Ride the Willapa
An enjoyable weekend pedaling
An enjoyable weekend pedaling
Some Background
It was early — five thirty in the morning I think — I hadn’t slept well. Too excited.
I was excited about finally loading up the Brompton and heading out on an overnight adventure. An adventure that had been in the making for over a year.
Plan A was to go to France and cycle EuroVelo 17, the ViaRhôna. We would join the route in Geneva and follow it down to the Mediterranean Sea.
Unfortunately, life got in the way and the trip didn’t happen.
Nine months later, health issues are under control. My cardiologist doesn’t want to see me till next year.
Looking for a New Challenge
Not ten minutes from our house is the Foothills Trail in Pierce County. I can’t think of a better exercise program than riding this. It’s wide, it’s paved, and it has some reasonably steep grades. I mean it’s perfect and as my fitness level improved, the challenges it presents… well they are no longer challenges.
When training for the ViaRhôna, I searched for local cycle paths that might be comparable to it. Here in the Puget Sound region of Washington, there are plenty of suitable trails. We cycled around the south end of Lake Washington. Up the west side to I-90, crossing the lake on the floating bridge, then back to Tukwila on the east side. Cycling around Lake Sammamish was also a good ride. We also cycled twenty-five kilometers out and back along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
These are great rides but … They are, shall we say, too good. By that I mean that the surface is well packed if not paved. I question if these are good trails to measure one’s abilities. How well will we do on a looser surface? Oh, and there are no places to camp overnight. Another requirement when training for longer bikepacking trips.
I was looking for a new challenge. A rougher trail and an overnight camp.
Ride the Willapa
I have been searching the web for rides which would be fun. A sponsored ride with a twenty-five-to-thirty-kilometre distance. With a campout being involved, at the beginning or during the ride, didn’t matter. Oh, and because I tour with Liddy and our trailer, being off busy roads was also a requirement.
I found quite a few opportunities. Unfortunately, the local ones are one-day affairs, or are intended for the Lycra set. Something Liddy and I, on our Brompton, are not.
It showed up in my Facebook Feed. Ride the Willapa, only an hour’s drive from home. It checked all the boxes. Long ride for the endurance nuts, shorter rides for the casual types, and the opportunity to camp out. Perfect! I signed up for the ride with the campout option.
The Willapa Hills Trail is an abandoned railroad right of way that follows the Chehalis River from the town of Chehalis to Pe Ell and then along the Willapa River into Raymond and South Bend. This is a Washington State Park. The section from Chehalis to Pe Ell is ok for most bikes, from Pe Ell to Raymond is considered unimproved.
Should you choose to take part in this event, the organizers provide drayage services (courtesy of the local UPS office) to take your camping equipment from the Chehalis trailhead to Rainbow Falls State Park and back. For an added small fee, dinner and breakfast are included.
Self-Contained
As I was looking to test myself and my equipment, I chose to forgo the drayage service, packing all my equipment, and Liddy, on the Brompton and Chubby Trailer.
Liddy shared the trailer with our tent and a small chair. My sleeping gear, change of clothes, and food were packed in a thirty-liter drybag supported between the saddle and the rear rack of the Brompton. The front bag held my Canon R6, a stove with fuel, rain gear, water, and snacks.
Who travels without electronics these days? My cell phone and a GoPro were mounted on the handlebars connected to a power brick in the front bag.
Add Liddy’s twenty-kilos and my hundred … a substantial load for our Brompton, methinks.
Pedaling to Rainbow Falls
As I said previously, Rainbow Falls State Park was our destination, twenty-five or so kilometers (16 miles) from Chehalis as the bicycle wheel turns.
The first nine kilometers (5 miles) are paved with the steepest climb being the one to the top of the highway six overpass at Steams Road, about five kilometers. This is a nice bridge that makes crossing the highway so much safer.
After the Adna Trailhead, we cross the Chehalis once again. The Chehalis wanders back and forth across the valley. We cross the river three times. The second time, just west of Adana, the pavement ends, and the crushed gravel surface begins. They call it compacted gravel, but I would call it sharp marbles on hard pan. I’m sure this was done to make you want wider tires on the bike.
From Adna, we began a long, slow, steady climb. No huge elevation gain here, just a constant push against the pea gravel under the tires. The rest stop at Ceres Hill was a welcome respite.
Lest you think that the rest stop is at the top of the climb, not so. The trail continues north until finally swinging west where we get to enjoy the daisies in farmers' fields along a long straight stretch. Truly, this is a flat ride. The total elevation gain to the park is only seventy meters (230 feet).
Twenty-five kilometers (16 miles) done, and we arrive at the ride’s welcome center at Rainbow Falls State Park. Liddy helped me set up our tent and then she went swimming in the Chehalis River just below the falls. I didn’t pack a swimsuit, was too weary to pack the camera along to the river, so no images (that’s my excuse anyway)
I’ve included a photo that I took of our rig while on the Foothills Trail so you can get an idea. Not shown in this photo, there was a drybag hung between the saddle and the rear rack.
Dinner was good. Fresh cooked bratwurst with sauerkraut on a bun. Dessert was some brownie bites with mixed berries.
Because Liddy is a house dog, she wore a heavy sweater in lieu of a sleeping bag. She also claimed the foot of my — our air mattress. Seems she had had enough of the pad in the trailer thank you very much. Even so, I slept well. On waking at midnight to use the facilities it struck me how coordinated the snoring was in the surrounding tents.
Returning to Chehalis
We struck camp early. It had rained during the night and was still raining lightly so the tent was packed wet before loading into the trailer.
A breakfast of pancakes, sausage patties and scrambled eggs was enjoyed with a young family from Centralia. Some good conversation and several cups of coffee later, it was time to take our leave. We found our way to the trail leading out of the park, back to the Willapa Trail. The park’s connecting trail is quite pretty.
On reaching the trail, we turned east, looking forward to an easy downhill run back to Chehalis. The sky promised more rain and a few miles later it was delivered, but not too much, just enough to be annoying.
On the previous day, I noticed this spot as a possible photo opportunity. I tried to capture the tiger lilies with the rapids behind. I don’t think it works as well as I wanted. It was raining as we crossed the first bridge over the Chehalis. This view down the river was softened courtesy of raindrops on the lens.
That’s a Wrap
When I look at videos people have taken while touring Europe by bike and compare their reports to what we can experience here in the northwest the first thing I think of is campsites and services. Their cycle tourism support industry is huge. Here, not so much. There were over 300 people participating in the Ride the Willapa event. According to the ride organizer, over 100 of those stopped in and bought an ice cream from a shop in Doty, halfway to Pe Ell from Rainbow Falls. Nice sales courtesy of a bunch of silly cyclists.
Well, I think I accomplished what I wanted. We journeyed fifty kilometres (32 miles) with a fully loaded bike. The pace was slower than expected because of the trail surface. The Brompton’s rear tire is done, the sidewall is bulging, ready to pop. Probably coarse gravel and the load caused it as there is only about one thousand kilometers (600 miles) on the bike. It didn’t break, so we were able to ride all of the way back, but it was close.
So, met great people, learned some things for the future and had a great ride.
Liddy was pretty happy with the weekend too.
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
– Tim Cahill
The world is a beautiful place. Share the beauty. Leave only footsteps.