Finally got back on the bike and on the trail. Because of extreme fire danger, most of the lower elevation trails and riding areas are closed. Have to head towards the coast or up in the mountains. We headed up above Carson, WA into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to Old Man Pass and Falls Creek. Don and I met up with Trent and Rob from Portland and Fernando, who is visiting from Cartagena. We met in Carson and headed up into the hills.
There were way more riders at the drop off spot than we had ever seen before, most likely due to the fact that all those other riding areas are closed. We made it quickly up to Old Man Pass Snowpark and headed down the trail, leaving the crowd behind.
The trail was dry and dusty due to the dry weather and heavier than normal use. Don had a bit of a drivetrain issue, luckily we are prepared for trailside repairs like this and we were on our way again.
We stopped at one of the lava tubes for a photo of Fernando and Rob. Notice that the leaves on the trees have already started to turn fall colors.
Made the mandatory stop at the Falls Creek campground waterfalls
Here’s Don negotiating one of the rock gardens on the lower Falls Creek trail
On the way out, we stopped for a few mandatory photos at one of the Falls Creek bridges. Here’s Trent
Fernando
And Rob
After looking at these photos, I’d say that Rob looks a lot like Belgian pro bike racer Tom Boonen.