JWPT Take 2! - Day 4

We were determined to make it home as once you leave Lake Easton there are few campsites between Lake Easton, Rattlesnake Lake and Duvall. The Snoqualmie Valley Trail does not allow camping off the trail, so we needed to push for home.  This was made much easier by the fact that what we had ridden up just a few short days prior we now got to ride down.

Memorable moments: Head wind. EPIC LONGEST DOWNHILL EVER!!! F16 flew over screaming up the I-90 canyon. Tons of people on the trail. We essentially rode around Lake Easton (we discovered this later on when we looked at our maps). Fabulous "you should" list compiled on the way down Snoqualmie Valley trail. Celebrated with dinner at the Duvall Grill.

Wildlife sightings: Douglas squirrels, 4 Townsend chipmunks, 4 soaring turkey vultures, 1 sage grouse, 1 bunny

Vital stats:
50 trestles
9 gates
3 tunnels
2.7 miles to trail start from Lake Easton campsite
ATM = 0:27:10
MXS = 17.6 mph
AVS = 5.9 mph
Once on the trail...
64.76 miles
ATM = 7:14:13
MXS = 16.7 mph
AVS = 8.9 mph

Nick's GPS:
66 miles
ATM = 9:01:49
MXS = 20.62 mph
AVS = 7.31 mph
840 feet elevation gain
2,887.1 elevation loss

JWPT Take 2 - Day 4

FINAL STATS

Total miles ridden: 250.22

Total hours in the saddle: 25:45:11

Total trestles: 148

Total gates: 48

Total tunnels: 11

Total canyon cut-throughs: 64

Total elevation gain: 4,379.5

Total elevation loss: 4,022.1

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

JWPT Take 2! - Day 0

After seeing our struggles and triumphs on the JWPT, and me throwing out ideas, Nick decided that he wanted to ride a portion of the trail and see what it was like.  We planned for a couple of months and trained for about 6 weeks. It was pretty funny to complete our training rides and see signs for an upcoming marathon and know we were going much further!

We chose the latter part of September to ride due to scheduling and intended to ride from Duvall to the Prater Road detour, turn around and ride back home.

We used our Specialized hybrid bikes with touring tires, 4 panniers each, I had a handlebar bag and Nick had a small stem bag for holding snacks.  We did not have a satellite tracker, but gave our route to family and friends and also used our Garmin GPS unit which had emergency capabilities if we had any difficulties.  I knew that for the section of trail we'd be riding we would have occasional cell reception and could check in as needed.

Day 0 saw much packing, planning and putting things together as we intended to start our day bright and early...

JWPT Take 2 - Day 0

2016 John Wayne Pioneer Trail - Day 1

In order to keep track of each day we established a lovely ritual to end each day.  We would sit in our tents and call out our memorable moments, what we saw/smelled/tasted/heard, and record our stats. It was a wonderful way to end each day and remember all that we had accomplished.  At first I wrote everything in my journal, but that was quickly filling up with plant specimens I was gathering to make an herbarium for an Ethnobotany class I was taking.  I started using my cell phone to record our day in a Keep note.  One thing that helped pass the time was counting how many bridges/trestles we crossed, tunnels we went through and canyon cut-throughs we rode in.

Trail riding notes: We didn't immediately start on the JWPT, because we began our ride in Duvall and thus began on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. Duvall is technically the beginning of the Milwaukee railbed trail and leads directly into the JWPT. The SVT is an "easy" ride with a lovely gravel bed and gentle elevation gain that begins around the town of Carnation.  The scenery is lush trees, vegetation, wild flowers, rivers/streams, and only a couple of road crossings that are fairly easy.  After you cross the Tokul Trestle, the trail ends approximately one mile later when you reach the Tokul tunnel. Climb the steep stairs or steep trail up onto Tokul road; follow the road to the round-about where you can either ride into Snoqualmie or you can continue around the round-about onto Mill Pond Road. Directions for riding through Snoqualmie: continue off the round-about and cross the Snoqualmie River, there is a small bike trail that runs along the right side of the road to the old Snoqualmie train depot where there is a HUGE old growth stump. At this point you need to move to riding on the road for a short distance, turn left on SE River Street, road makes a natural curve to the right and becomes Park Ave SE; follow until you see the Mount Si Golf Course on the left; turn left into the driveway to the golf course and then turn right onto the JWPT. Directions for riding Mill Pond Road: proceed around the round-about and take Mill Pond Road; when you reach the stop sign, turn left onto SE Reinig Road; you will see the trestle on the right side of the road.  Proceed up the stairs and onto the trestle to continue on the trail. When the trail reaches Rattlesnake Lake, stay on the trail as it narrows and curves around to the left of the road.  You will reach several picnic tables that are perfect for a lunching spot and there are pit toilets to use.  Proceed past the picnic tables and follow the clearly marked signs through the narrow, short, winding trail that will lead you up and around to Iron Horse State Park and the JWPT.  Turn left onto the JWPT and begin your climbing!  The trail gains approximately 1,800 feet of elevation as it climbs to the Hyak tunnel over the next 21 miles.  There are several primitive camping spots along the way with pit toilets, water access and dry camp sites.  A couple of waterfalls lend themselves to water filtering and refilling water.

Here's the entry...

Super late start as we figured out gear and worked through issues.  Excruciating ride! Towards the end there was no break from the grade.  So many plants and filled my journal with several.  Gorged ourselves on thimble berries and salmon berries.  Running low on water when we found a beautiful waterfall to refill from and a short ways up the trail found a flattish spot to setup camp off the side of the trail. Unsure of exact location, ~9 miles from Hyak. Smells of berries ripening in the sun, Hemlock and Douglas Fir pitch.

Wildlife sightings: 7 garter snakes, 2 Douglas squirrels - one with its mouth stuffed with vegetation

Memorable moments:

• Sandy fell, no injury - she earned the trail name of Princess Buttercup as she fell into a patch of buttercups!
• My mom's front bag kept falling off
• Sandy's side bag came loose and had to be retightened
• Stopped to take lots of pictures, pick flowers/plants and eat berries

Vital stats:

33 trestle/bridge crossings

1 tunnel

43.91 miles

ATM (actual time moving) = 6:03:20

MXS (max speed) = 19.3 mph

AVS (average speed) = 7.2 mph

JWPT Day 1

Planning and Strategizing

During training we also had a lot of planning to do.  I used numerous resources to work on planning our trip:

• Figuring out detailed descriptions of the trail sections - I've included this document as well in our helpful links.  This will help you know approximate trail section distances, resources available along the way, resources in towns and also has lots of other references to check out.
• History - the John Wayne Pioneer Trail has a rich history that I have absolutely loved discovering and learning about.  I feel this is a very important part of riding the trail.  Learning about the history of this trail made the ride so much more memorable.  Please read the Friends of the John Wayne Pioneer trail website to learn about the trail.
• Trail etiquette - it is extremely important to follow trail etiquette.  There is much work being done to create a partnership between those who live alongside the trail, the towns the trail passes through, trail organizations/partners, and private land owners whose land the trail crosses.  In the process of these partnerships, sadly, some contention has arisen; especially related to gates and land crossings.  If a detour is required, especially if the detour is due to the trail crossing private land, you need to follow these detours.  Some detours you can change and ride on back farm roads; again, make sure these are not farm roads on private land.  If you camp along the trail, at campsites or in towns be sure you keep spaces clean; ask before using parks (all the cities/towns I emailed and reached out to were delighted to have us stay!); please be very respectful and friendly with the people you interact with.  I have not revealed names of some of our trail angels to respect their privacy, but at no point was anyone unkind or unfriendly when we asked for help, water or shelter.  People are very proud of this trail, its history, and the work being done to keep the trail alive and open.  Please help keep it this way!
• Maps - we used a satellite tracker from DeLorme (now run by Garmin) that allowed us to upload our intended route for each day so people could follow our journey and we would have a resource if any emergency arose.  I used Google maps to look very closely at detours, plan our route and then my dad would upload this information to mapshare.
• Gear, food, supplies, bikes, etc. - I could go on and on about these things, but this is all in our Resources Galore! page.  Please check it out!
• Reading other blogs and the history of the trail to gather intel and ideas.  We learned that the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is 31.5 miles long with ~948 feet of elevation gain.  We discovered that the JWPT is ~253 miles long from Rattlesnake Lake in Issaquah to the Washington-Idaho border north of Tekoa and that it is the longest rail-trail conversion in the United States.
• Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - this website is fabulous!  I used it to find maps, trail descriptions and as much information as possible about the trails we would be riding on.
• Permits - you will need two different ones.  A permit for the section of trail from Beverly to Lind that you acquire from the Department of Natural Resources.  The second permit is for the section of trail from Lind to Tekoa and you acquire this one from Washington State Parks.  You do not need a permit for the western section of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail; however, you should have a Discover Pass with you if you camp along this section (which you will!).  You need the permits for several reasons: they are required, rules of the trail are included (observing private property, closing and locking gates behind you, etc.), for the codes that will help you get through gates, and the permits include maps.
• Itinerary - this was a detailed document we gave to our support team with details of our route, mileage and where we intended to spend each night.  When we were out on the trail this became quite fluid based on what happened each day and how many miles we were actually able to ride.  Itinerary for Nick & Rachel's September 2016 ride and Itinerary for 2017 Ride

Planning & Strategizing