I left Seattle just shy of 9 a.m. on a cloudy Sunday morning, headed for the eastern edge of Mt. St. Helens on my 2002 Harley Davidson Low Rider. The road to Windy Ridge is numero two on The Destination Highways Top 74 list of best motorcycle roads in Washington State. I've been wanting to ride up to Windy Ridge for the last few years, and finally I've plotted a trip to do it. On this trip I want to ride as many of the DH roads as I can in three days around South Central and South Western Washington.
Today the plan was to head South from Seattle around the east side of Mt. Rainier south past Puyallup, Elbe, Morton and Randle, checking off DH 57 starting just north of the teensy town of Tanwax (despite the name, there's no spa here) on Highway 7, and ending 32 miles later at Morton. From there I'd continue south past Mt. St. Helens to Carson on the Columbia River, doing Windy Ridge along the way.
South to St. Helens
It was a gray day, so though a mere 30 miles away, My. Rainier was tucked cozily out of sight. Highway 7 is chock full of twists and turns, making fun riding but slow going, with speeds staying between 25 and 35 mph, sometimes slower depending on when the Monaco Coach in front of me decided to hit the brakes.
Forest lines both sides of the road, but a lot of it is new growth from being logged, conjuring memories of the ride heading for the coast on Hwy 101 between Cosmopolis and Raymond. The La Grande post office is cute-as-a-button on the way to Elbe, and just about the time I was ready for a pit stop, Elbe appeared. Not much to stop for except maybe to see the historic church, and bad for motorcycles because every parking lot seemed to be made out of gravel. Since the mini-mart didn't have a restroom I had to stop at the Mt. Rainier Historic Railroad Visitor station, where you can buy railroad-themed souvenirs, for that. More gravel.
Back on the road, I caught a glimpse of a few fishing boats on scenic Alder lake, and cruised through to the official end of DH 57 in Morton, where the deli and espresso cafe is closed Sundays (boo). So, hunger pangs growing, I headed to Randle where I gassed up and got lunch at the Mt. Adams Restaurant, excited to head on to my next DH. The restaurant is at the turn off to DH 4, a 69 mile twisty road nirvana through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that features glorious DH 2 - Windy Ridge - branching off the middle of it. A fabulous motorcycling two-fer! Except for one thing. A fellow motorcyclist at the restaurant mentioned that the Rte 131 bridge that washed out in 2007-2008 was still washed out. When I double-checked with the waitress, "Is there really no way through?" she just giggled and shook her head. Guess I wouldn't be doing the ride today after all.
Detour East
Undaunted, I decided to hit Windy Ridge from the south. But first I'd have to get there. I decided to head east, then curve back around towards the Columbia River from the Goldendale area. Fortunately, Highway 12 (White Pass), itself a fantastic motorcycle road (DH 7), offered almost enough curves and scenery to make up for the disappointment. Caution to White Pass riders: this road has been banged up pretty good in the last couple years. Bad patch jobs and sudden dips dot the road for about 20 miles heading east from Packwood.
White Pass is a beautiful, curvy road with magnificent views of the Cascades. Today, the mountains peeked out from under a cloud mass that shrouded the peaks but left the snow and tree-covered sides showing. The sun, which dared not show itself all day, finally made an appearance. Sightseers in campers pulled over at every scenic vista and snapped photos. I could see more grey sky ahead, but blue off to the east, so I hoped I'd miss the spot of bad weather. No such luck. About 5 miles from Highway 410, the rain began. In moments it became torrential, and in a few more moments it became stinging hail. I laughed inside my helmet, as I am wont to do when stricken by Mother Nature's unavoidable outbursts while on my bike, and pulled over. Luckily I had thrown rain gear in my bag just in case. Back on the road, the hail and rain ended almost as quickly as it had begun, and gave way to 80 degree weather as I rode into Naches.
A Couple Roads Around Yakima
Gassed up again, shed the rain gear, and in my most impulsive decision of the day, decided to find Naches Heights Road, listed as a "Twisted Edge," (DH's name for a fun alternative road) that skirted Yakima through the hills to the south. I was reminded, as I have been before, that the DH book sometimes gives crummy directions and has cryptic maps. After driving around the countryside for 15 minutes, turning around and guessing at roads, I found a road called Summitview and decided the name had promise for a motorcyclist. Indeed, it offered panoramic vistas of picturesque Yakima Valley farmland set against rapidly browning hillsides and clear blue sky. I was soon in the heart of Yakima, which seemed to teem with police cars, btw, and back on Highway 12.
I considered barreling straight through to Goldendale, but since I wasn't in a particular hurry I decided to head to Sunnyside and hit another DH Twisted Edge road. The temperature was 88 as I leaned the bars toward Highway 24 and the grassy brown Black Rock Valley. The road is flat and smooth, in way better shape than the mountain pass roads, and goes for about 26 miles between Eastern Washington's quintessential hills until the turn to Highway 241 south. Along the way, there are fields of hops and tree fruit, and the most massive stacks of wooden fruit crates I have ever seen - thousands of boxes stacked as high and wide as entire buildings.
Highway 241, the "Twisted Edge," is a lightly-travelled, pretty and windy ride through the Rattlesnake Hills, featuring scrub brush flanked by power lines, dropping into vineyards whereupon I promptly started visualizing of a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc and knew I needed to pull in for the day. The Sunnyside Best Western beckoned on the horizon. It's got a hot tub. :)
Tomorrow I head south to Goldendale and on to Carson, WA, along the Columbia River. I'm aiming to hit at least three Destination Highways and one or two Twisted Edges tomorrow. And if I'm lucky maybe there'll be another adventure or two along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment