Awesome Day On the WRT

Yesterday, Don and I headed west of the Cascades for a change to hook up with Lee Man for a ride through the Tillamook State Forest on the Wilson River Trail. We met up at Shady Rest Restaurant in Gales Creek. By the time Lee got there, I had scarfed down a giant Denver omelet and Don was working through a couple of the biggest pancakes I’ve ever seen. Lee showed up and off into the woods we went.
We dropped off a vehicle at Keening Creek and headed back to the Elk Creek trailhead. It’s Labor Day weekend and there were a lot of cars in the parking lot, but we only saw a few people on the trail, mostly near the campgrounds and trail crossings. Most of the time we were alone on the trail.
Lee is a WRT veteran and served as the trip guide. This is a great ride, but not exactly for beginners. The trail is very narrow and barely there in spots. Falling could mean body surfing down a steep cliff and there is plenty of climbing and descending. Right out of the Elk Creek parking lot the trail headed uphill.

The climbs were extremely steep and long in spots. Lee was impressive powering up the climbs on his single speed, but Don really had his climbing legs on as he rode up pretty much all the climbs, even after a header into a pile of downed timber.

As we neared the top of the mountains, the wind was pretty chilly, especially after sweating our way up the steep climb.

At the top, there was a tremendous view of the Tillamook State Forest. This is an awesome Pacific Northwest rainforest.

From the mountain peak we dropped down into one of the forest valleys. One of the valley creeks was dammed up by a beaver family, making a large, grass filled pond.

There is more than one mountain on this ride, so back on the uphill trails we go. Climbing was getting a little tougher with tired legs and Don and I both took unexpected endos, so we were all working for it on the final climbs. There were a number of landslides where the trail was extremely sketchy, a few downed trees and a number of water crossings with wet, slippery rocks. You really had to stay on the trail here; off the trail meant down the cliff and the cliff side of the trail was pretty loose and soft. A real challenge for three tired riders.

There were a few more ups and downs, even a few flat spots. The scenery was always awesome; giant trees, green rain forest foliage and rushing mountain creeks.

Finally, the ferns and moss turned to grass, meaning we had come out of the rain forest and on to the coastal plain. One more downhill, complete with twenty or so switchbacks and we were at the Keening Creek parking lot. A challenging and worthy ride, exactly what real mountain bikers are looking for. There was a price to be paid; more than a few cramps and some heinous cuts from blackberry plants. Getting cut by one of these natural barbed wire fences is like having small fishhooks dragged across your skin. Definitely counts as worthy battle scars.

After a couple beers, we picked up the other car at Elk Creek and headed back to Shady Rest Restaurant. Lee had some exotic macaroni and cheese dish, Don had fish and chips and I had a giant half-pound burger with mushrooms, bacon and swiss cheese. Now I don’t usually eat hamburgers or bacon, but this was the best burger I’ve had in a long time. Gotta give the Shady Rest two thumbs up.
All in all, a five star day. Great ride with friends, Lee did a great guide job, a couple entertaining crashes without serious injury and a good tale to tell.