Well par for the course i'm in such a rush i don't bother reading the date on the email. Being invited out to Entiat for some alpine goodness sounded like a grand idea, but for some reason i read September 27 as being this weekend. i could blame it on my subconscious tricking me into going out and riding from a hard few weeks, with little downtime. But the reality was, it was just a dumb mistake.
But as far as dumb mistakes go, the repercussions were pretty easy to deal with.
Duncan Hill 14 miles 3000' cumulative
Hooray for self sufficiency as i dug through the maps and weighed what my options would be. i decided to give this ride a whirl. After all it looked short on mileage and pretty straight forward.
Meadow along the ridge with the peak of Duncan Hill above.
The trail starts out pretty tame with the typical wide berth and powder you expect from a moto/horsey trail. Immersed in forest for much of the beginning, then the trail progressively turns steeper. The final stretch is a hike a bike push mixed with spots of super high exposed alpine riding.
Finally a push to the top of the "hill" at an elevation of 7218'. Not a bad view eh? But i didn't have too much time to dawdle, while it was a comfortable 75 degrees down in the valley at the campground, here it was a blustery 55 degrees, and i forgot to pack my coat and mittens.
Click for Duncan Hill 360 Panorama
The descent was pretty nice i must say. The hike a bike washy rocky rutted nastiness makes for some interesting riding when you're solo and trying to safely tiptoe through it on the wheels. Didn't run into anyone, so nobody to help if things go bad. Through the gnar, then it was a quick fun open run back to the car.
Back to camp where i pigged out, plotted another route for the next day, then slept like a big fat baby to the sound of the Entiat River.
Next day Grouse Pass Loop 20 miles 3500' cumulative
Well the plan was to ride up the North Fork Entiat River to the Pyramid Mountain Trail to Grouse Pass then bomb down Pyramid Creek. Wouldn't have made it to the peak of Pyramid Mountain, not that i minded. Although i'm certain and i've heard the view from up there (8200') is top notch, i wanted to see if i could get a nice pleasurable mountain loop ride. Beside i got my fill of hike-a-bike from the prior days venture.
Well the bikey had different plans...
The North Fork Entiat was turning out to be a great techy ride with alot of rock and root. About 5 or 6 miles in i was spinning "get this" up a slightly rooted climb. Things were going so great up until that time haha. So i made a bikey sling and headed for home.
Was a nice taste of what the area has to offer, i'll definately be back, with all probability when i was "supposed" to go in the first place.
But as far as dumb mistakes go, the repercussions were pretty easy to deal with.
Duncan Hill 14 miles 3000' cumulative
Hooray for self sufficiency as i dug through the maps and weighed what my options would be. i decided to give this ride a whirl. After all it looked short on mileage and pretty straight forward.
Meadow along the ridge with the peak of Duncan Hill above.
The trail starts out pretty tame with the typical wide berth and powder you expect from a moto/horsey trail. Immersed in forest for much of the beginning, then the trail progressively turns steeper. The final stretch is a hike a bike push mixed with spots of super high exposed alpine riding.
Finally a push to the top of the "hill" at an elevation of 7218'. Not a bad view eh? But i didn't have too much time to dawdle, while it was a comfortable 75 degrees down in the valley at the campground, here it was a blustery 55 degrees, and i forgot to pack my coat and mittens.
Click for Duncan Hill 360 Panorama
The descent was pretty nice i must say. The hike a bike washy rocky rutted nastiness makes for some interesting riding when you're solo and trying to safely tiptoe through it on the wheels. Didn't run into anyone, so nobody to help if things go bad. Through the gnar, then it was a quick fun open run back to the car.
Back to camp where i pigged out, plotted another route for the next day, then slept like a big fat baby to the sound of the Entiat River.
Next day Grouse Pass Loop 20 miles 3500' cumulative
Well the plan was to ride up the North Fork Entiat River to the Pyramid Mountain Trail to Grouse Pass then bomb down Pyramid Creek. Wouldn't have made it to the peak of Pyramid Mountain, not that i minded. Although i'm certain and i've heard the view from up there (8200') is top notch, i wanted to see if i could get a nice pleasurable mountain loop ride. Beside i got my fill of hike-a-bike from the prior days venture.
Well the bikey had different plans...
The North Fork Entiat was turning out to be a great techy ride with alot of rock and root. About 5 or 6 miles in i was spinning "get this" up a slightly rooted climb. Things were going so great up until that time haha. So i made a bikey sling and headed for home.
Was a nice taste of what the area has to offer, i'll definately be back, with all probability when i was "supposed" to go in the first place.
but now I have to work even harder to keep up with ya