A long ride with many great bits. Nene finds her signature role.
Long Version:
The o
riginal Star Wars trilogy was awesome. One of the best bits was the speeder
-bike chase through the forest on Endor in Return of the Jedi. Speeder-bikes are cool*. The way the riders aim them straight at the enormous trees, only to veer aside at the (very!) last moment is exciting to watch**.I had the unexpected joy of watc
hing my very own
personal speeder-bike race re-creation, on top of Five-Mile Butte. A field full of wildflowers played the role of the forest of Endor, a pair of hummingbirds played speeder-bikes. Janine played a tree.
We were half an hour into the day's riding, and had stopped to appreciate the panoramic views of the Cascade volcanoes*** from the top the first hill when the first hummingbird appeared, followed pretty quickly by the second one. Still not sure whether the chase was amorous or territorial in nature, but it was certainly entertaining. Hummingbirds are cool.
From there we headed downhill, to the nexus of the local trail network at Bottle Prairie, where we stashed our picnic backpack in the woods and set off down the paved road to the trailhead for the climb to High Prairie and Lookout Mountain.
hing my very own
personal speeder-bike race re-creation, on top of Five-Mile Butte. A field full of wildflowers played the role of the forest of Endor, a pair of hummingbirds played speeder-bikes. Janine played a tree.We were half an hour into the day's riding, and had stopped to appreciate the panoramic views of the Cascade volcanoes*** from the top the first hill when the first hummingbird appeared, followed pretty quickly by the second one. Still not sure whether the chase was amorous or territorial in nature, but it was certainly entertaining. Hummingbirds are cool.
From there we headed downhill, to the nexus of the local trail network at Bottle Prairie, where we stashed our picnic backpack in the woods and set off down the paved road to the trailhead for the climb to High Prairie and Lookout Mountain.
An hour-long singletrack climb had us at a high plateau, running the border between forest and meadow. Like the seashore, all manner of lifeforms had congregated and were living it up. We saw a family of chipmunks (Ma, Pa, and 4 little ones), some brightly-colored birds, and a hummingbird chasing a woodpecker out of its territory. The woodpecker was three times the hummingbird's size but had no answer to the smaller creature's pure aggression, or possibly misplaced amorous attention. Hummingbirds are cool.
Then we got uphill gravel road action, which filled me with great joy. At least it was only half an hour. I complain about having to ride up hills, but I recognise it as a necessary evil. And, given the choice, I'd far rather ride up the hill first and earn the subsequent descent, as opposed to starting with a downhill run and having to follow it up with a climb to end the ride. On those grounds, I was in luck, as all three of the day`s trails had us riding up as our first action.
At the top of the climb we ditched the bikes in some trees and set off up the hiking path,
past a huge variety of foot-, paw-, a
nd hoof-prints captured in what had been mud. We passed yet more fields of wildflowers and several patches of snow on our way to the top, where we found views which were similar to the ones we'd seen, only more so. We also found a reall
y fat chipmunk with no fear of humans, and insane numbers of flies and ladybugs. And a couple who were out celebrating her 60th birthday by climbing a mountain together, with whom w
e chatted as we strolled back to the bikes. They were cool.
Then we rode downhill. Over small streams and jumps, round bermed corners and past surprised wildlife. The trail had been so well massaged into shape that the number of times we had to brake during the twenty minute descent could be counted on one Simpsons hand, and we were still buzzing when we extricated the picnic bag from its woodland hiding place and perched ourselves on a downed tree to nosh on avocado/tomato/gherkin deliciousness at Bottle Prairie before re-hiding the bag and setting off on trail #2 of the day's planned three-trail extravaganza.
The Bottle Prairie trail took us back up Five-Mile Butte, crossing the first trail we'd ridden halfway up the hill. The run down the other side was even better than the descent from High Prairie - although not as long - with even fewer spots where brakes were employed despite the significant speeds we were hitting. At the bottom we had a sidle across the hill, then a drop into a steep-sided canyon and out the other side, where found Knebal Springs Campground, just in time to refill our water bladders... except we couldn't find the Springs anywhere in or around the campground. Eventually one of the campers pointed us at the rusty horse-trough, which looked decidedly unappetising until we noticed that the water flowing into it was actually cool and clear, and became sullied only once it mingled with the already-present filthy water in the trough. Rolling around on the ground under the spigot felt great.
Suitably refreshed, we hit the trail again, back up and over Five-Mile Butte to Bottle Prairie, where we collected the picnic bag and set off for our final trail of the day. Janine's ride agenda put some icing atop an already awesome day's riding: we'd already ridden the uphill half of the 8-Mile Creek Loop Trail first thing in the morning, but had saved the descent for last thing in the afternoon. And what a descent it was! As fast as a fast thing, and as flowing as you can imagine. A big call to dub this "Descent of the Day"**** given its brevity (2.5 miles long) and the number of other excellent descents we'd enjoyed, but the way the trail lent itself to high-speed cornering using tiny shifts of weight was unbeatable. It was such a nice run that we were sorely tempted to haul back up for another crack at it. Not quite enough to override the fact that we'd already been out for over eight hours, and had sore legs and butts, but it was close.
Instead, we rolled back to camp, where we ate delicious foods and relaxed in the sun before hitting the sack for a great night's sleep, interrupted only by the snorter.
* = The chase can be seen online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrrrmhUz2o4
** = Unlike pretty much ANY of the later "Prequel" series, which is awful*****.
*** = Mounts Hood, Adams, Rainier, and St Helens
**** = If not "Descent of the Week"
***** = Except for Watto. He's cool.
Then we got uphill gravel road action, which filled me with great joy. At least it was only half an hour. I complain about having to ride up hills, but I recognise it as a necessary evil. And, given the choice, I'd far rather ride up the hill first and earn the subsequent descent, as opposed to starting with a downhill run and having to follow it up with a climb to end the ride. On those grounds, I was in luck, as all three of the day`s trails had us riding up as our first action.
At the top of the climb we ditched the bikes in some trees and set off up the hiking path,
past a huge variety of foot-, paw-, a
nd hoof-prints captured in what had been mud. We passed yet more fields of wildflowers and several patches of snow on our way to the top, where we found views which were similar to the ones we'd seen, only more so. We also found a reall
y fat chipmunk with no fear of humans, and insane numbers of flies and ladybugs. And a couple who were out celebrating her 60th birthday by climbing a mountain together, with whom w
e chatted as we strolled back to the bikes. They were cool.Then we rode downhill. Over small streams and jumps, round bermed corners and past surprised wildlife. The trail had been so well massaged into shape that the number of times we had to brake during the twenty minute descent could be counted on one Simpsons hand, and we were still buzzing when we extricated the picnic bag from its woodland hiding place and perched ourselves on a downed tree to nosh on avocado/tomato/gherkin deliciousness at Bottle Prairie before re-hiding the bag and setting off on trail #2 of the day's planned three-trail extravaganza.
The Bottle Prairie trail took us back up Five-Mile Butte, crossing the first trail we'd ridden halfway up the hill. The run down the other side was even better than the descent from High Prairie - although not as long - with even fewer spots where brakes were employed despite the significant speeds we were hitting. At the bottom we had a sidle across the hill, then a drop into a steep-sided canyon and out the other side, where found Knebal Springs Campground, just in time to refill our water bladders... except we couldn't find the Springs anywhere in or around the campground. Eventually one of the campers pointed us at the rusty horse-trough, which looked decidedly unappetising until we noticed that the water flowing into it was actually cool and clear, and became sullied only once it mingled with the already-present filthy water in the trough. Rolling around on the ground under the spigot felt great.
Suitably refreshed, we hit the trail again, back up and over Five-Mile Butte to Bottle Prairie, where we collected the picnic bag and set off for our final trail of the day. Janine's ride agenda put some icing atop an already awesome day's riding: we'd already ridden the uphill half of the 8-Mile Creek Loop Trail first thing in the morning, but had saved the descent for last thing in the afternoon. And what a descent it was! As fast as a fast thing, and as flowing as you can imagine. A big call to dub this "Descent of the Day"**** given its brevity (2.5 miles long) and the number of other excellent descents we'd enjoyed, but the way the trail lent itself to high-speed cornering using tiny shifts of weight was unbeatable. It was such a nice run that we were sorely tempted to haul back up for another crack at it. Not quite enough to override the fact that we'd already been out for over eight hours, and had sore legs and butts, but it was close.
Instead, we rolled back to camp, where we ate delicious foods and relaxed in the sun before hitting the sack for a great night's sleep, interrupted only by the snorter.
* = The chase can be seen online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrrrmhUz2o4
** = Unlike pretty much ANY of the later "Prequel" series, which is awful*****.
*** = Mounts Hood, Adams, Rainier, and St Helens
**** = If not "Descent of the Week"
***** = Except for Watto. He's cool.
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