Bikepack - Lost Lake

Inaugural Mountaineers bikepacking Summer trip to Lost lake. (Emma and Brian did the inaugural _Winter_ fat bike bikepacking outing back in March 2023, floating on and sinking in snow. :-) Also, mentored leader ride for moi (Dominique) under the kind and expert supervision of Emma. 

[UPDATED 07/09 -- ride now goes _clockwise_, to get the hard bit out of the way the first day, and go _down_ the harder, rutted and rocky section.]

Straight forward outing, nice loop with a pretty mountain lake as destination, mid-week so we can hope for a fairly quiet time. We’ll ride a couple miles on flat gravel road following the Cascade to Palouse trail (formerly Iron Horse trail), then 5.5 miles riding up ~1700 ft on a nice and wide gravel road that turns into a double-track higher up. Rather relentless climb, with a couple pitches over 10%, but with pretty decent terrain: there should be less rocky and rutted sections than going the other way. I'll probably hike-a-bike on the steeper pitches. Once at the top, we ride down 3 miles/1100 ft elevation loss to reach the lake: the double-track is pretty rutted and rocky in parts, but on the downhill should not prove too difficult. We’ll find a dispersed camping site close to the lake to set up our tents, tarps or hammocks, then can take a nap, go swimming or fishing, or go explore around the lake on (lightened up) bikes.

Next morning, return trip will be short and sweet: less than 3 miles all downhill, loosing ~600 ft elevation, on a wide and well maintained gravel road to get back to the Cascade to Palouse trail for the final flat couple of miles. We should have plenty time for a leisurely breakfast & a swim before packing up and heading down the hill to get back mid-afternoon to the cars and beat rush hour traffic to get home.

The downhill portion, specially the first day,  can  be a bit of a challenge: please make sure that your brake pads are fresh before you start! 

Day 1: 10 miles/16 km, 1720 ft/520 m elevation gain, 1100 ft/330 m descent. Max pitch ~12%.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43596186

Day 2: 4.5 miles/8 km, 600 ft/180 m descent. Max pitch ~-10%. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43596215 

There is no single-track, we'll be riding on gravel roads or wide double-tracks the whole trip. Taking into account the shortish distance each day, but the elevation gain and the terrain that can be challenging at time, the trip is rated Medium-Rare (AKA Moderate to Advanced.) The trip is open to all bikepacking badge holders, as well as to students of the 2022 Bikepacking course who haven't fulfilled the ride requirements for the course yet.

Carpooling encouraged.

Rolling at 11AM from a wide spot on the Stampede Pass road,  just past where it crosses the Palouse to Cascades trail (formerly Iron Horse trail.) 

Exit I-90 at exit 62, past Snoqualmie pass. Turn right at the exit onto the  Stampede pass road, drive by the (closed for the season) Crystal Springs parking lot. Pavement turns to gravel, keep driving straight, past the turn-off to the Lost lake road, till you cross the Palouse to Cascades trail (mileage from the exit about  1.3 mile.) We'll meet on the wide spot on the left, noted on the screenshot below, just past the trail.

We should be back mid-afternoon the next day.