I made the mistake of not doing more research on the rides for a camping trip this last weekend in the area south of Randle, WA.  It was gorgeous, for sure, but I would remind bikers to note the trails in this area that are shared with motorcycles.  I was greatly disappointed at the poor trail conditions of the Juniper ridge Loop (the trails leading up to the Juniper Trail were pretty torn up and only consistently rideable by expert riders).  Adding insult to injury was the prolific attack of the mosquitos (though it was motive to keep moving). After 6 hours of riding/hiking we bailed out at the Dark Meadows trail to drop back down to FR 23. We missed some of the anticpated viewpoints, but it was an overcast day anyway. If you enjoy dirt riding on a motorcycle, I'd consider this a world class trail.  The Horseshoe/High Lakes trails were also pretty torn up.  This experience makes it clear to me that it would be a bad idea to create new trials to share between motorized and non-motorized users...

 

As of late May 2010 conditions at higher elevations around Mount St Helens remain snowbound.  The Gifford Pinchot National Forest website indicates that roads around Mount St Helens that are above 3,000 to 3,500' elevation have snow on them.  The June Lake Snotel at 3440 foot elevation on the south side of the mountain indicates the snow pack is where it was near the end of March before our recent bout of chilly wet weather brought snow levels down to winter levels.  Currently Forest Road 83, the road to Ape Canyon trailhead parking lot, is open as far as the June Lake Trailhead, about 4.5 miles from Ape Canyon Trailhead.  We will need some warm weather before this area opens up.

After what was looking to be an early season on Mount St Helens is turning out to be otherwise.  Two weeks ago - from April 5th 2010 - the snow pack at the June Lake Snotel site was only 46 inches.  The elevation there is 3,440 feet.  As of April 6, 2010 snow depth is now 111 inches.

Current Forest Road conditions in Gifford Pinchot National Forest indicate that Road 83 is closed at the junction with Road 8303, the road to Ape Cave.  Seasonal snow plowing ended at the beginning of April for the season. 

Follow the links above to monitor snow depth and road conditions in the Gifford Pinchot.

 

The weather forecast is calling for decent weather for Sunday!  So, let's get up and get some photographs of some of the waterfalls along the Lewis River Trail.  Dennis claims he can ride slow - especially since he's taking his camera!  This will be a leasurely paced ride with frequent photographic stops - especially above the Bolt Camp Shelter.  The waterfalls along the trail are running pretty full right now with our recent run of wet weather.  total distance will be 12 to 14 miles.  If you've never ridden the trail and want to take your time exploring it, now is your chance!

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) holds user group meetings (TAG) every other month on the first Thursday. The next meeting will be December 3th. Meetings are held at the Woodland City Hall building upstairs from 6:30 pm until we get done. The open door will be around the back. 100 Davidson Ave, Woodland, WA.

Anyone up for riding Lewis River trail this Sunday?

This is an out-and-back, it's a fairly hard ride, with some climbing (probably about 3000 or so feet), not overly technical. But you can also ride as far out as you want and then head back. I'd expect about 3.5 hours on the trail.