4 Pass Blast

My buddy Brian calls on Monday and says let's go for a ride and you get to plan it and he will meet me where ever I decide.  Brian will be out of town, away from email and unable to contribute to ride planning.

So I pick the destination, the Red Horse Diner, in Ellensburg, Washington a fun '50 theme diner.  The rest of it is easy, a 4 Pass Blast in the Park, the Park being the State of Washington.  I invite a gaggle of victims but everybody is busy enjoy the summer so it is just Brian and I on this one.


The route is done the meeting place is at a Starbuck in Enumclaw along Hwy 410 with a depart time of 8:00am.  Sometimes the ambiance of McDonald's wears on me.



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Saturday dawns cloudy and cool with temps in the high 50's.   After coffee at Starbucks we head east on Hwy 410 toward Cayuse Pass. The clouds thickened and it start to rain just a bit.  I know this rain will be short lived and figure we just have to get above the low valley clouds -  you have to get in it to get out of it.  Sure enough the rain quickly quit and blue sky started to punch through in places.


The highway follows glacial fed White River flowing from the Emmons Glacier on Mt. Rainier and today the river is murky gray from with silt from the melting glacier.

It is not long before we enter Mt. Rainier National Park along the Mather Memorial Parkway named after the first National Park Director, Stephen Mather.  The parkway provides access to the east side of Mt. Rainier and features fantastic views of Mt. Rainier.  We stop for photos.

Brian on his ST1300 along Mather Memorial Parkway

The photo of Mt. Rainier below was taken here.  Most don't know this but an avalanche roared down this chute 10 to 15 years ago, the lack of trees the tell tail sign.

The Killer View everybody stops for.

Near the summit of Cayuse Pass.  There is still a bit of snow in places.

Next we are off to Chinook Pass about 4 miles or so beyond Cayuse Pass for a photo op of Tipsoo Lake.

On the way to Chinook Pass.  You can see the fog in the background.

Fog surrounds Tipsoo Lake and blocks the view of Mt. Raineer so we skip the photo op.  It was 46 degrees at the summit today.  On a good day you will see this.

Tipsoo Lake and Mt. Rainier

The summit of Chinook Pass at 5450' is closed from mid November and typically opens on by Memorial Day.

Chinook Pass summit looking east.  When the pass is opened, usually by Memorial Day, the snowbanks here are 15 feet tall.

Chinook Pass summit looking east with a bit of snow on July 28, 2012.

On the east side of Mt. Rainier Chinook Pass is in Mt. Rainier's rain shadow.  This year the snow is nearly gone by the end of July.  In contrast Artist Point near Mt. Baker just opened last week.  Artist Point, is not in a rain shadow, instead it is blasted by storms system fresh from the Pacific Ocean and it is typically a bit cooler too, drawing cool air from the Fraser River Canyon in Canada.  The difference is dramatic as can be seen in these photos.  Artist Point usually receives twice as much the snow compared to Chinook Pass.

Clearing the road to Artist Point near Mt. Baker, July 13, 2012.  Artist Point is at 5,000' elevation.   The road to Artist Point was buried under 20 to 30 feet of snow when crews began clearing Mount Baker Highway in early June.  

 Back to Chinook Pass.

Looking east bound just east of the summit of Chinook Pass

We continue along Hwy 410 toward Naches, following the American and Naches River on their way to the Yakima River or farmers fields to fill our homes with fruits, vegetables.  The Yakima Valley is agricultural center of Washington's bread basket to the world.  A few weeks ago I road over here the fun of it to buy some farm fresh cherries.


I intended to stop at Applewood Park in Naches but there was a community affair going on there and no place to park.  A few years ago we stopped here and my friend John was looking wistfully at the toy horses in the children's play ground.  The miniature horses were supported by a large taut coil spring.  John has BMW K1300GT with ESA, BMW's fancy electronic suspension.  With John looking as if he was reliving a childhood memory I could not help but quip, "No John, you can't ride the horse it doesn't have ESA."


With no stop we continue on and today instead of riding US 12 and I-84 to Ellensburg we take backroads along the Wenes Valley and the Yakima River Road.  The Yakima River road runs north and south cuts across the east to west Umtanum and Manastash Ridges in a most un-canyon like manner.


In the summer you will find anglers dreaming of A River Runs Through It in competition with river rafters.  Meanwhile motorcyclist must compete with a silly 45 mph speed limit along the Canyon Road.  This is difficult especially since a grin means 20 mph over the speed limit along a well patrolled road.  Watch out for the county sheriff on the south end.  

Yakima River Road

Brian along the Yakima River Road.  Notice the desert like hillsides is a stark contrast from the green forest at Chinook Pass.
Another reason riding in Washington is like Riding in the Park.  A diverse Park indeed!

Yakima River Road

We arrive at the Red Horse Diner in Ellensburg.

Right out of the 1950's

The interior is themed as well.

The interior is themed as well.

This photo is in the Red Horses Diner.  Excelsior V-Twins meeting in downtown Seattle at Pioneer Square in 1911 for an endurance run to Vancouver Washington AND return.  Very cool.  DO click the link above and read the story!

We have a very nice lunch and head for or Blewett Pass our 3rd pass of the day.  Here is my FJR and Brian's ST1300.

The bikes and moi at Blewett Pass.  I used snowmobile up here in the 1970's with my family.  We parked the camper and stayed here for 5 days or more at a time.  There is a snow park turnout to the right.  The snow is much dryer here than to the west as Snoqualmie Pass.

We decide to take the Chumstick Highway to Plain thus avoiding the crush of people in the Bavarian themed town of Leavenworth.  Yeah that is right the entire dam town is decked out like a little German Village.  It is a huge tourist trap; a commercialized crapper hole.  The Autumn Leaf Festival occurs long before any self respecting leaf dares turn color much less falls on the fricking tree.  If you want to see people in lederhosen blowning strange horns this is your place!

As it turns out the Chumstick Highway was recently chip sealed and it was a poor job too for there is a high tar content on the road surface.  Scratch one nice road for a year or two.

Along the Chumstick Hwy in October 2006.

We get dumped out on Hwy 2 and head for Stevens Pass, Pass 4 for the day.  It is crowded and no fun so no photos.  Note to self ride this ride clockwise and avoid the crush of traffic on Stevens Pass.  I was betting Saturday traffic would not be as bad and Sunday traffic.  The bet did not pay off.

Brian and I stop take a break in Sultan.  Afterwards I take the Ben Howard road which as recently chip sealed and is now packed out.  They did a good job here and didn't over oil it.  Nice surface.  Now if somebody would just please remove the silly 20mph speed limit signs all would be good.

I return home via backroads the entire day spend on very little freeway.


The End

Windy Ridge Mt. St. Helens

I started riding around the Mt. St. Helens area in 1968 on a Honda Trail 90.  My parents would go Huckleberry picking around Mt St. Helens and Mt. Adams.  We would lash the Honda to the bumper mounted rack on my Dad's pickup truck, drive to the Huckleberry field and I would get to ride the Forest Service roads in the area.  For me it was the ultimate in summer recreation.  I was all of 12 years old at the time.

Sometime in the late 1970's I road a CB450 Honda to the west side of Mt. St. Helens.  I was near Harry Truman's cabin watching climbers head up the slope to have their fun.  I picked up a piece of pumice about 2 inches in diameter and through it into Spirit Lake.  To may amazement the rock floated.  Wow man, look at that rock float I exclaimed,  as we picked up more rocks and absent mindedly tossed them into the lake.

Those are my earliest recollections of Mt. St. Helens.  I didn't often visit Mt. St. Helens for Mt. Rainier aka The Mountain, a National Park, is a lot closer to Seattle and a lot bigger too.  Washingtonian's treated Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams like some lousy unloved bastard child for we had The Mountain.  Anyplace else in the USA Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams would be National Parks.  And so it goes.....


All that changed on 8:30am on May 30, 1980 when Mt. St. Helens exploded loosing 1300 feet of mountain in a matter of seconds.  At the time I was sitting in my apartment, reading the newspaper and listening to the radio.  Little did I know how good this was going to get!


Having a genuine killer volcano in your geological backyard brings in a lot of tourist.  No longer is Mt. St. Helens treated like a spare change mountain.

In 1985 or so I was riding a 1983 Honda Silverwing a most miserable bike, while my buddy Rick was riding a 1976 or 1978 Goldwing.  For some reason we decided to head down to Randle, Washington and ride south along the east side of Mt. St. Helens.   Along Forest Service Road 99 at Bear Meadow, near the edge of the blow down area, the road went from paved to unpaved.  We continued anyway and reached the Windy Ridge visitor center.  I will never forget the landscape.  I was more like moonscape as everything was gray and the blow down area was nothing short of remarkable.  Today vegetation is growing and it is quite different from 1985.

Today everybody flocks to St. Helens. Forest Service road (FS) 25 runs from Randle to just north of the Swift Reservoir.  Here is a map.  Forest Service 99 is about 25 miles south of Randle and runs west to Windy Ridge.  These are great motorcycle roads, less the first 25 miles south of Randle where you will be begging for a dual sport motorcycle with long travel suspension.  These road are open from the middle of July through the first snows typically October.  One year FS 99 was closed all year due washouts - this happens because the road bed is pumice.  Bikers were jonesin' that year.  Check out the Forest Service web site before you go.

Last week I had new suspension installed on my FJR.  New Penske shock and new springs and valves in the front end.  What better way to try it out than along FS 25 on the way to Windy Ridge?  The inspiration was set and my buddy Curtis joined me for this ride.  We met at 6:00am in Enumclaw at Starbucks for coffee and a non-heart happy treat.


We leave Starbucks at 6:45 and this was our route to Windy Ridge.



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I did not get far before my first photo stop.  All along I was thinking of my first ride to Windy Ridge with my buddy in 1985 and what do I see but this.....

A 197x Goldwing just like my buddy's bike when we road to Mt. St. Helens in 1985.
Curtis is in the background on his Vstrom.

 Our route takes us over Cayuse Pass at 4500 foot pass in the Cascades where it was 48 degrees with snow still on the ground.  It was overcast the pavement a bit damp. Meanwhile the rest of the nation is suffering from tipple digit heat.  I regret not taking photos of the snow.

Approaching the tunnel along Hwy 123

We join Hwy 12 and head west to Randle the clouds with us the whole time. No rain though and I was happy to have the clouds as my companion for bright sunlight creates a high contrast lighting riding through the canopy trees on the ribbon of potholed asphalt that is FS25 outside of Randle.

The FJR's new suspension from KFG Racing was performing flawlessly.  It absorbed the potholes  I missed and I was no longer begging for a long suspension travel dual sport machine.  Yes!

The pavement is very good after leaving FS25 from FS99 to Windy Ridge, especially in westbound direction.  Watch out for gravel in the blow down area though.

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow is some of the best twisties in the State.

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow - camera in one handle throttle in the other.

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow  - the pavement is excellent.

FS99 on the way to Bear Meadow after this we enter the blow down area where the trees were blown down by the force of  the eruption in May of 1980.

See no old trees and this make for terrific site lines - come get it now before the new growth spoils the site lines.

Near the Donneybrook pullout

At the Donnybrook pullout you get a view of Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake

Spirit Lake

On a clear day you can see Mt. Adams.  It was not clear today so I pulled this one from my archives.  Notice the car in the trees lower left side.

This photo shot in 2006 is the background image on my GPS.  Notice the excellent site lines and the sapplings along side of the road?  Soon the site lines will be a thing of the past.  Get it now while you can.

Mt St. Helens along FS99

As I road along the road today my mind wandered.  Why are they called Forest Service roads?  Do the forests need servicing?


We left Windy Ridge viewpoint at about 10:00am or so.  We beat the crowds!  Yes.  Here is the second leg of our route.  Destination Woodland Wa for gas and lunch.




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We rejoin Hwy 99 and head south.  Thankfully the road is in much better shape than the section south of Randle.  The road is very twisty, except where it follows the Clearwater Ridge, going straight for a while then all of the sudden, wake up, for starts some extreme twisties again.

I learned this the hard way in 2001 and here is where I high sided my 1987 R100RT.

Where I crashed my in 2001 on my 1987 BMW R100RT

Foxgloves along side the road make for a pretty site.

Foxgloves along side the road make for a pretty site.

Foxgloves along side the road make for a pretty site.

A canopy of trees along FS 25 near Cougar Washington

FS 25 joins FS 90 at Swift Reservoir hugging two reservoirs along some excellent pavement all the way to Woodland.  We stopped at the Lewis River Golf Course for a tasty lunch.

Along the way we get stuck behind some slow cars and I manage to throttle my assertive self and avoid passing the cars.  Damn that is hard given the howling turbine nature of the FJR's engine.

We manage to avoid  most of I-5 and here is the 3rd and final leg of our route.




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We go along Telegraph Road to Drew's Prairie Rd crossing under I-5 in an obscure manner.  Continuing to Jackson Hwy, Tucker Rd and on to Hwy 508 to Elbe where the train was leaving the station.

Engine at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway

Engine at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railway

The End

Searching for Plump, Juicy Cherries In the Park

I have not road with my friend Brian in a while because his wife suffered a broken ankle a couple of months ago and he was on nurse duty.  This is a shame because 1) his wife is hurt and 2) we have same interest on the road and it is enjoyable riding with Brian.  Thankfully his wife has recovered her broken ankle so it was time for us to go riding.

The plan was to meet in Orting at 7:30 for breakfast at a McDonalds and ride over White Pass to Naches for gas and buy some cherries and return over Chinook Pass after a stop for lunch at Whistling Jack's.  My friend George (FJR tech wiz) agreed to join us.  The plan was set and the weather was perfect, blue skies and warm temps.


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I left home for Orting at 6:00am and it was a beautiful morning.  At one point the rising sun was directly behind me casting a perfect shadow of the bike directly in front of me.  I regrettably forgot to bring my little pocket camera.

Arriving very early at the McDonald's I had some heart happy oatmeal and coffee while I used my Ipod to check out my email and catch up. On schedule George and Brian arrived and we departed about 7:45.

The route included the turns along Hwy 7 between LaGrand and Alder, a three mile section of twisty road engraved into a cliff above Nisqually Dam.  It was a great idea but the road was closed due to an unstable slope and may be closed the rest of the summer.  Boo hoo.

We went out of our way to enjoy this section of road.  Fortunately I know these roads well and was able to continue without missing a beat and we cruised through the hamlet of Eatonville.  The merchants in Eatonville who own the gas station and coffee shop must be thrilled as this will bring more summer business.  Something about LEO comes to mind too.

Here are some photos of what we missed.  I shamelessly ripped these photos from a post earlier this year.

My FJR

Brian on his ST1300 - 115,000 miles on this fine machine!

We join Hwy 7 at Alder Lake and continue to Elbe, Washington home of  Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad where tourist can ride in an old fashion steam powered rail car.  Elbe is also home to the historic Little White Church. 


Back in the 1950's through 1960's my family drove through Elbe every two weeks to visit my grandparents in Ashford, Washington.  Grandpa was a financially very poor man, despite owning 100 acres of land.  Spending time there as a young boy I learned to love the outdoors.  Grandfather would, in season, hunt for deer and elk and had a garden for food.  Sometimes he didn't have to go far to hunt deer, they would come to him.   Once he befriend young deer and named it Bucky.  We have an family photo of me riding Bucky.


My Dad shot Bucky, in season, for food.  Not much sense in having a tame deer running around for somebody else to shoot.  My Grandmother was furious.   Bucky tasted good!


Continuing with my Grandfather stories, in the late 1960's an elk fell through the wood cap covering the well for the household water supply.  They never did get the damn critter out of the well and life got harder after that.  Grandfather died in 1969 and the place was sold.  Aside from the elk messing up the well, life was good in the 1960's playing in the hay barn, learning how to use a rifle and how to fish in the surrounding creeks in the high country. And I remember Elbe well.  The church was there and not much else.  Today it is the same save the railroad and new state rest stop - the Elbe merchant's must be thrilled with this state funded facility.

If you arrive early in Elbe early say by 8:00am you may see Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad steam engine.

After Elbe it is on to Morton.  About 5 miles after Elbe is a terrific photo op of Mt. Rainier.  Here are some shots I have taken over the years. Today the view was cloudy.
 

This photo is from April 2011 - early season.

This shot is from September 2011.

And this photo with a cloud cap is from April 21, 2012

Brian on his ST1300 between Elbe and Morton, Spring 2012. 

At Morton we stop to evacuate coffee and put on sun screen before heading east, into the sun, on Hwy 12 to White Pass.  Thankfully just after Packwood there is some new pavement on Hwy 12.  It is asphalt even, oh happy days!  


A passing lane appears an we pass some slower vehicles, including one a small Honda, burning oil.  More happiness for the air was filled with the smell of burnt oil, quite a contrast to the lush and green scenic highway.


Here are some photos of Mt. Rainier at a turnout.

Two FJRs, Mt. Rainier and George

The Mountain

This photo of Mt. Rainier is just west of the turn out, westbound Hwy 12, from July 2006.

  I road ahead to get some road photos.

Here is a photo of George.  The photo of Brain was blurred.  I need coaching.

As we road to Naches to get gas and cherries my mind wandered.  What shall I call this ride report. I was settled on something about cherries then thought of plump and juicy - I needed some adjectives.  George's Member Title on the FJR forum is Searching for dry roads and his avatar is his bike is parked in front of the yellow sign noting twisty road for 77 miles, while it is raining, at Lolo Pass.  Then it came to me, Searching for plump, juicy cherries.  The rest of it, ...in the park, came to me later in the day and is a reference to the State of Washington and how I consider it riding in the park.


It was in the low 90's in Naches.  We got got gas and cherries.  I had some Instant Cold Packs to keep the cherries cool.  Unfortunately the cherries were not plum or juicy as the cherries I got in Yakima 3 weeks prior.  Boo hiss.


Off to Whistling Jack's for lunch.  We got a window seat with a view of the Naches River.  After lunch we move on to Chinook Pass.  Along Hwy 410 it was in the lower 90's, quite warm for these parts.

Fife's Peak along Hwy 410, about 15 miles east of Chinook Pass

The temps did not drop until we reached Chinook Pass, still covered in snow.  We stopped at Tipsoo Lake for a photo op.

Jim and George

George and his clean FJR

While Jim took the photo two above Brian took this shot.

Feejers at Mt. Rainier

Tipsoo Lake still frozen on July 2012

A thawed Tipsoo Lake in August 2008

George and Brian

Mt. Rainier framed by trees.

It was an uneventful ride home.  Arriving at the entrance to my development, along the side of the road was a street vendor selling cherries.  I could have walked two block to get cherries, but the pleasure of being with friends on the cycles made the day.

The End.