Timberwolf Mountian Dualsport 9-27-09

Marty and Cheryl of the Northwest Adventure Riders posted a ride to Timberwolf Mountain on the forum.  I have been a member of the Yahoogroup for a while and I had met some of them for a breakfast at RMC in Renton once.  I had yet to hook up for a ride with them but I had choices for this particular Sunday.  I could ride to the Oyster Run in Anacortes, which I have been to many times, and swap sweat with 200,000+ bikers or ride a dualsport ride to some places I have never been and meet some riders I have conversed with but never ridden with.  That’s a no brainer for me so I planned to meet up with them at the suggested location of McDonalds in Bonney Lake around 9:00 AM.

I pulled into the parking lot and before I could get my helmet off Marty and Cheryl pulled up and parked next to me.  We made introductions then went into McDonalds.  I think I just had a McLatte and we sat and chatted for a little while until Jay pulled in.  Then we were four.  A short time later Dennis pulled in.  This was the first ride with the group for Dennis as well.  He had just bought a brand spanking new KLR650.  As it turned out I was the only rider with a bike larger than 650 cc.  We waited until a little after 9:00 AM and it was decided that it was unlikely anyone else was coming.

We mounted up and headed East on Hwy 410.  It was prearranged to stop in Enumclaw to meet up with two other riders, John and Dan. That’s Doctor Dan for the benefit of those in the NW Adventure Riders group.  Those that needed gas filled up at the Arco station and then we were back on Hwy 410 on our way to road FS70.  The parking area just off FS70 was the last meeting place that people could hook up with the group.  When we got there nobody was there so we pushed on.

Rather then do a blow by blow of our routes I have created the GPX route file Timberwolf Lookout.gpx. Just right-click and do a “Save As” to copy it to your computer.

Rather then run out FS70 we ran down to FS72 then up and over to FS70 just to see some lesser seen territory and to spend less time on pavement.  We also took the high road FS7030 route over the pass to the east side rather then take the Naches Trail.  Some of the high road was new territory for me especially coming back down to FS19 on the East side.  We stopped at one of the campgrounds for a little break.  It was 1:00 PM and we were discussing the plan for the remainder of the ride.  We still had a lot of riding ahead of us and not everyone might want to get home all that late.  John decided that he needed to head back so when we got to Hwy 410 he headed West and the rest of us headed East.

We stopped at Whiskey Jacks so folks could buy food, drinks and gas if needed.  I had fueled up before leaving home and with 8.7 gallons I could do the whole ride without refueling.  We discussed the options for getting out to Timberwolf Mountain.  We could take Hwy 410 down to Nile or look for an off road route from Cliffdell.  Off road won out and we back tracked on Hwy 410 about half a mile to pick up FS1706 and FS1600.  This route also takes us to Nile where we get onto FS1500 to head out to Timberwolf Mountain.

The weather was beautiful but the dust was a little bit of a problem during this last portion of the trip.  We had been playing follow the leader pretty well up to this point in spite of folks laying back to avoid the worst of the dust.  Near the final turnoff to Timberwolf the last two riders thought they had missed a turn and doubled back.  This put them several minutes behind the main group.  I went back to make sure they didn’t need any help and got about 1/4 mile when I met them coming up the road.  They told me what happened and they took off as I was  turning around.  I had the advantage of a GPS that was doing a pretty good job with all the  trails we had been riding so I managed to stop at the Timberwolf turnoff that they just went tearing by. 

They didn’t see the riders just a little up the turnoff nor did they hear the honking horns.  Jay took off after them and the rest of us ended up on Timberwolf Mountain.  About ten minutes later everyone was again reunited.  Considering all the twists and turns we had taken during the day in the swirling dust it is a miracle this was the only navigation problem we really had.

Timberwolf is a fantastic viewpoint with a pretty impressive drop-off and the only scenic spoiler was a forest fire that was smoking up much of the Western vistas.  I think it was about 3:30 PM at this point.  There was some discussion on what route to take home.  I had already decided I was going strait back to Hwy 410 and then run it back to Enumclaw.  I think that was the general consensus though there would be more discussion after we got back to Nile.

We back tracked to Nile and eventually headed west on Hwy 410.  I honked my horn as the rest of the group pulled off at Whiskey Jacks.  I didn’t need fuel and I just wanted to keep the wheels rolling.  We had all said our goodbyes back at Nile so there was no reason for me to stop.  The trip home was uneventful and the traffic wasn’t too bad.  I stopped at a favorite eatery in Renton to have a burger and a beer. 

My total mileage was 292 miles and about 105 miles were off road.  It was all dual track and none of it was really challenging unless speed becomes a factor.  There were a few steep stretches, some washboard sections and a badly degraded road here and there but that was the worst of it.   Lets just say I was keeping up with the thumpers and I am not very accomplished when it comes to off road riding.  All in all a very good day.

Thanks to Marty and Cheryl for hosting a great ride.  All the picture from this ride can be found in this gallery.