The drive south on I-5 on Friday was awful. I got stuck in a mid-day traffic jam near the Lewis-McChord army base and spent hours creeping a few miles in afternoon heat. I tried a detour on SR510, but new roundabouts didn't match up with my paper map or Google directions and I ended up on a driving tour of the small towns southeast of the state capital in Olympia, before accidentally finding my way again on Hwy. 99 near the Olympia Regional Airport.
Two hours after my planned arrival time I made it to Reiki Ranch, where I'd reserved a camp site through HipCamp. The placed looked a little shady (not in a good way) from the road, with RVs and rusty cars parked next to the driveway, but the camping area a short drive up a twisty gravel road was surrounded by trees, quiet, private and breezy after the hot drive. I felt safe and comfortable there for two nights sleeping in a one-woman tent. The place has a natural spring but I wouldn't recommend drinking the water untreated. I only used it to brush my teeth and take towel-baths, which were cool and refreshing. I brought along a supply of drinking water and two thermos cups of espresso. There was also no wifi or cell phone service, which might be a plus if you're looking for a peaceful escape.
Saturday morning I woke with the birds at dawn, drank my tepid espresso shots, and headed out on my bicycle by 6:30am for a five mile ride to the trail start at Adna, a tiny town which mostly consists of a small grocery store, a drive-through espresso stand and a state-park maintained parking lot and restrooms by the trail. My T-Mobile wifi and MapMyRide signal picked up near the trail, but I must have hit "pause" by mistake along the way, so there was a big gap in my mapping and ride stats for the day.
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| New bike-ped bridge over Hwy. 6 |
The new overpass is a few miles east of Adna and I rode that way first, before doubling back toward the official ride start at the Owl & Olive venue. The trail here is paved, giving way to packed dirt and gravel for most of the rest of the way. In some places riders need to watch their front wheel where the gravel is a bit loose and deep.It was gratifying to see that most of the early riders were middle-aged (or older) women, and most of the volunteers setting up the rest-stops were women, too. A little later in the day some families with kids turned out. I saw road/gravel bikes, hybrids, comfort-cruisers, e-bikes and even one man on a unicycle who crossed the trail at Meskill Road. He probably preferred pavement to gravel but I saw him again at the finish, still looking fresh and smiling. Apparently there were also paved road routes for faster, more competitive riders. I never saw an official route map, except for the 2022 maps I had printed out at home, but it didn't really matter, I just stayed on the scenic gravel trail. I heard later that two or three hundred people had registered for the ride, but the trail was never crowded and people were relaxed, friendly and pleasant.
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| Doty General Store & P.O. - doesn't open until 9am |
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Welcome cows at the turnoff
to Rainbow Falls State Park |
I detoured through Rainbow Falls State Park, a pretty park which has hiker/biker and equestrian camp spots in addition to car camping. The spots were already full when I made my plans, which is why I stayed five miles away.
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An old railway station, I guess ...
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| ... since it's located on Railroad Ave. |
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| Trees along the trail seemed to be draped with Spanish Moss |
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Main Street - Pe Ell
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Pe Ell is a tiny town a few blocks off the trail. A former railroad, timber and farming hub, it has a huge, wide main street. Only a few businesses are still open, and one whole block looks like the shops all closed down during the 1930s Depression, and never opened again. |
Pe Ell Saturday Farmer's Market
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The historical sources I found (via Google search) say the town was named after a French-Canadian Hudson Bay Co. guide called Pierre Something. Sources say that natives couldn't pronounce the rolled "r" in "Pierrrrrre" and it came out more like "Pielllllle." However, they also say that most early settlers were of Polish, Russian or Slavic origin, so it may be the Europeans were really to blame. The next town down the trail is called Pluvius, which I suppose means "rainy" or "pluvieuse" in French.
Here are some typically beautiful trail scenes:
Jones Brewing Co. served burgers and beer at the end of the ride, which I reached a little after lunchtime, but I'm not a big beef & beer eater. Besides I had to ride a good twelve or fifteen miles back to Reiki Ranch afterwards. I stopped at the little store in Adna, hoping to pick up a sandwich, but they were pretty much cleaned out already. I had to settle for some ice cream bars for dinner, along with the bananas and granola bars I had brought with me.
When I got back to my camp spot my bike was covered with grey dust. I don't ride in the rain very much any more now that I'm not commuting by bike, but I'd forgotten what a dry, gravel trail can do to your drive train.
I rode a total of about 66 miles on Saturday, including ten miles to and from my camping place. My wrists were a bit sore, but otherwise I felt good and tired. I slept well that night, and got an early start driving back home on Sunday. Traffic on the return trip wasn't awful, but if I was going to try the trail again, I'd take the train instead of driving. Amtrak runs between Fairhaven Station in Bellingham to Centralia or Chehalis. I could have brought my bike and camping stuff on board and settled down in comfort, for probably about the same price as the gas I burned up driving there and back alone.
In fact, maybe once the trail is complete from Chehalis to Willapa Bay, I'll try it again. Make it a long weekend trip, riding the trail both ways out and back, carrying my gear and camping along the way.
Next time.
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