|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
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. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
|
#4
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
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 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
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 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
|
#7
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
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 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
RR: Smokin' in the Boys' Room
"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 |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Give Cyclists Room | Padbeat | UK | 55 | June 21st 06 09:06 AM |
SELL this FBI NOC LIST and MAKE MILLIONS like TOM CRUISE did in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE | Keith | Mountain Biking | 3 | October 27th 04 09:07 AM |
Boys, boys, boys... calm down ;-) | dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers | UK | 10 | July 24th 04 08:38 PM |
the uni chat room | Mike_Foote | Unicycling | 9 | May 27th 04 04:14 PM |
Boys banned from riding to school Extract from BBC News page | Paul Moss | UK | 143 | April 20th 04 08:05 PM |