We rode from Rosalia to Tekoa and then the final 5 miles to the actual Washington/Idaho border. Conceivably you could ride from Pine City to Tekoa. Please refer to our
Day 8 post that includes directions around the removed Rosalia trestle and through the Rosalia marsh. You really begin to relish the change in scenery as you start traveling towards Tekoa. Aspen groves, Ponderosa Pines and other evergreens intersperse with marshes, thick vegetation, and rolling fields of wheat, alfalfa, chamomile and other agriculture. This is also an area where there are large egg distribution centers and seed producers. There are huge marshes outside of Tekoa and when we rode in 2016 they were impassable; however, in 2017 these areas had been mowed and vegetation killed back so we were able to ride quite a ways through the marsh. There is definitely a spot you reach where you could choose to wade through or just hop up on the road, ride a short ways and return back to the trail. There aren't any road or trail signs to indicate where these short detours are, you will just have to sense for yourself and choose ways that work best for you.
The trail officially ends in Tekoa, just up the main road where there is a large sign called "Slippery Gulch", however, if you want to reach the actual WA/ID border you'll need to ride up and onto the trail for the 5 miles to the true border. The Tekoa Trestle has no decking and there is no way around it so you have to watch for a small road that will take you up on to a farm road you can ride into Tekoa. If the marshes are overgrown again, then you can ride the farm roads into Tekoa. I've included directions below with farm road detours and staying on the trail. Tekoa has a couple of restaurants, a market and a
wonderful, somewhat self-serve, B&B -
Tekoa Lodging. We had our family meet us at the border for celebrating our accomplishment and a ride home!
Trail riding notes:
- Rosalia to Tekoa with farm road detours: As you leave Rosalia, ride North back on S Park Ave, left on W 7th St, left on Horlacher Road, left up onto the trail (you'll see the gate and signs). Once up on the trail you will have to wade through the Rosalia marsh; follow the trail for 6 miles. At this point, you will reach a huge trestle that no longer exists; you need to walk to the left and up onto Pandora Road; turn right and ride down Pandora Road, then right on Wilhelm Road; follow Wilhelm Road for 0.1 miles and then left back up onto the trail. Follow the trail for another 6.6 miles, you will notice the trail bed significantly changes from gravel to thick marsh grass as you look North into a canyon cut-through. There is a tiny dirt road of about 500 feet long to the right and you can take this to get on the farm road detour; turn left onto Lone Pine Rd; follow Lone Pine Rd for 5.2 miles (LOTS of hills) and then it makes a natural left hand turn, cross the bridge and then ride up to Hwy 27; turn right onto the highway and follow for 0.2 miles, then turn left onto Spring Street (if you wanted to go into Tekoa and take pictures at the Slippery Gulch sign and trail end you would ride 0.6 miles down Hwy 27 and turn right onto Crosby Street; the sign will be on your right); follow Spring Street for 0.3 miles, it dead-ends in a T at Washington Street; turn right onto WA Street, then left onto the trail. Finish the trail in 5.3 miles where there is a small sign to the left that states "End of WA DNR Milwaukee Road Corridor".
- Rosalia to Tekoa via the marsh: As you leave Rosalia, ride North back on S Park Ave, left on W 7th St, left on Horlacher Road, left up onto the trail (you'll see the gate and signs). Once up on the trail you will have to wade through the Rosalia marsh; follow the trail for 6 miles. At this point, you will reach a huge trestle that no longer exists; you need to walk to the left and up onto Pandora Road; turn right and ride down Pandora Road, then right on Wilhelm Road; follow Wilhelm Road for 0.1 miles and then left back up onto the trail. Follow the trail for another 6.6 miles, you will notice the trail bed significantly changes from gravel to thick marsh grass as you look North into a canyon cut-through. If the marsh is passable, you can go ahead and keep riding! Follow the trail for another 2.2 miles; at this point (in 2017) we reached an extremely soggy, overgrown marsh and diverted up onto the road for a short ways. Turn left onto Chase Road, right onto Lone Pine Road and follow for 1.2 miles; at 0.1 miles on Lone Pine Road stay to the right at the Y to continue on Lone Pine Road; at 1.2 miles turn right on a dirt road (no name) then left back onto the JWPT. Follow the trail for 1.1 miles where you need to exit onto the farm road to ride into Tekoa as there is no way down from the absent trestle; turn left onto Summer Road for 200 feet, then right onto Lone Pine Road; follow the road for 1.1 miles and then it makes a natural left hand turn, cross the bridge and then ride up to Hwy 27; turn right onto the highway and follow for 0.2 miles, then turn left onto Spring Street (if you wanted to go into Tekoa and take pictures at the Slippery Gulch sign and trail end you would ride 0.6 miles down Hwy 27 and turn right onto Crosby Street; the sign will be on your right); follow Spring Street for 0.3 miles, it dead-ends in a T at Washington Street; turn right onto WA Street, then left onto the trail. Finish the trail in 5.3 miles where there is a small sign to the left that states "End of WA DNR Milwaukee Road Corridor".
Memorable moments: Pouring rain in the morning; waded through a marsh first thing; Mama was ecstatic that she had decided to put on her long pants and keep them on! We ended up wading into Lone Pine marsh a ways before turning around, where we spotted our friends and my hubby, Nick, riding down the road towards us. We ended up riding the road into Tekoa all together. Back in the Pines and rolling wheat fields. Nick was at the finish line with a toilet paper line and videoing, took tons of pictures and waited about 2 hours for my dad, sister and brother-in-law to arrive. We said our goodbyes and ate an epic dinner at our friends'!
Wildlife sightings: 6 coyotes, 2 red tailed hawks, 1 harrier, 1 owl, 2 mice, 2 chipmunks, birds bathing in puddle
Vital stats:
70 canyon cut-throughs, 7 bridges/trestles, 8 trestle bypasses
Duvall to Tekoa = ~10,000 foot elevation gain and 8,000 foot decline
27.19 miles
ATM = 4:06:05
MXS = 20.6 mph
AVS = 6.6 mph
