Friday, February 3, 2017

Day Three Summary, Finally an End to the Gravel - HOOD 300!

Start: Lake Easton State Park
End: Yakima
Miles: 76
Time: 6 hours, 01 minute

Elevation Gain: -1126 (Predominately DOWN HILL!)
Date: Wed, May 25th, 2016


So this day was going to be the first long day on the trip. 76 miles. I also needed to close out the John Wayne Trail (JWT) portion of my tour, which saw me riding the gravel grade for 68 miles total yesterday and the day before. Upon the first pedal stroke that morning, I had 29 miles of gravel remaining.



The trail, all things considered, is fairly fair in how it treats bicycle riders. The surface is mostly even, mostly firm pack and mostly fun. But, I was starting to get beat up by the constant gravel and rattle. I was looking forward to black pavement again.

I raised the campsite.

I headed back over the highway 90 bridge to the Parkside Café for breakfast.

I ran into a fellow bicycle traveler at the café. He was heading from Seattle to the George Concert venue by none other than a Long John cargo bike. This was the type of bike he was pedaling. Replace box with cycle gear and camping equipment and this was his conveyance.




It was quite a sight. He asked me about riding on Bluett pass to get to Leavenworth and I said it could be done, really, most of it is wide shoulders (I did it in 2012 on my first tour ... none other than the 2012 Cascade Traverse Bi-Pedal Expedition to Save Human Folly). But this was the conversation at the breakfast table and I had not yet seen his weapon of touring choice. I sure hope all went well. 

The weather that morning was blue sky clear but the gusts were kicking up and I knew where I was heading was to be very windy. Most of central Washington is peppered with renewable energy wind farms. Reason: most winds blow W to E as the warmer air of the central part of the state creates convective lift and the cooler air is sucked in from the west through the Cascades and pummels the center part of the state. 



The good thing is it turned out to be a tailwind. As soon as I rejoined the JWT, I picked up the gusts like I had a spinnaker sail on the front of the bike.

So the 28 miles of gravel seemed to go pretty quick. It was flat or slightly downhill and I even hit a couple more train tunnels. This is one of the Thorp Tunnels (tunnels #46 and #47) on Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad on the JWT. The tunnels were closed in 2009 due to hazardous conditions. One has since been fortified and repaired, but the other is still in bad shape, but you can enter at your own risk - if you sign a waiver!

This was posted at the entrance.

Public safety notifications for Tunnels 46 and 47 (near Thorp) if you enter these tunnels you do so at your own risk. Prior to entering the tunnels visitors are required to fill out a waiver form and place it in the drop box located at the entrance of each tunnel.

But, the tunnels are only about 75 yards long and I ventured into the rough one and did so sans waiver. Take that!





As I rode further east I was getting closer to the town of Thorp. I could see the iconic fruit stand off in the distance. I figured this would be my jump off point and get back to pavement riding. I’d stop at the stand for lunch.




I was feeling pretty good after lunch. I only had 48 more miles to Yakima and it was for all intent and purposes all down hill – and on pavement!

Leaving Thorp I skirted highway 90 on the south side and I arrived in Ellensburg in about 20 minutes. Weaved my way through some industrial side roads to move through E-burg and soon I was on hwy 821 entering the Yakima River Canyon.

Let me give you a high level look at why I love this road so much (have ridden it many times on my motorcycle). Meandering and curvy - all the while though canyon land.



On its way to join the Columbia River, the Yakima River cuts from the Kittitas Valley (Ellensburg) southward through four major ridges: the Manastash Ridge, the Umtanum Ridge, the Yakima Ridge, and the Ahtanum Ridge to reach the Yakima Valley. This makes for some striking scenery.







The canyon is about 22 miles long and it’s a lovely afternoon. The wind has died down and the best part as I rode closer to my destination, I would be in a bed tonight! See, last night, a bit tired from camping for two nights, I called a trip route "audible" in Easton and rather than camp again for the 3rd night outside of Yakima, I booked a hotel for the night. Brilliant!

I road into town after about 75 miles and found the hotel, took a cat nap, showered and headed out for dinner at one of me and Jen’s favorite places - Cowiche Canyon Kitchen and Icehouse. Not too shabby for a bicycle tour!



A few other pics from the day:





Map/distance of the days ride:



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