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| Nakashima Barn |
The trail starts at the Nakashima Barn, which is found after a long, meandering drive on Hwy. 9, through wooded country-side, past Lake McMurray. The barn is the last building remaining from the 89-acre dairy farm of the Nakashima family, who were forced to sell the farm in 1942 when they were relocated to an internment camp during WWII. The large family was split up, sent to different camps, and never returned to the county after being released.
I did research the bike trail and the route to the ride start in advance, as I'd been meaning to try this ride for some time, then for one reason or another didn't go. Until Saturday morning, when I gathered up my maps and cue sheets, put my bike in the car, and headed south. Expecting a hot afternoon, I tried to start early, applying a thick coat of sun-block before leaving home. But I also brought along a rain jacket and long-sleeved shrug, which was lucky because the day was chilly and over-cast when I arrived at the barn a little before 11am.
I have ridden through this area a couple of times before. First was back in 2010 when I was returning from Bicycle Mechanic School in Ashland. I had meant to take Amtrak home but when I changed trains in Seattle I wasn't allowed to bring my bike on board. After some argument I got a refund for my ticket and set out to bicycle all the way to Bellingham. I cheated a bit and took my bike on the Swift commuter bus as far as Lynnwood. Then, without a good map of the area, I improvised a route by generally following Hwy. 99 generally northward. A long day, but I made it. The second time was in 2014 when I rode the Red-Bell 100 World Bicycle Relief fund-raiser, which was a much better planned and supported ride.
But much of the route I rode this time didn't really look familiar. True, a lot of the trail is a smooth strip of blacktop beside a mowed-grass equestrian path, bordered by green shrubbery and trees, which kind of all looks the same wherever you are. The Red-Bell 100 had a rest-stop in Arlington, at a city park with a band-stand or picnic shelter. I didn't spot it on my first pass through this time, because it was surrounded by vendors and buskers at a Saturday Farmer's Market, but I stopped for coffee and a snack on the return trip and then recognized the place. North of town, the route runs on wide paved sidewalks along a city street in an industrial/commercial area, with many newer apartment and condo developments that weren't there in 2014.
In Arlington a small bridge crosses over the confluence of the north and south forks of the Stillaguamish River, which creates some interesting currents, sand bars and log jams under the bridge. (This point is also about twelve miles down-river, or down Hwy. 530, from the little town of Oso, which was destroyed in a huge landslide in 2014.)
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| Pilchuk Creek, 7-8 miles from the barn |
I rode about 17-18 miles, to somewhere past Getchell Road - the trail is pretty flat but there are some long, gradual up-grades that can get tiring, especially considering that I had only brought along one water bottle, and no snacks. By this point it was also getting warm and sunny enough to take off my jacket and long sleeves. So I turned back at the top of an up-grade and had an easy coast back toward Arlington for my rest-stop, making a 35-mile round-trip.
I feel a little guilty for driving 100 miles for a 35-mile bike ride, but it was good to have a change of scene for the holiday weekend. If I'd planned better and brought more food and drink I could have made the ride longer, and maybe even found some ride companions to carpool with me. Full round-trip ride would be 60 miles.
Next time.
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| Not the Farmer's Market, but there was a beer garden |
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