JWPT Take 2! - Day 1

We began our day in such a thick fog that you could hardly see the trail in front of you and it drenched us to the bone which also made us quite cold.  We also had to ride on the road from our house to a different trail access point because King County was renovating the trestles on the trail. We began our ride around 7 a.m. and headed straight out from our house towards Hyak on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.  We reached Rattlesnake Lake around lunch time and stopped for a rest and food.  By this time the sun was starting to come out and we were warming up, but still drenched with sweat and the morning fog.  The steady climb up to Hyak began after Rattlesnake Lake and it was hard going!  Neither of us had trained with weight and Nick hadn't trained the long distance we were doing on day 1.  For need and memory's sake we stopped at the waterfall from our July 2016 ride and refilled our water. After what felt like forever, we finally reached the Hyak tunnel and proceeded through.  We used the hot air blowers in the bathroom and hot water to warm up and dry as much of our gear as possible, then set-up camp a short ways down the trail. By the time we ate dinner and set-up camp it was dark and we fell into our sleeping bags.  It got quite cold that night, probably into the low 40's/high 30's and much of our gear did not dry completely.

**If you are needing trail directions please reference our July ride**

Memorable moments: Brutal day of riding! Started on the road from the house due to trail construction. Got on the trail at the white post. So foggy this morning we were drenched and the fog turned to rain on our glasses and helmets. We saw some friends on the way out and said a final farewell as they were moving away. Filtered water at the same waterfall the Trio did. Made it to Hyak!! Camped at the side of the trail after utilizing bathroom and hand dryers to wash and warm up.

Wildlife sightings: Grey squirrel, Townsend chipmunk, lots of Flickers and Juncos, beautiful fall colors

Vital stats:

51.02 miles

7:06:43

MXS = 28 mph

AVS = 7.1 mph

2,821.5 feet of elevation gain

37 trestles

2 tunnels

1 gate

Nick's GPS:

53 miles

10:49:00 (Nick forgot to turn the GPS off at rests and stops)

AVS = 4.59 mph

JWPT Take 2 - Day 1