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Bikepack - Palouse to Cascades Trail

Trip

Bikepack - Palouse to Cascades Trail

Easy ride on the Palouse to Cascade trail for an overnighter in a nice creek-side campground, with a magical twist: a full-moon post-dinner night ride to Hyak via the Snoqualmie tunnel (and hopefully back to camp.)

Contacts

Dominique Blachon
Dominique Blachon
Primary Leader
  • Moderate
  • Moderate
  • Mileage: 45.0 mi
  • Elevation Gain: 1,600 ft
  • High Point Elevation: 2,600 ft
  • Pace: 7 mph

Mellow ride on the very approachable Palouse to Cascades trail (the trail formerly-known as Iron Horse trail.) We'll be riding on a wide gravel road the whole trip, with pretty forgiving surface, and an easy average grade of 2 to 3%. Three cheers for rail-to-trail conversions!

The plan is to head for the Carter creek campground, set up camp, chillax, have dinner, then go for a postprandial digestive ride at sunset to enjoy a night ride under (i hope) the full moon.

If you haven't ridden much at night, and even more so, at night in the woods, it opens up a wonderfully different world: sounds are different, smells are different, shadows come alive -- a thrilling or meditative journey to experience. A full moon adds a fun facet to the trip: eery extended views are revealed, it's easier to pick out obstacles and find our way, and with a bit of luck, werewolves and witches might come ride along with us.

Just like the terrain, routing is not exactly very challenging: follow the road, turn around, follow the road back. Done.

To Carter creek campground:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44406332, about 13 miles one way, ~1000 ft elevation gain
Carter creek to Hyak:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44406358, about 8 miles one way, ~600 ft elevation gain

(The RideWithGPS stats for the routes above are quite a bit off. I computed elevation gains from the actual contour map. My Strava track reported 1200 ft elevation gain to Carter creek when I scouted the campground, and ~1600 all total from Rattlesnake lake to Hyak, so it's roughly correct. At any rate -- NOT a hyper-strenuous outing.)

Taking into account the distance for the full round trip if you go to Hyak, and the night riding which can be new to some, the trip is rated Medium-Rare (AKA Moderate.) The trip is open to all bikepacking badge holders: recently-minted or former course graduates, the start will feel very familiar.

Depending on the response to this ride, i'll put together another one for the full moon in November. Note that the tunnel  is closed approximately November 1 through May 1 each year due to the potential for ice to fall from the ceiling of the tunnel, so the October ride is the last chance this year to ride through the tunnel, always entertaining.

Weather forecast: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-121.44514560699466&lat=47.439350812150934

(Click on More to display the whole description.)

Trail chat at 12:45, feet on the pedals at 1PM. Make sure to schedule enough time to pack and load your bike.

The NEW meeting point is a few hundred yards _before_ the entrance to the park, on the left side of the road, on a wide gravel area with plenty space for cars, and direct access to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail to get to the trailhead in 5 mn.

< https://maps.app.goo.gl/MFgYmNpnuN9VrVom9 >

Route/Place

Palouse to Cascades Trail

Roster
Required Equipment

Required Equipment

Gravel-ready bike with overnight luggage carrying capacity. Forgiving surface, recommended minimum size of tire is 36ish mm.

Overnight gear (shelter, bedding for freezing temperatures, food.) We're camping near a creek, so bring some means to filter water if you'd rather not carry H2O for the whole trip. Might want to think about mosquito protection too, although October should be late enough.

Night riding can get chilly, specially on the way down. Make sure you have warm layers, and a wind-breaker.

11* essentials and Leave No Trace paraphernalia. There is a pit toilet that should still be open in October. I'll try to confirm, but at any rate, please be ready to dig catholes or use WAG bags, always a good practice.

If you plan on taking part in the Moonlight sonata part of the evening, bring good front lights, with enough battery capacity for a 3- to 4-hour ride if you don't have a dyno hub. A powerful headlamp work well. (If you're going that route, it's a good idea to figure out a way to secure it to your helmet so it doesn't slip off: a couple zipties around the strap through the airvents are an easy solution, or duct tape, of course. :-) If you don't currently own reliable lights, let me know, i have plenty powerful lights i'll be happy to share.

*  Chocolate is one of the  essentials that has been criminally left out of the official list. Sheesh.

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