I knew from earlier trip reports that the road was closed by a partial bridge washout 6 miles below the trailhead, so I put my bicycle in the back of my car. The drive was fine in a passenger car, just a few potholes to go around carefully. The bridge was blocked by a Jersey barrier, but there were no signs saying you couldn't walk across. There was only one other car parked there (early on a weekday morning) and room for several more.
The bike ride to the trailhead ascends 1700 feet in 6 miles, with a pretty steady gradient. The road was in excellent condition; I rode a road bike with skinny 28 mm tires and didn't have any problems with big bumps or soft gravel (although bigger tires would be better, of course). The ride took me a little over an hour of steadily grinding upwards.
After leaving my bike at the trailhead, I hiked the 0.7 miles to Blue Lake first. The trail was in excellent shape, except for a couple of spots near the lake that required a little scrambling. The number of campsites and web of social trails at the lake make it obvious that it's usually a very popular spot, so it was extra special to have it all to myself.
After returning to the junction, I hiked to Dock Butte. There was one large downed tree to crawl over or under, otherwise the trail was in excellent shape. The views from the top were spectacular, of course.
On the return, just after passing the junction with the Blue Lake trail, I headed northwest through the woods for about a quarter mile to Tuckway Lake. I didn't see any hint of a trail. Going there, I stayed in the saddle, which was pretty brushy; I returned a little higher up on the side of the ridge to the northeast, which was more open. Tuckway Lake was pretty enough, but kind of anticlimactic after Blue Lake; unless you're a lakebagger like me, there's probably no reason to go there.
On the bike ride back downhill to my car, I met two people who had hiked up from the road closure. They were about to turn around, but I told them they were only 0.8 miles from the trailhead and a further 0.7 miles from Blue Lake, and I think I convinced them it was worth continuing on. They were the only people I saw all day.
Comments
Maria J on Dock Butte, Blue Lake
Lakebagger! Didn't know there was a term for people like us, but I love it. Definitely more interested in finding little waterholes than reaching peaks - glad I'm not alone.
Bummed to hear the road is still closed, but it sounds like you had a lovely adventure. Hope WTA/FS are able to resolve the road issue, would love to go back next year!
Posted by:
Maria J on Sep 23, 2021 11:23 AM
MikeOnAHike on Dock Butte, Blue Lake
That sounds like an impressive bike ride - thanks for all the detail! I'm curious how fast you went on the descent.
At some point I'd like to a bike/hike combo, but I'd probably start with something a little flatter. If you have any favorites that are less than 50' to 100' of gain per mile, I'd love to hear about them!
Posted by:
MikeOnAHike on Sep 29, 2021 09:23 PM
John McDonald on Dock Butte, Blue Lake
That's actually the first bike-hike like I've done like that, driving the bike to a blocked-off road and riding to a trailhead. But it makes me want to look for other closed-off roads leading to great trails.
I'm a pretty cautious descender, even on a good paved road; on the gravel descent, keeping an eye out for potholes and loose gravel, I doubt I got over 15 mph.
Posted by:
John McDonald on Sep 29, 2021 09:59 PM
MikeOnAHike on Dock Butte, Blue Lake
Cool - 15mph doesn't sound too bad. I'm a cautious descender too unless I have good pavement and good visibility. I have not done a bike-hike yet, but there are a couple on my radar. Maybe you'll find this information useful:
Tin Can Gap via Forest Road 41. I believe there's a whole network of trails there, and this is commonly accessed by bike. In the past WTA had an entry for Tin Can Gap, but now that page requires a login, and when I access it I get "permission denied". I wonder if that's a mistake or on purpose. I'll bet you could find info on the hike elsewhere
Dosewallips - my first backpacking trip, 10+ years ago. There's a pretty gradual road in, though you'd have to haul your bike up and over the road washout. You'll find an old car campground at the end of the road, slowly being reclaimed by nature. There's also a bunch of trails to explore there. It's a reasonable place to camp early season (May or sooner).
Carbon River Road - I think a lot of people do this as a bike-hike combo. There's a lake that you can hike to, and there might be a network of trails as well
Monte Cristo (wagon road or conventional) - I was just looking at this. Some guy recently did it with a kid in a bike trailer. It sounds like there are some sections that are steep and some parts that are bikeable on the wagon road. There's also the more conventional access, but then you have to cross the river (on a log?) with your bike. Glacier Basin and Gothic Basin trails are accessible from here. I did Gothic Basin 5+ years ago and it was great. Glacier Basin looks nice too - at some point I'd like to do it. It'll either be a bike & hike (not sure my kids are up for that yet), or a backpacking trip.
Elwa - The road is washed out pretty early on. Some people carry bikes over, some don't. There appears to be some nice backpacking options, and with the washout they're probably less busy than usual.
Mt Lillian (near Blewett Pass) is not a bike-hike, but I do recall a pretty mellow old forest road leading from the trailhead to a viewpoint. I should probably go back there some time with some bikes - that might be a good intro to gravel descents for my kids
Lake Dorothy - there's an easy to pass washout ~4 miles from the trailhead. I was there last year and there were a couple of blowdowns. If you're up for carrying a bike over or around them, it might be a reasonable grade.
Posted by:
MikeOnAHike on Sep 30, 2021 08:44 PM
John McDonald on Dock Butte, Blue Lake
Those are all great suggestions for bike/hike combos--thanks!
Posted by:
John McDonald on Oct 02, 2021 07:33 AM