RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room

ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
"How about we -" "GREAT!" I shot back. "Doesn't matter what, let's just
get the hell outta Dodge!" She was at my house in a jiffy & we loaded up
the camping & biking gear. Armed with one set of directions and three
conflicting maps, we made our way up to Ape Canyon on Mt St Helens. It
was nearly dark when we arrived, and we didn't feel like pitching the
tent, so we threw down a tarp, flipped out the bags, popped a couple of
cold ones & watched the moon come up. Next thing I know it's just before
dawn & ER is telling me a couple of elk just sauntered on by and are
standing a ways off watching us. We slept a couple more hours and decided
that if the cloud cover burnt off, we'd roast, so we'd best giddy up & hit
the trail. Plus, the mountain was smoking.

I'd been told that Ape Canyon & the Plains of Abraham weren't worth
riding. The pumice fields make staying on the bike a dicey proposition,
especially with the trails drying out as quickly as they are this year,
but even if you walk the whole 20 miles it's worth the trip. (Just make
sure you allow enough time & take plenty of water!)

The first five or so miles were a fairly steady uphill on a treed ridge
next to the lahar. We got views of Hood, Adams, Rainier, and of course
Ol' Smoky herself at various spots during the climb. The very first
section of the trail was dry, loose, and getting rutted, but once we moved
into the big trees, it changed to that firm pine duff with a few rooty
sections. Yum. The uphill continued after we left the forest -
exchanging the pine duff for pumice of various grades - and we were
treated to those sweeping vistas they mention in the guide books: the
slopes of St Helens all the way down into Ape Canyon & on up to Adams.
Wow.

The trail became overall flatter once we hit the Plains of Abe proper, and
now we were spinning our way through fields of paintbrush, penstemon, and
lupine. Hummingbirds swooped over our heads. They always give me a
bit of a start at first because they sound like wasps that took too many
anabolic steroids. Huge parts of the area have very little vegetation and
are completely silent except for the wind & the waterfalls high above on
the mountain; then we'd pass through a small creek around which various
shrubs had sprouted and be nearly deafened by the chirping of the insects.

One last uphill grunt & we were at the top of the downhill to Windy Ridge
- a downhill which required us to ride "the blade of a knife-edged ridge"
according to one description. It looked a lot worse than it really was,
at least until we came to the top of the log + cable steps that are rigged
into the side of the hill. We stood there discussing whether we wanted to
hike-a-bike down, knowing we'd have to hike-a-bike back up, when up rides
a hot young stud who takes the plunge without pausing and then endos 1/3
of the way down. From where ER & I were standing it looked like he was a
goner, over & off the edge, but he recovered as his equally hot &
equally young friend pulled up. We chatted with them for a bit & left
them to their testosterone-fueled madness.

Ape Canyon + Plains of Abe is an out-and-back, which I don't usually like,
but on this trail we couldn't possibly take in all the spectacular scenery
from one direction. The trip back gave us a good look at the ridges with
trees that had just been flattened by the 1980 blast, lying there like
matchsticks, bleached white against the returning ground cover.

On top of the scenery, this trail is just plain fun to ride. Parts of it
were scary due to the looseness of the surface (Note to Self: swap out
tires for Dart/Smoke next time), but the trail flow is entertaining.
Banked switchbacks? Yee-haw!

Bring: lots of water. Water sources on the Plains of Abe are getting
unreliable at this time of year & will be non-existent later. Shade is
also non-existent so wear lots of sunscreen. Throw your dry clothes in
the cooler on top of your beer so you have something fun to put on when
you get back to the car. Arrive early, because it gets hot out there &
the parking lot only has about 8 spots which fill up quickly.

gabrielle

gabrielle wrote:
ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
"How about we -" "GREAT!" I shot back. "Doesn't matter what, let's just
get the hell outta Dodge!" She was at my house in a jiffy & we loaded up
the camping & biking gear. Armed with one set of directions and three
conflicting maps, we made our way up to Ape Canyon on Mt St Helens. It
was nearly dark when we arrived, and we didn't feel like pitching the
tent, so we threw down a tarp, flipped out the bags, popped a couple of
cold ones & watched the moon come up. Next thing I know it's just before
dawn & ER is telling me a couple of elk just sauntered on by and are
standing a ways off watching us. We slept a couple more hours and decided
that if the cloud cover burnt off, we'd roast, so we'd best giddy up & hit
the trail. Plus, the mountain was smoking.

I'd been told that Ape Canyon & the Plains of Abraham weren't worth
riding. The pumice fields make staying on the bike a dicey proposition,
especially with the trails drying out as quickly as they are this year,
but even if you walk the whole 20 miles it's worth the trip. (Just make
sure you allow enough time & take plenty of water!)

The first five or so miles were a fairly steady uphill on a treed ridge
next to the lahar. We got views of Hood, Adams, Rainier, and of course
Ol' Smoky herself at various spots during the climb. The very first
section of the trail was dry, loose, and getting rutted, but once we moved
into the big trees, it changed to that firm pine duff with a few rooty
sections. Yum. The uphill continued after we left the forest -
exchanging the pine duff for pumice of various grades - and we were
treated to those sweeping vistas they mention in the guide books: the
slopes of St Helens all the way down into Ape Canyon & on up to Adams.
Wow.

The trail became overall flatter once we hit the Plains of Abe proper, and
now we were spinning our way through fields of paintbrush, penstemon, and
lupine. Hummingbirds swooped over our heads. They always give me a
bit of a start at first because they sound like wasps that took too many
anabolic steroids. Huge parts of the area have very little vegetation and
are completely silent except for the wind & the waterfalls high above on
the mountain; then we'd pass through a small creek around which various
shrubs had sprouted and be nearly deafened by the chirping of the insects.

One last uphill grunt & we were at the top of the downhill to Windy Ridge
- a downhill which required us to ride "the blade of a knife-edged ridge"
according to one description. It looked a lot worse than it really was,
at least until we came to the top of the log + cable steps that are rigged
into the side of the hill. We stood there discussing whether we wanted to
hike-a-bike down, knowing we'd have to hike-a-bike back up, when up rides
a hot young stud who takes the plunge without pausing and then endos 1/3
of the way down. From where ER & I were standing it looked like he was a
goner, over & off the edge, but he recovered as his equally hot &
equally young friend pulled up. We chatted with them for a bit & left
them to their testosterone-fueled madness.

Ape Canyon + Plains of Abe is an out-and-back, which I don't usually like,
but on this trail we couldn't possibly take in all the spectacular scenery
from one direction. The trip back gave us a good look at the ridges with
trees that had just been flattened by the 1980 blast, lying there like
matchsticks, bleached white against the returning ground cover.

On top of the scenery, this trail is just plain fun to ride. Parts of it
were scary due to the looseness of the surface (Note to Self: swap out
tires for Dart/Smoke next time), but the trail flow is entertaining.
Banked switchbacks? Yee-haw!

Bring: lots of water. Water sources on the Plains of Abe are getting
unreliable at this time of year & will be non-existent later. Shade is
also non-existent so wear lots of sunscreen. Throw your dry clothes in
the cooler on top of your beer so you have something fun to put on when
you get back to the car. Arrive early, because it gets hot out there &
the parking lot only has about 8 spots which fill up quickly.

gabrielle I was thinking maybe Brownsmill Station or Motley Crue not St. Helens. Wow its been 26 years CNN and the Volcano.

wrote:
gabrielle wrote:

ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
snip
gabrielle I was thinking maybe Brownsmill Station or Motley Crue not St. Helens. Wow its been 26 years CNN and the Volcano.


Nice, Gab. Sounds like it was a good time.

The guy who wrote that song, Mike Lutz was a workout buddy of my
parents' in the 80's. I always knew him as that guy with the funny
stretch pants, and he told us he was in a band, but as kids we were like
"yeah, whatever".
Then Motley Crew covered it and it became huge. When my brother and I
put it all together it blew our minds! Then I just saw him on VH1 doing
an interview just a few months ago. So THAT's why he had those goofy
(80's metal-style) stretch pants to work out in! Nice guy though.

Matt

gabrielle wrote:
ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
"How about we -" "GREAT!" I shot back. "Doesn't matter what, let's just
get the hell outta Dodge!" She was at my house in a jiffy & we loaded up
the camping & biking gear. Armed with one set of directions and three
conflicting maps, we made our way up to Ape Canyon on Mt St Helens. It
was nearly dark when we arrived, and we didn't feel like pitching the
tent, so we threw down a tarp, flipped out the bags, popped a couple of
cold ones & watched the moon come up. Next thing I know it's just before
dawn & ER is telling me a couple of elk just sauntered on by and are
standing a ways off watching us. We slept a couple more hours and decided
that if the cloud cover burnt off, we'd roast, so we'd best giddy up & hit
the trail. Plus, the mountain was smoking.

I'd been told that Ape Canyon & the Plains of Abraham weren't worth
riding. The pumice fields make staying on the bike a dicey proposition,
especially with the trails drying out as quickly as they are this year,
but even if you walk the whole 20 miles it's worth the trip. (Just make
sure you allow enough time & take plenty of water!)

The first five or so miles were a fairly steady uphill on a treed ridge
next to the lahar. We got views of Hood, Adams, Rainier, and of course
Ol' Smoky herself at various spots during the climb. The very first
section of the trail was dry, loose, and getting rutted, but once we moved
into the big trees, it changed to that firm pine duff with a few rooty
sections. Yum. The uphill continued after we left the forest -
exchanging the pine duff for pumice of various grades - and we were
treated to those sweeping vistas they mention in the guide books: the
slopes of St Helens all the way down into Ape Canyon & on up to Adams.
Wow.

The trail became overall flatter once we hit the Plains of Abe proper, and
now we were spinning our way through fields of paintbrush, penstemon, and
lupine. Hummingbirds swooped over our heads. They always give me a
bit of a start at first because they sound like wasps that took too many
anabolic steroids. Huge parts of the area have very little vegetation and
are completely silent except for the wind & the waterfalls high above on
the mountain; then we'd pass through a small creek around which various
shrubs had sprouted and be nearly deafened by the chirping of the insects.

One last uphill grunt & we were at the top of the downhill to Windy Ridge
- a downhill which required us to ride "the blade of a knife-edged ridge"
according to one description. It looked a lot worse than it really was,
at least until we came to the top of the log + cable steps that are rigged
into the side of the hill. We stood there discussing whether we wanted to
hike-a-bike down, knowing we'd have to hike-a-bike back up, when up rides
a hot young stud who takes the plunge without pausing and then endos 1/3
of the way down. From where ER & I were standing it looked like he was a
goner, over & off the edge, but he recovered as his equally hot &
equally young friend pulled up. We chatted with them for a bit & left
them to their testosterone-fueled madness.

Ape Canyon + Plains of Abe is an out-and-back, which I don't usually like,
but on this trail we couldn't possibly take in all the spectacular scenery
from one direction. The trip back gave us a good look at the ridges with
trees that had just been flattened by the 1980 blast, lying there like
matchsticks, bleached white against the returning ground cover.

On top of the scenery, this trail is just plain fun to ride. Parts of it
were scary due to the looseness of the surface (Note to Self: swap out
tires for Dart/Smoke next time), but the trail flow is entertaining.
Banked switchbacks? Yee-haw!

Bring: lots of water. Water sources on the Plains of Abe are getting
unreliable at this time of year & will be non-existent later. Shade is
also non-existent so wear lots of sunscreen. Throw your dry clothes in
the cooler on top of your beer so you have something fun to put on when
you get back to the car. Arrive early, because it gets hot out there &
the parking lot only has about 8 spots which fill up quickly.

gabrielle

Wow! Sounds very, very cool. Still on my very short list of out of
town riding. (Even now that my parents moved away from that area a
year ago....)

Do G-Man, JD & I look as hot as those boys you followed??

CDB

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:14:43 -0700, Paladin wrote:

Wow! Sounds very, very cool. Still on my very short list of out of town
riding. (Even now that my parents moved away from that area a year
ago....)
I'd put this one on the lifetime must-do list.

Do G-Man, JD & I look as hot as those boys you followed??

pfffft...they were as guttering candles before your blazing bonfires.

gabrielle

wrote:
I was thinking maybe Brownsmill Station or Motley Crue not St. Helens. Wow its been 26 years CNN and the Volcano.


It was "Brownsville Station" and "Joe vs The Volcano", not Brownsmill
and CNN.

JD

gabrielle wrote:
ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
"How about we -" "GREAT!" I shot back. "Doesn't matter what, let's just
get the hell outta Dodge!" She was at my house in a jiffy & we loaded up
the camping & biking gear. Armed with one set of directions and three
conflicting maps, we made our way up to Ape Canyon on Mt St Helens. It
was nearly dark when we arrived, and we didn't feel like pitching the
tent, so we threw down a tarp, flipped out the bags, popped a couple of
cold ones & watched the moon come up. Next thing I know it's just before
dawn & ER is telling me a couple of elk just sauntered on by and are
standing a ways off watching us. We slept a couple more hours and decided
that if the cloud cover burnt off, we'd roast, so we'd best giddy up & hit
the trail. Plus, the mountain was smoking.
snip

Ape was closed when I was there a few years back, It was the beginning
of the new dome formation and the USGS was too nervous. In fact most of
the trails for 30 miles were closed at that time. Would have been great
from your description.


--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

"Ride-A-Lot" wrote in message
...
gabrielle wrote:
ER called me on Saturday to see if I still needed to get out of town.
"How about we -" "GREAT!" I shot back. "Doesn't matter what, let's just
get the hell outta Dodge!" She was at my house in a jiffy & we loaded up
the camping & biking gear. Armed with one set of directions and three
conflicting maps, we made our way up to Ape Canyon on Mt St Helens. It
was nearly dark when we arrived, and we didn't feel like pitching the
tent, so we threw down a tarp, flipped out the bags, popped a couple of
cold ones & watched the moon come up. Next thing I know it's just before
dawn & ER is telling me a couple of elk just sauntered on by and are
standing a ways off watching us. We slept a couple more hours and
decided
that if the cloud cover burnt off, we'd roast, so we'd best giddy up &
hit
the trail. Plus, the mountain was smoking.
snip

Ape was closed when I was there a few years back, It was the beginning of
the new dome formation and the USGS was too nervous. In fact most of the
trails for 30 miles were closed at that time. Would have been great from
your description.


http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/mis.../IMG_2312.html
Got to fly over it during that time period. Who-hoo, entering restricted air
space!!



--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws