While my bike blogging brethren are working hard down in Las Vegas to cover all the new gear at the Interbike International Trade Expo this week, I'm hanging out here in western Washington close to the home office.
Not that I'm complaining. This was the finest first day of fall I ever remember here, or anywhere else for that matter. Dry, sunny, with highs (so far) in the mid-80s.
When a day like this rolls around, you should make the most of it. I've been wanting to ride my mountain bike over some trails on Rattlesnake Mountain, and today offered the best opportunity.
Issaquah Alps
Rattlesnake is one of a string of mountains the south side of the I-90 corridor as you head into the Cascade Mountains. Once termed the foothills of the Cascades, the status of Squak, Cougar, Tiger and Rattlesnake mountains were elevated when a local naturalist named them collectively the Issaquah Alps.
Parts of Rattlesnake Mountain are preserved, but other parts have been heavily logged. This means that huge swaths of forest have been clear-cut.
It also means that there are pretty good roads for biking up the mountain, and there's little to block the views once you get further up.
No motor vehicles
The roads are closed to unauthorized motor vehicles, so it looked it was just me and my RockHopper on the mountain today. I passed through a couple of gates and just stayed on what looked like the “main drag,” a hard-packed gravel road that meandered into the woods.
There were several roads to the right and left that looked like they'd be worth exploring, but I was seeking the high ground so I kept climbing. Heading up a steep grade on the south slope, I stopped for a breather, turned around, and nearly jumped when I saw Mount Rainier stretched out before me. [That's Mount Rainier, classified as an active volcano, above.]
Unfortunately, I had to be back home in time for the school bus so I couldn't continue up this road and over the ridge for views of the Snoqualmie River Valley described by Tom Kirkendall in “Mountain Bike Adventures in Washington's South Cascades and Puget Sound.”
Getting there
The trailhead is actually closer to my house than the more popular Tiger Mountain mountain biking trailhead. I'd recommend this to anyone who's looking for a change of scenery. Take I-90 to Exit 25 (Route 18), head south for 0.1 mile, make the first left, and park.
The Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance has a wiki page describing Rattlesnake Mountain biking.
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