RR - Mt. St. Helens Solo I am staying in Chehelis, Washington with grandma right now. Last time I visited her, I crawled through Ape Cave and have wanted to mtb there ever since. She isn't doin the best so I went up to spend some time with her and brought my bike along. I stopped in Oregon and went on a camping tour with Cogwild along the McKenzie River on the way up (a RR for another thread). I decided to give her a break and head out to Mt. St. Helens. Headed out from Chehalis early Sunday morning and tried not to crash as I couldn't help but gawk at the Lewis River to my right! I headed up the trail around 0930 and probably went the slowest 2 miles of my life. We just don't have trails THAT green down here! It was even more green than Oregon. So unbelievably amazing and awesome! Through the trees they have these trails known as "magic carpet" a layer of fallen pine needles on hard packed hero dirt. I couldn't help but sing Aladdin's "On a magic carpet ride..." over and over again as it magically carried me up it. I also had A LOT of fun with my Gorillapod and self-timer (HAHA!) After emerging from the trees and Mt. St. Helens started peaking through, I couldn't help but keep exclaiming to myself how amazing this was! Then the first view point with both the volcano and Mt. Adams just took my breathe away. There were a TON of mtbers out which was really neat. I stayed for over an hour there because I wanted a chance to just take in all that majestic beauty in solitude. After a bit of trepidation I continued up the side of the volcano on the pumice and scree and SO HAPPY I did, the trail was a lot wider than it looked from the vantage point. And then the VIEWS, oh the VIEWS once the Plains of Abraham began... Traversing the Plains was definitely my favorite part of the ride. I have never been on a trail that feels flat (or down) BOTH ways (I've been on plenty that have felt UPHILL both ways... LOL!). The Lupine made it seem like I was riding through a sea of purple. I loved the little rocks here and there, esp in the drainages to add in just a tiny bit of tech. I reached the intersection of Ape Canyon Trail and Lowitt Trail (4 miles to Windy Ridge) and was contemplating whether to go on or not since the predetermined time was approaching to turn-around. Luckily, a couple of mtbers passed by and said it was definitely worth keeping on despite the pushing that may be involved since you get a different view of the volcano and a peak at Spirit Lake. It was a fun little descent until the pushing began. I even pushed some of the slight downhill sections as the skinny trail ascended to the ridge. Being solo and a fear of heights/exposure don't mix (ha!)! I walked probably a lot more than I should have. But on the bright side, it allowed for more time to enjoy the flowers and the view! With so much HABing, time was really getting on and I asked a few backpackers if it was worth going on. They assured me in a few hundred feet I would see the back of the volcano and there it was! So cool! I could see a really fun looking descent along the ridge that would have probably taken me to the stairs but 1) it was getting really late and I didn't want to worry my grandma and 2) the exposure was getting to me! I knew even if I was so close to my destination, it was wise to turn around. It saved something for next time ;-) and I could really enjoy my ride back to the car without a nagging time pressure (ie time for even more pics! hehe). It was really neat to see the increase in water level in the drainages. After all the climbing in the trees again, it was a rip-roaring FUN descent!!! This ride was one of the most amazing riding experiences I have ever had. It was simply MAJESTIC (the term "magical" is still reserved for riding in Sedona, but *gasp* this experience even surpassed ANY of that riding even!) I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do this solo. There was no pressure to get anywhere, no pressure to not stop whenever I wanted to snap a photo, and it added an entirely different level of "awesome" riding through the different terrains in solitude. I have to be honest, there were times that it was a little eerie and nerve-wracking being solo but I wouldn't have it any other way!
Nice! Makes me wonder why I left. I lived in Rochester ( very close to chealis) when Mt. St Helens erupted In May 1980. We had ash 4 ft deep in our back yard.
Excellent! brave girl to solo it. But truth be known I prefer rides like that alone, I just don't like to camp and travel alone. Dean
Tara, I,m sooo... Jealous!! beautiful pics!! Great RR!! Lucky!!!!............................................................ :clap:
Me Tooo Wow Thanks...You are my hero of the day.... passion, endurance beauty AND common sense all shared! Thanks!
Great RR! I rode the whole trail back in 2010 with Dirtmistress, Dirtvert, and a local Charlie who gave us the grand tour. It was one of the best trails, if not the best, I've ever ridden. Thanks for the memories!
Awesome Tara, thanks for the RR! Such an incredible area. Looks like you're having a great time on your solo trip. Stoked for you! :beer:
LOL!!! You know it!!! I took over 450 pics... edited down to 165... then was able to narrow it down to 59 for facebook. It only took over a day to do so! :lol: For this RR, I just copied and pasted from my thread on mtbr so the it left out some of the flower pics (discussed in a different post in that thread). I also didn't want to bombard those people with pics... LOL! I also have about 8 more GIFs.... Solo rides are FUN! Here is a link to more pics in my facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101741766737324.1073741835.3302693&type=1&l=0ef111c606
One of the best RR's I've seen in a while.I used to live and travel throught the northwest and I know how beautiful it can be. I envy you. I hope to ride this some day.
