Canyon Ridge
In many Ranger districts in Washington State there is a good amount of riding opportunities for mt. bikers. Even the Olympic Forest in all of its pristine nature has managed to squeeze out access to a handful of trails around each corner of the foothills. A few even outstanding.
Yet unfortunately the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie Ranger District is not so giving. It wouldn't be a bad guess to assume that the political influence to make it so would be from idealism from the city.
So from that we get the scraps. Here mt. biker you can have ONE trail in the Mt. Baker area in which to enjoy. A fine peice of old forest road that dives into a gully, whoopee!
Followed by a steep straight boring piece of singletrack that climbs straight up to the spine of the ridge and drops down into this...
They can't despise us this much can they? After only a little more than a mile into the ride i had seen enough of this end of the trail. i turned back around and drove myself to the other trailhead a healthy 15 mile forest road drive.
A trailhead well populated with cars, i knew this was the proper way to enter the trail. i also found it interesting to note that the trail is not open to mt. bikes until August 1. So i assume that with the snow we're getting as i write this, that the trail will be effectively closed. A trail that can be enjoyed for 2 months in a year, 3 if you're lucky.
i had set up a ride at Baker Lake Trail, a trail on the other side of the mountain a week back. Knowing that the information i had could be wrong i gave a call to the Ranger Office to check on it's status. (That can be a long drawn out process in itself for sometimes it's easier and faster to get quality help at the DMV.)
Well after an abrubt conversation i not only found out that the trail being marked open on my map was a mistake, but i was also told by the representative that i could ride a Llama on that trail if i wanted. And she was proud to inform me that there was only ONE trail open to mt. bikes.
i asked her why there was only one trail open in the vast area. She had no answer that she sounded willing to divulge. i had gotten the information i sought so i thanked her.
Signing up at the register, and back into the woods i enter. Alone with my bike and my own ideals.
Green minds would have you believe that standing idle apart from nature with no interference is the proper way to walk the path. But in my view our very presence is an action. In my view we are part of nature, we are animals. Thru any actions we have the gift to participate thru what might be called recreation or management. The key is with that comes the responsibility to balance that. With industrialism a very real threat to our environment of which we all need to sustain life, comes the overreaction to shut people out of the forests.
Unless you wish to recreate precisely how they see fit.
According to native lore Komo Kulshan had 2 wives. Clear Sky and Fair Maiden. Though Clear Sky was more beautiful Fair Maiden had won Kulshans favor thru kindness.
Bitter and jealous Clear Sky left Kulshan, stopping at times to see if Kulshan would call her back. She brought all of her seeds and bulbs for her journey south and would stand on her tiptoes atop hills and mountains to peer back upon Kulshan and their children.
Although Kulshan loved Clear Sky his pride kept him from calling her back. Clear Sky made camp far South on a very high hill. Convinced her husband didn't want her she stayed and cultivated her seeds and bulbs, so that every year flowers of every color bloom before her. And she had stretched herself so high so on a clear day she could still see Shuksan and her children. She became what's known today as Mt. Rainier.
Fair Maiden stayed with Kulshan for a long time, but desired to visit her family. So Kulshan enlisted the help of all the clawed animals to dig a trench, and turned all the water from the nearby mountains into Nooksack River. A canoe brought her to the sea.
Visiting and leaving food at every island she went to, every island used to be named for what food was in abundance there. Eventually she laid down and became an island herself. What's known today as Spiedan and her son was born a similiar small island lying beside her known today as Sentinel.
Mt. Baker/Komo-Kulshan
Kulshan, left with his children into the mountains of the North Cascades. Like his wife Kulshan stretched upward, trying to see his wives, as did his children.
The Three of them grew taller and taller and became high mountains. One is Shuksan, a little east of Kulshan and almost as tall. The others are Twin Sisters, a little west and south of Kulshan.
Mt. Shuksan
Still awake?
Like what was commented by the ride leader beside our camp fire during last weeks ride. It's pretty silly to find out how much politics are involved in something so simple as riding a bike in the woods.
A few weeks ago at my aunts house on the Reservation in Eastern Washington, i heard a new report on the tube. They had announced another parcel of land in Idaho had come under Wilderness designation and miles of trails had now become closed to mt. biking. IMBA's standard official stance was that while it will fight to keep trail access open that it's members too enjoy wild places.
i suppose we'll just have to enjoy them looking from afar...
Standing on my tiptoes.
The trail you ask? Well if you live in the area and want a fun descent, and as you can see outstanding view, go check it out. Be prepared for alot of hike a bike to get to it, for only about 4 or so miles of worthwhile trail. Although the trail spans for another 4, it's not worth it to continue for a complete out and back. Like many ridge trails in the area the trail builders punched out steep trails with little imagination or flow.
Canyon Ridge, the scraps thrown under the table for us lowly mt. bikers. Yet the undeniable beauty of what we are denied is clearly evident from the view atop the high point of our ONE trail.
In many Ranger districts in Washington State there is a good amount of riding opportunities for mt. bikers. Even the Olympic Forest in all of its pristine nature has managed to squeeze out access to a handful of trails around each corner of the foothills. A few even outstanding.
Yet unfortunately the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie Ranger District is not so giving. It wouldn't be a bad guess to assume that the political influence to make it so would be from idealism from the city.
So from that we get the scraps. Here mt. biker you can have ONE trail in the Mt. Baker area in which to enjoy. A fine peice of old forest road that dives into a gully, whoopee!
Followed by a steep straight boring piece of singletrack that climbs straight up to the spine of the ridge and drops down into this...
They can't despise us this much can they? After only a little more than a mile into the ride i had seen enough of this end of the trail. i turned back around and drove myself to the other trailhead a healthy 15 mile forest road drive.
A trailhead well populated with cars, i knew this was the proper way to enter the trail. i also found it interesting to note that the trail is not open to mt. bikes until August 1. So i assume that with the snow we're getting as i write this, that the trail will be effectively closed. A trail that can be enjoyed for 2 months in a year, 3 if you're lucky.
i had set up a ride at Baker Lake Trail, a trail on the other side of the mountain a week back. Knowing that the information i had could be wrong i gave a call to the Ranger Office to check on it's status. (That can be a long drawn out process in itself for sometimes it's easier and faster to get quality help at the DMV.)
Well after an abrubt conversation i not only found out that the trail being marked open on my map was a mistake, but i was also told by the representative that i could ride a Llama on that trail if i wanted. And she was proud to inform me that there was only ONE trail open to mt. bikes.
i asked her why there was only one trail open in the vast area. She had no answer that she sounded willing to divulge. i had gotten the information i sought so i thanked her.
Signing up at the register, and back into the woods i enter. Alone with my bike and my own ideals.
Green minds would have you believe that standing idle apart from nature with no interference is the proper way to walk the path. But in my view our very presence is an action. In my view we are part of nature, we are animals. Thru any actions we have the gift to participate thru what might be called recreation or management. The key is with that comes the responsibility to balance that. With industrialism a very real threat to our environment of which we all need to sustain life, comes the overreaction to shut people out of the forests.
Unless you wish to recreate precisely how they see fit.
According to native lore Komo Kulshan had 2 wives. Clear Sky and Fair Maiden. Though Clear Sky was more beautiful Fair Maiden had won Kulshans favor thru kindness.
Bitter and jealous Clear Sky left Kulshan, stopping at times to see if Kulshan would call her back. She brought all of her seeds and bulbs for her journey south and would stand on her tiptoes atop hills and mountains to peer back upon Kulshan and their children.
Although Kulshan loved Clear Sky his pride kept him from calling her back. Clear Sky made camp far South on a very high hill. Convinced her husband didn't want her she stayed and cultivated her seeds and bulbs, so that every year flowers of every color bloom before her. And she had stretched herself so high so on a clear day she could still see Shuksan and her children. She became what's known today as Mt. Rainier.
Fair Maiden stayed with Kulshan for a long time, but desired to visit her family. So Kulshan enlisted the help of all the clawed animals to dig a trench, and turned all the water from the nearby mountains into Nooksack River. A canoe brought her to the sea.
Visiting and leaving food at every island she went to, every island used to be named for what food was in abundance there. Eventually she laid down and became an island herself. What's known today as Spiedan and her son was born a similiar small island lying beside her known today as Sentinel.
Mt. Baker/Komo-Kulshan
Kulshan, left with his children into the mountains of the North Cascades. Like his wife Kulshan stretched upward, trying to see his wives, as did his children.
The Three of them grew taller and taller and became high mountains. One is Shuksan, a little east of Kulshan and almost as tall. The others are Twin Sisters, a little west and south of Kulshan.
Mt. Shuksan
Still awake?
Like what was commented by the ride leader beside our camp fire during last weeks ride. It's pretty silly to find out how much politics are involved in something so simple as riding a bike in the woods.
A few weeks ago at my aunts house on the Reservation in Eastern Washington, i heard a new report on the tube. They had announced another parcel of land in Idaho had come under Wilderness designation and miles of trails had now become closed to mt. biking. IMBA's standard official stance was that while it will fight to keep trail access open that it's members too enjoy wild places.
i suppose we'll just have to enjoy them looking from afar...
Standing on my tiptoes.
The trail you ask? Well if you live in the area and want a fun descent, and as you can see outstanding view, go check it out. Be prepared for alot of hike a bike to get to it, for only about 4 or so miles of worthwhile trail. Although the trail spans for another 4, it's not worth it to continue for a complete out and back. Like many ridge trails in the area the trail builders punched out steep trails with little imagination or flow.
Canyon Ridge, the scraps thrown under the table for us lowly mt. bikers. Yet the undeniable beauty of what we are denied is clearly evident from the view atop the high point of our ONE trail.
