures with glowing eyes watching us...Not comforting in Cougar country. Once again the Lume HID came thru without a hitch). We didn't manage the arrival at the truck until 1:30 am due to stopping for pix, taking in the moon views, a spousal snafu on my buddy's part (who knew there was cell coverage on the east flank of an active volcano?) a couple good diggers (mine and his) and my legs giving out for climbs in pumice about 6 miles from the end.
Here's some of the last pix I shot before it got too dark for the equipment I was shooting with. Even these have more noise than I expected so I apologize for the crappiness of these photos. Still learning.:
We were both pretty shagged by the end and didn't get settled in to camp until ~3 or so but an ale and Anejo soothed the pain and was the perfect lullaby for me after mowing thru some antipasto for dinner.
Managed to crank out a short loop the next day with some good views of St. Helens and Spirit Lake. I haven't gone thru those pix yet though.
Here's a more technical description of the "Smith Creek Epic" that is pretty spot on imo.
http://www.nwsource.com/outdoors/scr/of_detail.cfm?category=biking&rt=41382
