Fall Into Winter
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 Composite image of the Fall Into Winter article. |
Every year for the past decade, I've traveled the globe covering the World Cup. And every time I've returned home, the very first place I go to get my ride back on is the trails off Washington State's Highway 410 on the fringe of Mount Rainier National Park. There's only a handful of trails there, but there's just something about the place that keeps bringing me back. Maybe it's the dirt: it seems as if it's always good. Maybe it's the views: being one valley away from a massive, snow capped mountain always makes for views that scream out "epic". And maybe it's knowing every nook and cranny of those trails: discovery is awesome, but there's definitely a thrill to be had shredding a trail at full gas and knowing how to shake it the whole way down. 3200 vertical feet of descending per lap doesn't suck, either.
For the past few years I've been lucky to share the trails here for a long weekend of shuttling with friends. Sharing these trails seems to make them that much better; the stoke factor at the end of the day is always high: the tales of crashing, the high speed drifts, the cameraderie... it seems as if everyone feeds off that buzz 'round the campfire. Well, they feed off of that, as well as the beer and whatever bottle of the good stuff is being passed around. The next morning always comes too soon.
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| Can we start riding already? |
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| The center of it all: Mt Rainier. |
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| Kim Russell rolling Dalles Ridge through the changing colors of the high country. |
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| Nikki Hollatz leading out Dave Goode and Jenny Konway on the Dalles Ridge trail, heading for Deep Creek and 3200 vertical feet of goodness. |
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| Jenny Konway dropping into Deep Creek at the end of a perfect day. |
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| Shuttling... Campfires... Good friends... They all go together so well. |
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| With the return of the mists, the leaves start changing. It's always a slow process, watching the gold creep over the green, and the leaves dropping to hide the trails. |
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| Up at first light and loading up for another lap. It's not always about shuttles down in the 410 zone; plenty of times I've pedaled every inch of the way. But the ready shuttle access does make it damn easy to forego the sweat equity in favor of some hedonistic shuttling days. Particularly when there's a big crew wanting to get in as much brown pow as possible before the snow closes everything down. |
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| Gui Nelessen cruising over the crest of Fawn Ridge after ascending to the top of Sun Top Trail. Even with a shuttle this one definitely requires pedaling. There's a stiff, 500 vertical foot singletrack climb for the first mile after the shuttle drops you off. From there, the trail undulates along Fawn Ridge with a few more stiff climbs before cascading all the way back down to the camp area. |
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| Dave Goode getting into the meat and potatoes of Sun Top with Gui Nelessen and Kim Russell in tow. One lap on Suntop first thing in the morning after a long night around the campfire was enough for everyone. After that it was back to the north side of the valley to shred Palisades Trail. |
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| The overlook on Palidades Trail. Nobody can resist pulling over and gazing out over the valley. |
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| Jill Kintner boosting into the roots on Palisades Trail. |
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| David Goode and Kim Russell riding the trail atop the "palisade" of rock cliffs that gives Palisades its name. |
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| The Palisades Trail has a bit of everything: stunning views, exposure, sniper lines to schralp, and an undulating brown ribbon splitting the moss before the final drop down to Highway 410. Jill Kintner chasing fun, not seconds, as she rides that magic ribbon. |
Riding 410's not always a group affair or a shuttle frenzy. Even after that hedonistic shuttle weekend, I want more. Sometimes it's just a solo mission, taking in the loam, the sweat, the views. Other times it's just me and one or two others out there, making an escape to a place where the madcap world takes a back seat to adventure. Or it's squeezing in a late afternoon ride at the last minute--one of those ones where you better bring a light just in case your adventure runs overtime. Or just savoring a day out on the trails because, hey, why not?
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| Mount Rainier is the dominant feature on the horizon of every ride on 410... It's simply impossible to ignore. Jenny Konway, Nikki Hollatz, and Kim Russell on cruise control. |
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| Jill Kintner dancing in the green and the gold. |
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| There's something about the last light of the day and knowing that you'll be racing the imminent darkness all the way to the valley floor...Keith Rollins rolling the "no flats" dice with a lot of trail still to go before grabbing a cold one. |
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| The last golden days of fall inevitably succumb to the beauty of the gray: the fog and the rain. There's nothing like ripping down a perfectly laid trail and watching the "ghosts" drifting between the trees on the trail ahead, and wreathing the tops of the ancient douglas firs that line this zone... and then there's the return of the velcro dirt. The fall riding is definitely where it's at in the PNW. |
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| A mere two degrees colder and these drops of water beading up on the trees would have been ice crystals. Jameson Florence enjoying some of the last of the high country goodness before it goes under the white. |
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| Jill Kintner shredding the duff on Ranger Creek Trail. |
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| Velcro dirt defined. |
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| Jameson getting ready to pinball down Deep Creek. |
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| Deep Creek shred... |
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| Jenny Konway skating across a root and rock laced line. |
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| Tread lightly. |
Nearly everyone I know who spends time on these trails, from top flight pros to regular joes, will session 410 whenever they can until the snow flies. And some will keep after it right up until the point that the trails submerge into the white. I was lucky to have good friends to tap for multiple sessions in the 410 zone this past fall, right up until the point that Jameson Florence and I got chased down Ranger Creek with the snow coming down at over an inch an hour (2.5cm+). As we pedaled along Dalles Ridge to drop Ranger Creek, we literally watched the trail just disappear.
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| Inevitably the snow comes. |
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| Jenny Konway and Jameson Florence rolling ridge top, looking for one last set of tracks on Deep Creek. |
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| Almost gone... but not quite. |
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| Buckle up to giddyup. |
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| Last tracks? |
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| Staring into the teeth of the coming winter means... |
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| ...Fall into Winter. |
MENTIONS @jk33 @meagerdude @CascadiaDirtCup
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Super rad story! More articles, pictures & write-ups like this please.
have a nice year man
The best part is, you won't have to feel the shame of being like such a total panty waste on the down.
Your all a bunch of trail destroying T-Bags. Nice photos though. Except that one.
Moneys made to spend, women are made to love, trails made to be ridden.
Mountain biking is like crack, you gotta have it, regardless of the consequences.
You should be a Jill Kintner fan, she barely touches the trail it seems. Always in the air.
How do you feel about horses?
That said.. if I could ride a horse like the "Man from Snowy River", I wouldn't be here on PB. I probably wouldn't even bother to know how to use a computer. But then, I wouldn't be bothered to ride a horse like that on any trail we know of.
Thanks for the tip on JK. And yes, the ladies like to shuttle, thank god.
I've been riding seriously since I picked up my first real MTB bike (a Pro-Flex 856). Never entered a race. Never even considered it. Can't even recall if I've ever seen one on TV. If racing's your thing, more power to ya, but all I live for is the next time I can get lost on my bike deep in the PNW.
BC is amazing and produces some of the best riders on the planet. I am definitely not knocking BC at all, in fact I love that place. I'm simply saying I don't have to leave my home state to ride similar terrain. There are not unlimited trails here? Have you looked around? I could ride 365 days a year and not ride the same trail twice, that is a fact.
How is the riding in N.W Washington ? Is B.C really better?
Haha, just kidding, I would give my left nut to live in Washington or BC!
Did you try gloves?
I wear regular XC gloves in the snow. With winter gloves I get sweaty hands when climbing even in the cold and then my hands do freeze on the downs.
Thaaks
Where are you from and riding?