Bike tour/Sep 2020

This page is for planning a bike-touring trip from Seattle to Portalnd via Yakima.

When

September 18-26 (8 days; tentative)

Where

Seattle to Yakima to Carson to Seattle.

Schedule

Day 1: 9/18 Friday

Note: Iron Horse Trail is now called Palouse to Cascades.
Note: Mika will be moving at ~5 miles/hour on gravel, so it'll take ~5 hours for North Bend -> Hyak Parking Lot (~24 miles). Home -> North Bend (~4 hours), so the suggested schedule would be 8/9AM-6PM, with all the stops.

Route: Home to 1) Carter Creek Primitive Campsite (52 miles/4000ft), or 2) Hyak/Cold Creek Primitive Campsite (~60 miles/4500ft), or 3) Meany Lodge (~70 miles/5000ft) [Google Map Link]

Plan

Stop for water and beer in North Bend before heading onto the trail

Food

Breakfast: home
Lunch: pick up/consume something at supermarket
Dinner: camp food/beer/cider

Overnight: Camping in [1]:

[TODO] note the water, reservation status, fees, other info

There are four campgrounds along the trail (not all are on Google Maps), each with three to four campsites, one picnic table, and a vault toilet. They are located at milepost 2109.5 at Roaring Creek, milepost 2113.2 at Cold Creek, milepost 2123.2 at Carter Creek, and milepost 2127.1 at Alice Creek. [[2]]

Camping is primitive but it's free and first-come. Toilets and picnic tables are available at each campsite. When we stayed at Cold Creek last time, it was very clean and only 1.5 miles from Hyak Parking lot, so we got water there.

The last campsite for the day is Roaring Creek at the end of Keechelus Lake.

Sunset in Snoqualmie Pass is 7:09PM; sunrise at 6:50AM next morning.

Other camping options from west to east:

Danny Creek Campground
Commonwealth Campground
Snoqualmie Campus
Crystal Springs Campground: $18/pp/night
Meany Lodge (2 miles off the trail at crystal springs)
Lake Easton Campground
Silver Ridge Ranch

Day 2: 9/19 Saturday

NOTE: gravel downhill is slow and hard work!

Route: 1) Carter Creek Campsite (~83 miles/1000ft), or 2) Cold Creek Campsite (~73 miles/300ft), or 3) Meany Lodge (~67 miles/360ft) to Yakima River Canyon Campsite

Plan

Stop by bakery and/or cafe for snacks or lunch in Cle Elem or Ellensberg
Scenic bike trip down the Yakima River canyon

Food

Breakfast: camp food
Lunch: Ellensburg supermarket
Dinner: camp food

Overnight: Camping at Yakima River Canyon Campground?

Other options for places to stay: See this map 1) Bighorn campground (closest to Ellensburg on Yakima River Canyon), 2) Lmuma (between Bighorn and Yakima River Canyon Campsite), 3) Big Pines (right by Yakima River Canyon Campsite), Roza (closer to Yakima)
Not all sites have water, so check the website.
[TODO] note the water, reservation status, fees, other info

Sunset at 7:05PM; Sunrise at 6:46AM next morning.

Day 3: 9/20 Sunday

Route

Option 1 (super easy day): Yakima Canyon to to Yakima Nation RV Park (~38miles/38tft) (or motels nearby)

Option 2 (much harder): Yakima Canyon to Brooks Memorial State Park (~72 miles/3000ft); may involve riding on gravel while being chased by dogs + hot, dry road (Route 97: ~38 miles) up to a pass (no towns/shops). If we do this, we should make Day 4 a super easy day and stop in Maryhill to admire Stonehedge).

If anybody needs to make the trip shorter, there's an option to take Route 12 from Yakima towards Mt. Rainier.

Plan

If we're doing Option 1, we have more time to play in the canyon in the morning AND pick up tamales at Los Hernandez in Yakima or Union Gap. Open only from 11AM...
If Option 1, the next day will be long and hard (63-77miles/3000-3500ft).
If we're doing Option 2 (hard day), consider leaving the campsite around 7AM, so that we are not on 97 during the hottest hours (i.e. after 1PM). 38miles of mostly downhill on paved road from the canyon campground to the beginning of 97.
If Option 2, pick up tons of water/gatorade in Wapato or Toppenfish as there are no shops or houses on 97. And it's hot.

Food

Breakfast: camp food
Lunch: Route Option 1) tamales! or Route Option 2) pick up something in Yakima, Wapato, or Toppenfish and have it on route 97
Dinner: camp food

Sunset at 7:01PM; sunrise at 6:49AM.

Day 4: 9/21 Monday

Note: Mako needs to be on a call on Tuesday AM.

Route

Option 1) Yakima Nations RV Park (~63 miles/3000ft) or 2) Brooks Memorial State Park (~25 miles/380ft) to Maryhill State Park, Option 2) Yakima Nations RV Park (~77 miles/3400ft) or 2) Brooks Memorial State Park (~39 miles/770ft) to Columbia Hills Historical Park,

Alt destination: all the way to Maryhill State Park (long day)

Plan

Be sure to get water in Toppenfish as it will be another ~50 miles before the next water stop and it will likely be hot and dry.
Pick up food for the night in Yakima?

Overnight: Camping in Brooks Memorial State Park, 2465 US-97, Goldendale, WA 98620?

Day 5: 9/22 Tuesday

Route

Option 1: Carson to Swift Forest Camp, 280 Rd, Cougar, WA 98616 (38 miles; 3200ft)

Brooks to Carson

Could pass through Maryhill Stonehenge although the route by the water doesn't have much shoulder and I remember this part of the route being a little stressful. There were cyclist-in-the-tunnel lights for most of the tunnels on Route 14. If we skip Maryhill, we'll avoid part of 14.

Stay (to be reserved): Carson Hot Springs and SPA

Sunrise at PM; sunrise at AM.

Other options: Bonneville Resort

There are two routes, with and without bus.

The hood river shuttle is a dial-a-ride and runs four times a day across the bridge. No bicyclists and pedestrians are allowed on Hood River State Bridge and the nearest bridge is 20 miles away. The bus leaves Port of Hood River at 8:25, 12:00, 1:40, and 4:30 and costs $1 per person. Runs only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We must call (509) 493-4662 in advance to make sure that the bike space is available.

We want to arrive in Carson before 4:30pm to take advantage of the bath and wrap which is available only until 18:00. Google suggests ~5 hours (48.6 miles) from Maryhill State Park to Port of Hood River. It should 97 minutes (17.2 miles) to Carson from the other side. If we make the 1:40 bus, we should make it to Carson in time.

After Carson, it gets hilly, so I suggest shorter distance each day.

Day 6: 9:23 Wednesday

Route

Option 1: Swift Forest Camp to Iron Creek Campground, Forest Road 25, Randle, WA 98377 (36 miles; 3800ft)
Option 2: Swift Forest Camp to Cowlitz Falls Campground, 889 Peters Rd, Randle, WA 98377 (51 miles; 4300ft)

Day 7: 9/24 Thursday

M has meetings on Friday, so she needs to be in a place where she can take calls in AM. Wifi would be nice.

Route

Option 1: Iron Creek to Camp Lakeview?
Option 2: Iron Creek to Elkamp?
Option 2: Cowlitz Falls Campground to Camp Lakeview?

Day 8: 9/25 Friday

Route

Option 1: Elkamp/Camp Lakeview to home
Option 2: Elkamp/Camp Lakeview to one more campground

Day 9: 9/26 Saturday

Route to home!

Resources and Links

Meals

copied from 2015; modify

Day 1: Breakfast - Before leaving
Day 1: Lunch - Cold lunch (e.g., sandwiches, etc)
Day 1: Dinner - Hot dinner cooked at camp (with stove, etc). (STOVE)
Day 2: Breakfast - Hot breakfast cooked with camp stove, etc. (STOVE)
Day 2: Lunch - Lunch at diner or similar in Ellensberg?
Day 2: Dinner - Tamales from Los Hernandez or, if we're feeling lazy, cooking at Yakima campground (STOVE)
Day 3: Breakfast - Hot breakfeast cooked at Yakima campground (STOVE)
Day 3: Lunch - Cold lunch eaten on road (e.g., sandwiches, etc)
Day 3: Dinner - Hot dinner cooked at Maryhill campground (STOVE)
Day 4: Breakfeast - Hot breakfeast cooked at Maryhill campground (STOVE)
Day 4: Lunch - Hot/cold lunch in Port of Hood River while waiting for shuttle bus?
Day 4: Dinner - Restaurant at Carson brewpub (e.g., Barnstormer)
Day 5: Breakfeast - Breakfast at cafe in Stevenson, WA
Day 5: Lunch - cold lunch and/or snack at Multnomah Falls?
Day 5: Dinner - early dinner at Deschutes brew pub in Portland before train

Review from 2015

we should have brought more hot sauce.
we need heat-resistant/non-scratch utensils.
heat packs were useful.
REI Huevos Rancheros looked/felt a little too digested. Pad Thai was great.
french bread breakfast is great.
bring salt/pepper and peanut butter/jam packets.
tea/hot chocolate was great.
avoid gravel road as much as possible.
lots of camping options in the canyon.