Cyclopath Ride: Skate Creek Loop
Author of this post: Mike Hassur
Tom, Mike H, Leon, and Les left the starting point just outside of Ashford at 6:50 AM. The temperature was around 45 degrees, and there did not seem to be any threat of rain. We reached the Nisqually Entrance in short order armed with Mike’s Senior National Park Pass (which gets him and three additional riders in for free), but we didn’t need it as there was no ranger in sight when we rolled through.
The ride to Longmire was
filled with conversation and went quickly. Things got steeper at Longmire, but the conversation continued and we
were at Paradise before we knew it. A
few hundred yards before we arrived at Paradise a brown bird about the size of
a chicken sauntered across the road just ahead of us. He disdainfully refused to acknowledge our
presence even though we were pretty close. We figured that this was a grouse and a review of Internet photos seemed
to confirm this. Paradise was a quick
stop to eat, drink, and put on our jackets for the descent. As we passed the Paradise Visitors’ Center, a
fox calmly watched us roll by. He was
just as relaxed in our presence as the grouse had been.
We zoomed down from
Paradise to the cutoff road over to Reflection Lake. It was chilly but not too cold (in the
40’s). The descent through Steven’s
Canyon to the Box Canyon Rest Stop was beautiful as usual with great views of
the valley below us and water cascading off of the rocks above us. We soon reached the Backbone Ridge
climb. Some conversation and a brisk
pace (thank you Leon and Les) brought us to the top in short order. The descent to east park entrance was fast
and fun followed by an even faster pace line from the park exit to Packwood.
After a quick stop at the
Packwood Shell Station, we headed to the Skate Creek Climb. Our agreement was that we would ride the
first five miles of the climb together (it’s about a 10-11 mile climb) and then
pick it up. At precisely 5.00000 miles,
Leon took off. We followed him as best
we could; but, in the end, Leon was alone at the top of the climb. The weather for this last climb was good –
not too warm (in the 60’s) and sunny. We
all felt pretty good at the top and enjoyed cruising the last 10 miles back to
our cars.
This was a great
ride. The weather was really good for
the entire ride, and the company was excellent. Here’s hoping that Saturday’s Skate Creek Loop Ride (Edition #2) goes as
well.
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