Yesterday I attempted a scramble up McClellan Butte. Normally, this would be classified more of a "hike" than a "scramble", but it is so early in the season that I expected that the trail would be under much snow.
I started out by doing something that I haven't done for quite a while: I drove to the trailhead. Amie was attending a Permaculture class for the day, so I had our shared vehicle at my disposal for the day. It was already late morning by the time I got my act together and decided to head into the mountains. I wanted something challenging but not too far away, and McClellan Butte seemed to fit the bill.
I arrived at the trailhead at the bright and early hour of 1:00pm, and quickly started bombing up the trail. The signs posted at the trailhead alluded to some kind of "new" trail. I had been on the McClellan Butte trail maybe 2-3 years ago, but I'm not sure if this previous visit would have been on the "new" or "old" trail.
Solid snow started at about the 2500' level, and by 3400' I had lost all evidence of the trail. I attempted to follow the trail more or less with the help of my GPS, however the dotted line I was following on the USGS map was probably the "old" trail, and I was not sure if the "new" trail still followed this path.
At about 4000', the trail is supposed to make a long traverse to the south up towards a saddle. It was tough doing this traverse in the snow while still attempting to follow the trail. I crossed a chute with a view straight to the summit, and wondered if I could just start climbing straight up to make a shortcut. I decided to give it a chance, and headed straight up between the chute and a protected swale of trees.
I made it up to about 4700', only 500' short of the top, when the going got really sketchy; steep snow and loose mossy rocks. I concluded that this was not a viable route to the summit. I briefly absorbed the view and then gingerly made my down this steep part.
Part of the reason that this shortcut was so tempting was that it appeared to be a great glissading route. This proved true during my descent, I dropped about 1000' in less than 10 minutes. A few other glissading shortcuts presented themselves after I returned to the trail. There is also a shortcut very near the trailhead; just follow the right-of-way under the electrical transmission line with the steel towers for a short distance to shave off about 1/2 mile from the trail.
I was back to the car by about 5:00pm, and was home in time for dinner.
If you refer to my last post, there was mention of my new bike cargo trailer. Well, now I have a new bike to attach it to. Actually, I have had the new bike for about a month now, but today I finally received the special-order part that allows me to attach the trailer to the new bike. The bike and trailer are now one.
The Bike is a 2009 Novara Safari. It is a rugged touring bike with some mountain bike characteristics, like wide tires, disc brakes, and a semi-upright riding position. I instantly fell in love with the Safari after taking it for a test ride. The only drawbacks of the bicycle that I have yet to discover are related to the 29" wheels that the size "Large" Safari has. Because the 29" wheels are larger than the standard 26" bike wheel, I have found a couple of incompatibilities:
The Safari also has gears. Yes! 27 of them! Although I have been just fine riding a single-speed bike for the past 4 years. I have come to realize that a single gear would just not be practical for hauling a heavy trailer for a long distance trip, potentially into the mountains. So I am now re-learning the art of shifting.
With my new human-powered rig now complete, I immediately tested it by riding to the co-op and hauling home 55 lbs. of groceries. (yes, I actually weighted out the cargo when I got home.) It was pure bliss being able to bring back a six-pack of beer, a large bag of cat food, a family size pack of toilet paper, and other necessities all in one trip!
I am already scheming some long bike trips, including biking/hiking/scrambling combo trips, that my new rig now enables me to do.
Anyway, Amie and I concocted a plan to ride to Bothell and "rescue" one of the wild chickens that run around Bothell Landing near the Samammish River Trail. On past visits to this area, we have seen hordes of wild chickens running around this place. We thought we would find a young chick or even a fertilized egg, and give it a better home in south-central Seattle.
The other piece of this story is that I received a Bob Yak trailer for my birthday. This is a slick device that enables me to carry vast amounts of cargo on my bike. We have a cat carrier left over from one of Felix's vet visits (the one where he misbehaved during his flea bath and the vet delivered him to us in one of their carriers and wouldn't allow him to be removed from the carrier in their office.) So, I strapped the cat carrier onto my bike trailer, hoping to fill it with one or more Bothellian chickens.
Amie and I rode northward, along Lake Washington Blvd. and along the Burke Gilman until we reached Bothell. At Bothell, we could only find a total of four chickens; two full grown male/female pairs. It didn't feel right to take them, besides, they looked like they would be a tough catch. Feeling slightly defeated, we rode to the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville and had nachos and a few brews.
Next, we continued south on the Samammish Trail to Redmond. Amie was feeling a little ill from allergies and a cold, so she hopped on a bus in Redmond to head back towards home. I wasn't sure if it would be kosher to bring my bike trailer on board a bus, and I was still feeling good to ride, so I continued south on West Lake Samammish Pkwy and then west on the I-90 trail.
My total mileage for the day was about 50 miles, while Amie logged about 35 of those miles. Meanwhile, the search for new chickens continues...
© 2008 Owen Kehoe
Route feedback to:
