BC MTB Trip: Part 4 - Alice in Wonderland (8.26.10)

Continued from part 3.

After completing our epic ride on Comfortably Numb the previous day, we decided to have a relaxing day of riding close to camp, in Squamish. The plan was to first get coffee and breakfast at my favorite java house, Onatah; then head over to Tantalus Bike Shop to get some ride recommendations for the day. As always, the coffee was superb and very similar in taste to Full City Coffee, here in Eugene. I fueled up on a breakfast “Manwich” which was also quite tasty. After breakfast we headed over to Tantalus, where we were greeted by a friendly fella behind the counter. After asking him for ride suggestions, he enthusiastically pulled open a map and began tracing a route with his finger. He stated that since we had gotten rain the night before, he was going to send us to some trails that would normally be too dusty. The plan of attack would be to follow a series of connecting trails whose names were based on Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland”. Not only was he extremely helpful with helping us plan a ride, he also offered us a ride back in his car if we wanted to shuttle the road portion. Are you kiddin’ me, talk about service! We thanked him for the offer and trail beta before leaving the store, and although we planned to ride the road portions we were touched by his hospitality. Both Tantalus and CORSA Cycles in Squamish are excellent XC bike shops with super friendly staff, this is in contrast to our experience with the bike shops in the Whistler Village, which are mainly DH specific and not as friendly to us lycra wearing folks. If anyone knows of a good XC shop in Whistler please let me know in the comment box below.

Map and tracks from our ride

After studying the map again, we decided to park at the intersection of Hwy 99 and Depot road, just north of Squamish. From here, we rode our bikes up Hwy. 99 for 4 miles (and ~750’ in elevation gain) to our turnoff, the access road to Cat Lake. As we rode along the gravel road, we noticed that the skies were threatening rain, but hey we’re from Oregon, a little rain isn’t gonna stop us from getting on some quality singletrack! Soon enough, we reached a parking area with a kiosk for Cat Lake. Knowing that we were close to the trailhead, I pulled out my trusty map to determine where it might be. After a quick study, I was pretty sure we had just passed it, unfortunately down at the bottom of a steep pitch we had just climbed up. Emily offered to ride back down to see if she could find it, which I graciously accepted. Sure enough she found it and shouted back up to me to let me know.

A view of the Tantalus Range and forming storm clouds

 The first part of the trail is rated as a blue and dumps you out at the northwest end of Cat Lake. I'm not sure if this trail has a name or considered the beginning of "Cheshire Cat", the trail we were looking for. Once we got to the lake we had a little trouble finding the main trail, but after some looking around, we found it heading straight west out of a trashed out camping spot. The Cheshire Cat is rated as a black, which was definitely fitting for some of the sections; although as a whole I would have put it on par with some of the harder blue rated trails in the area. Probably the hardest part of the trail was based on the surface conditions, super fine and deep dust on the steep descents. Apparently this is where the guy at Tantalus thought the rain would have helped things. Other then the dust, the trail had lots of short climbs and downhills to work your legs and lungs, and I was definitely feeling our long ride from the day before. There was also some fun bridge work here and there to make things interesting. At the very end of the trail, and after a steep switchback, comes another one that transitions into a bridge over a creek. It's a really sharp turn and if you blow it you’re going for a dip off the high dive.

Cheshire Cat

Some bridge work early on in the trail

A fun log ride in the middle of Cheshire Cat

The ladder switchback at the end of Cheshire Cat

Don't miss the turn!

 The next trail we jumped on was “Cheshire Kitten”, a short connector trail. My recollection was that this trail featured natural technical obstacles that weren’t too tough. After the trail ended we headed south on Hwy. 99 for a short distance until it passed over the Cheekye River. On the other side of the highway bridge is where our next trail would start, “White Rabbit”. This trail was a great XC loop with intermediate terrain and fun roots, rocks, and bridges. This trail ends at the intersection with Alice Lake Road, which was familiar territory for us.

Emily rides over a small rock feature on White Rabbit

Wonderland!

More bridges on Wonderland

Creek crossings too!

 The imprisoned boulder on Wonderland. Quite a sight!

The last trail we hit in the “Alice in Wonderland” network, was Wonderland! This was by far my favorite one of the ride; I can’t believe it is so close to our campground and it took us four years to discover it. Basically, this trail parallels Hwy. 99 on the east side all the way back to Depot Road, where we had parked the car. The flow on this trail was amazing. Em and I rallied over bridges, roots and through small rock gardens. There were also some fun skinnies here and there to test your balance on the way down the trail if you so choose. At one point, to the side of the trail is a massive boulder that fell off the cliff to the east. This piece of rock has been completely caged in by trees that have grown up around it, and it’s a pretty impressive piece of natural trail art. By the time we reached Depot Road our smiles had not worn off...what a great trail! As we turned onto Depot, we agreed that we hadn’t gotten enough riding in for the day, and decided to extend it with a quick lap around the “The Dump Trails”.

The Dump Trail system was actually Emily’s and my introduction to mountain biking in Squamish, and it was also near the start of Em’s mountain biking career, so it does hold some good memories for us. That said, if you’ve come to Squamish/Whistler as a ride destination this would not be my first recommendation for a ride suggestion, but it is a good place to put down some miles on easy to intermediate trails with natural root and rock features. It should also be noted that there is a clear-cut smack dab in the middle of the trail system, which cuts off a couple of trails and can make route finding a little challenging. I still remember the first time we rode here and came across the clearcut, it took us about 15 minutes to find where the trail picked back up again.
On this ride we rode up "Sweet Judy" and “Rusty Bucket” before heading over to “Larry’s Loop/Cheekeye Fan”. On the way over to Larry’s/Cheekeye we ran into the clear-cut once again, but luckily this time there was some flagging and a faint trail which allowed us to find our way through with minimal effort. The cut did allow an unobstructed view of the sky and what looked to be a big storm coming over the Tantalus range. Since we were about as far as we had planned to be from the car, it didn’t affect our remaining ride plans. Once we reached Cheekeye Fan, we headed west a short distance to the powerline road, and then headed south on to hit the next planned trail, “Cracked Patella”. This trail was probably a little harder than the others, and you could also tell that it doesn’t get much traffic; it was however a good alternative to riding back on the trials we had just ridden up.

Threatening skies over the Tantalus Range (taken from the clearcut)

The last trail we had planned to ride was “Two Fist”, which was rated as a black diamond. Basically this trail seems to be one that time forgot, and a graveyard of wooden stunts. At one point in time it must have had quite an elaborate system of elevated ladder bridges and skinnies, based on all the leftover braces still attached high up on the trunks of the trees. I’m not sure why this trail was left to decay, but it was kinda cool to see. Once we finished Two Fist, we connected back up with Sweet Judy which we rode down to finish the ride.

Remnants of the ladders that used to be on Two Fist

More of the graveyard

In summary, I would say when I do this ride again I’d skip Chesire Cat, for it accounted for a majority of the climb, and was just too dusty to be considered worth it. I might reconsider if a lot of rain had fallen recently. Instead, I would ride up the dump trails and Hwy. 99 to White Rabbit and back down Wonderland; from there eat lunch and then hit one of the other great Squamish Trail systems (e.g. Garibaldi Highlands/Alice Lake, Crumpet Forest).

After the ride we headed over to Howe Sound Brewing for a beer and some hot wings, two of my favorite things! As people who know me will tell you, I’m somewhat of beer snob, and relish in the taste of a strong/rich microbrew. That said, I really wanted to like Howe Sound, as the only local brewery in Squamish. However, if you also like the taste of strong hopped-up Northwest style beers, I can’t recommend Howe Sound. To start with, pints cost ~$6.50, pretty outrageous if you’re used to paying 3 to 4 bucks; I’m sure the cost has something to do with the high alcohol tax. I actually wouldn’t mind dishin’ out that much for a pint, but I'd better be knocked out of my seat with flavor, or at least on par with what I drink at home. I had the IPA, and to be honest, it didn’t taste much different than an American lager (e.g. Bud). By no means do I intend to insult the brewmaster or locals that enjoy their beer, for I’m sure a lot of it has to do with how spoiled we are in the PNW. My other complaint has to do with the cost of the hot wings, $12 for 9 pieces?! Come on! At least they were pretty tasty. OK, enough bitchin’…

After the brewery, we headed back to camp to cook dinner (since we were now broke). After dinner we once again relaxed, planned our ride for the next day, and headed off to bed.

To be continued…

BC MTB Trip: Part 1 - Alice Lake/Garibaldi Highlands (8.23.10)

The time had finally come to head to Squamish/Whistler, BC for our annual wedding anniversary vacation. Emily and I have been traveling there for our last five anniversaries, with the last four centered around mountain biking. Since we always go in late August, weather can be a roll of the dice because their rainy season seems start back up around that time. Every year it’s a different story: all rain, all sun, a mix thereof… Fortunately, this year we were blessed with mostly sunny skies.

Emily was guiding at the August MBO on Saturday, so we wouldn’t be able to leave until Sunday morning. This actually gave me time to get everything packed up and spend some time with the dogs while she was working on the trails in Oakridge. Amazingly, everything came together well, and I had most of it done by the time Emily got home late-afternoon on Saturday. After some last minute shopping and other preparations, we went to bed early to better prepare for the long drive the next day.

The next morning, the 7:00 alarm signaled it was time to get up and get movin’. Emily fed and walked the dogs, while I packed up the Subaru and attached the bike racks and wheel holders to the roof. Soon we were off, and after a quick stop for coffee and hot chocolate we headed north on I-5. The drive was pretty much as expected, traffic here and there with the worst of it near Tacoma, WA. For some reason this place seems to be more traffic-prone than Portland and Seattle, at least from my experience. We did have one bit of excitement. While driving down the highway in the heart of downtown Seattle I heard a thumping noise. I looked in my side mirror expecting to see something I had just run over, but instead I saw my mountain bike wheel rolling down the center of the road!!! As it rolled, it resembled Moses parting the Red Sea, as cars swerved to both sides to avoid hitting it. I quickly drove my car to the side of the highway so that I could clean up the remnants of the wheel and maybe salvage a spoke or two. As I looked back down the road I was amazed to see my wheel still rolling in the road before coming to a stop and leaning against the concrete barrier on the side of the road I was on! I quickly ran down the side of the road to gather the wheel and inspect it. Incredibly, the wheel suffered absolutely no damage! How could this be?! Chalking it up to unbelievable luck, I put it inside the car (this time) and we continued on our way.

After an easy pass through at the US/Canada border, we hit some Vancouver traffic and roadwork that’s been going on ever since we’ve been traveling up here. Once past this, it was smooth sailing on the Sea to Sky Highway all the way to Squamish and Paradise Valley Campground, our home base for the week. We had been on the road for 9 ½ hours. We quickly unpacked, set-up the sleeping quarters, raised the giant tarp (in case of rain), and assembled the kitchen. By the time we were finished with these chores, it was time for dinner, relaxation, and bed. Since the fire danger was rated as extreme, no campfires were permitted, much to our chagrin. This would continue for our whole trip, and would also send us to bed relatively early each night; this was probably good since we had a lot of miles of trail riding planned. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep atop my bright yellow Paco Pad.

Base camp!

Before I continue and get started on describing the trails, here is a list of things you should know about visiting and mountain biking in B.C.:

1. Trails are rated just like ski runs on a green, blue, black, and double-black scale.
2. The trails are much more difficult than the rating might suggest based on a USA scale. In other words, an advanced trail in say, Oakridge, OR (e.g. Hardesty), would barely register as a blue.
3. Bring your own beer! If you’re used to the strong Northwest-style microbrews, you’ll think theirs tastes like Budweiser. Also, their beer is uber-expensive, about ~$12 a six pack for yellow fizzy beer.
4. Even with the exchange rate being essentially equal, everything else is also very expensive, at least in Sqaumish/Whistler. Bring as much stuff from home as you can, especially food.
5. Contrary to popular belief, healthcare for US citizens is not cheap or free, in fact quite the opposite. They wanted $500 each time you need to see a doctor at the hospital, which is only the check-in fee! If you do get hurt, you can go to the walk-in urgent care, it’s at least a little cheaper.

OK, back to our story…

The next morning brought the great sounds and smells of camping, and I was excited to get up and start the day. Since it was a weekday, the campground was nearly empty which allowed Em and me to have a nice quiet breakfast of bacon/sausage and blueberry pancakes.

Emily keeps the bacon cracklin'

After fueling up our tanks, we packed our Camelbacks and headed toward our first ride of the trip, the Garibaldi Highlands/Alice Lake riding area in Squamish. This area is perhaps our favorite in Squamish, and is basically a network of high quality XC trails with some meaty DH trails mixed in to satisfy your needs, should your appetite require it. The route we did on this trip was essentially the same as the one we usually do, with a couple of new additions here and there. Starting from the small parking lot/turnaround at the end of Perth Drive in the Garibaldi Highlands neighborhood, we rode a gravel road (closed to cars) up, down, and over to the start of “Jack’s Trail”, which is used to connect to Alice Lake. This trail is rated as a green and is just that, a pleasant warm-up on a mellow and wide singletrack through a dark forest setting. I had actually remembered this trail being more rooty, so I’m thinking they may have groomed it up a bit since it’s a high traffic trail for both hikers and bikers. Em and I made short work of the trail and soon found ourselves in a parking lot for Alice Lake. From here we continued up to Alice Lake Road and then headed east. Next we reached a Y in the road and headed right, around a gate, and up another gravel road. Taking this road for another mile or so, we soon hit the Bob McIntosh Trail which turns from doubletrack to singletrack. Emily and I both had a quick laugh as we recalled a couple years back when my crank arm came detached from my bike while still being attached to my foot via the clipless pedal/cleat on this trail.

Squamish trail map. There are better ones
available for purchase at the bike shops and the
Adventure Center in town. My favorite is the
one by Terra Pro which can also be found here.

The start of the ride at the end of Perth Drive.
To the right of the gate is a hose that lets you fill up
your waterbottle/Camelback with natural spring water.

Looking back toward Squamish from
an overlook near the start of the ride

The start of the Bob McIntosh Trail

Em poses for a quick shot

A memorial to Bob McIntosh

At the end of the Bob McIntosh Trail, we were now at the section where the real fun begins, starting with Dead End Loop. Since most of my time is spent riding in the Oakridge area, these trails felt much slower and a lot more technical. Oakridge trails are a blast to rail after a long gravel road climb, but it’s nice to have a change of pace, especially since I actually prefer more technical riding. After playing on this short loop, we made the short gut-busting climb up “Rock ‘n’ Roll” and headed to The Corners. “Rob’s Corners” comes first followed by “Cliff’s Corners”. Both trails are very similar in character and can essentially be treated as one. They are buffed and zig-zag back and forth over alternating banked corners; if you can find a rhythm these can be quite fast and fun. Since they run through a clearing for the power lines, you get a nice view of The Chief and Sky Pilot Peak off in the distance.

Somewhere on Dead End Loop

Time to climb

Emily heads up the first pitch of Rock 'n' Roll

Emily nears the summit of Rock 'n' Roll

A view of Sky Pilot and a partially obstructed Chief

Emily heads into The Corners

Just before Cliff’s ends, a side trail darts off to the right into the woods, a trail named “Don’t Tell Jude”. Jude is probably my favorite trail in this network and reminds me of a shorter and easier version of "A River Runs Through It" (in Whistler). It’s slow going, and has many wood ladder bridges and skinnies to ride, and basically one leads right into another. Since a majority of the stunts are just above ground level, it’s a good place to practice your skills for this type of riding, especially if you’re planning to ride some of the intermediate and advanced trails in Whistler. Every time I ride Don’t Tell Jude, I am able to ride more and more of it, although I yet to clean every stunt. It’s technically a pretty tough trail, but only rated as a blue.

Psyched for Jude
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

Emily starts it off on Jude

The author enjoys some fun ladder bridges on Jude
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

Steep exit on this one
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

Paved with wood

This one felt sort of like a roller coaster
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

Up and over to a log ride on the other side
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

The log ride on the other side
(photo by Emily Pfeifer)

After finishing up Jude we made a right turn onto “Tracks from Hell”, also rated a blue but less difficult. The entrance is kinda fun which has you riding along a narrow, low elevation bridge that seems to go on forever. Once past this, it’s pretty much natural rock and root obstacles.

The trail marker for Tracks From Hell. Most of the trails
in Squamish and Whistler are well marked like this one.

Em on the never ending bridge
at the start of Tracks From Hell

Up until this point, Em and I had been in familiar territory, so we decided to divert a little bit and jump on one of the black rated trails, “Entrails”. To get there, we first had to climb a small hill and ride a mellow stretch before reaching the entrance to Entrails. Based on the map it appeared that we were in for some good downhill, which was somewhat accurate. For me, the trail was a mixed bag of fun technical stretches, fun downs, and extremely steep “I’m gonna walk this” pitches. I always hate losing trail elevation on my feet, and there was definitely more than I would have liked to walk, but hey, like they say, “If you’re not hikin’ you’re not bikin’…"

Entrails!

Typical natural obstacles on Entrails

Looking uphill from the same spot as the photo above

Em drops into a descent on Entrails

A tough granite pitch. This photo does
not do the steepness any justice.

Emily near the bottom of Entrails

More Entrails

After finishing Entrails, we headed over to more familiar trails and a couple more of my favorites in the area. First up was a trail aptly named "Roller Coaster". This trail is rated as a blue, and has a great little descent toward the end of it with banked switchbacks. Roller Coaster actually dumps you onto Perth Drive a hundred yards or so below where we parked our car. Since we didn’t feel like we had gotten enough riding in, and another great trail was just on the other side of the road, we continued on our bikes. This next trail is called “Lumberjacks” and is also a blue, and super fun. Once again our pace was slowed as the trail is more on the techie side, with pretty much everything being ride-able and a good one to practice a no-dab run on. I don’t really remember if I touched down or not, but I do know I had a smile on my face at the end of it.

We made it to Roller Coaster, woohoo!

Still not exhausted, we decided to add on some more trails that we hadn’t done before. Luckily for us there happened to be a couple blues that would lead us north and to the bottom part of the Garibaldi Estates neighborhood. The two trails we rode were "Trestle" and "Coho Park Trail" which were a great way to end the ride and did the trick of making us feel like we got in a full day. We still had a road climb back up to our car which felt good, and gave us a nice view of the surrounding mountains. Once we had loaded up, we headed back to camp, made some mean pesto pasta, drank some PNW beer, and headed off to bed, ready to repeat the process the following day. It was good to be back in BC!

Tracks from our ride:

The view driving back to camp
(Omega, Tantalus Range, 6335')

To be continued…