Almost Forgot - Ski to Sea

The annual Memorial Day weekend Ski to Sea relay race is coming up early this year, this weekend. I'll be missing the fun because I'm going on an excursion to the Seattle International Film Festival with my community college class.

I haven't been watching the Nooksack River as in previous springs, but here are some photos of the big woodpile, for the benefit of passing canoes. The old pile at the base of the railroad bridge has washed out, leaving just a sandbar with a few old trees stuck in it on that side. Now there is a loose, dirty pile at the Main Street auto bridge.

From the sidewalk on the other side of the bridge, you can see the starting point of the new Nooksack River Trail. This view is of the off-leash dog area near the boat ramp. The wide, packed gravel path runs along the river side through Hovander Park, with side paths to Tennant Lake, as far as the Slater Road bridge. The trail continues on the other side of Slater Road to Marine Drive, but it's not developed yet, and it's pretty overgrown, muddy, rocky, rooty and narrow; also, the Slater Road crossing is a bit dangerous. I've ridden it a few times on my Surly CrossCheck, though, so it's not exactly brutal terrain.