Cascade River Road, North Cascades National Park (pics)
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
I've been wanting to do this for years; Saturday I finally took my bike to Marblemount and did Cascade River Road, end to end. My favorite hiking trails are up here, I've come several times every year for a decade, I've hiked to Stehekin from here (it took three days), stayed at Sahale Glacier Camp, etc. Lot of happy memories here, plus a great climb mostly on dirt, and the best scenery I've had the pleasure to ride through.
After 21 miles of rainforest, the woods open up, and suddenly there's no shade. Saturday was the hottest day of the year, it's been cloudy and 50 to 60 F for a month, then suddenly full sun and 95 F. There are shortish, punch 20 % sections up at the top in the sun and I started running out of gas quickly after a couple of those. Wound up taking a nap at the trailhead after eating a bunch of snow to cool down. Heard an avalanche, like the sound of thunder, saw it coming down J'berg Mountain.
It took an hour and a half to ride back down the mountain.
Peak-a-boo view on the way up.
Minus the sign, this is what most of the ride looked like.
This is what I came for.
Torment Creek was one of the many places I refilled.
Cascade River Valley.
Those are glaciers up above. The snow fields below are deposited by avalanches. Sometimes I hike up in the spring to watch the avalanches.
One of two bear sightings. This one was 1/10th mile before the end of the road.
Bike with glaciers and waterfalls.
Where I took my nap.
The beginning of the descent.
After 21 miles of rainforest, the woods open up, and suddenly there's no shade. Saturday was the hottest day of the year, it's been cloudy and 50 to 60 F for a month, then suddenly full sun and 95 F. There are shortish, punch 20 % sections up at the top in the sun and I started running out of gas quickly after a couple of those. Wound up taking a nap at the trailhead after eating a bunch of snow to cool down. Heard an avalanche, like the sound of thunder, saw it coming down J'berg Mountain.
It took an hour and a half to ride back down the mountain.
Peak-a-boo view on the way up.
Minus the sign, this is what most of the ride looked like.
This is what I came for.
Torment Creek was one of the many places I refilled.
Cascade River Valley.
Those are glaciers up above. The snow fields below are deposited by avalanches. Sometimes I hike up in the spring to watch the avalanches.
One of two bear sightings. This one was 1/10th mile before the end of the road.
Bike with glaciers and waterfalls.
Where I took my nap.
The beginning of the descent.
0
Replies
-
Man o man! That is now on my bucket list! How hard is it to get a clear day like that?0
-
From June to September most days are clear and sunny, and hot.0
-
You do that road in the last pic on a road bike?0
-
All those pics are from the same ride. The road is about 23 miles end to end, it's too long to do on anything but a road bike, at least for me.
Most of it goes through the rainforest, though. It's only the last 2 or 3 miles that have great views.0 -
46 roundtrip then? I been known to do that kind of distance on MTB. I did the last IronHorse on a MTB. Roadies were kind of freaking out on it though. I got some ridicule from them as they went by me on the passes. Nothing but high fives at the finish line though. I became that crazy old guy that did it on a mountain bike. Kind of a legend at my gym and the bike shop/club.
Thing about me an a mountain bike is that I can descend way faster. I don't know what it is about a road bike that causes me to get intimidated by speed. Don't know if it is the clincher brakes or just the riding position. When I do that ride/race on the roadie though people pass me on descents like I am standing still. Not so on MTB. Weird eh?
Let me see if I can find my IronHorse pics ... here you go.
I set up a ramshackle camp instead of getting a hotel. This is in a USFS campground. Not shown is bazillion dollar motorhomes that are my neighbors. They kind of bristle that I put a hobo camp on a "premium" campsite. What was fun though, on race day I affixed a number to my bike and pranced around a bit. On return roadies would either ride or drive by and holler the question "what was your time?" Somehow a satisfying vacation.
Here are some specttors. All of them dang roadies were so caught up in making good time nobody but me stopped to get a pic of these guys.
Looks like this in places ...
I can't believe these guys passed me ...
I got better pics of this somewhere. They might be on picasa or somewhere.
I will find them and add to this.
I got snowed on on that hill before. Those were some dramatic pics.
I got a finish line pic somewhere.
My profile pic is me finishing that ride in the snow on a road bike.
0 -
Quintessential IronHorse pic.
They close the road for this ride/race. Ain't no cars.
Can't find my other pics. I think I lost them on the internet somewhere.
0 -
Beautiful! Where is that?0
-
NorthCascades wrote: »Beautiful! Where is that?
That is Colorado between Durango and Silverton. I think US 550. They have a race every Memorial weekend. Memorial Saturday they close the road to automotive traffic.
I love that. I will pony up the $100 to ride that car free year after year. Sometimes I even get snowed on.
0
This discussion has been closed.