Ridin The Iron Horse 3

[+TotemLake]

I'm out on this to an over extension of commitments.

[+Barnabirdy(s)]

The Birdy(s) have to be in Idaho for a reunion on the 10th. Of course we have to allow at least three days to cache our way there which cuts it too close to do this ride. Even worse, Dimibirdy's bike was stolen so she is out of the running (or riding) as well. We'll all miss it

Barnabirdy(s)

[+GeekGirl]

If this is still on, I plan on being there. A ride from Hyak to Cle Elem sounds like fun!

[+robinego]

Boy, out of sight out of mind! This has fallen to #33 on the page. Haven't heard much buzz about this lately. I've got a new bike, do I get to break it in here or not?

[MarcusArelius]

Boy, out of sight out of mind! This has fallen to #33 on the page. Haven't heard much buzz about this lately. I've got a new bike, do I get to break it in here or not?

 

Sorry, I've been waiting for the event to be approved before posting. Yes we're still on 8:30 at Hyak and hopefully 2:30 at the Depot in CleElum.

[+EraSeek]

I'm always the last to catch on to these social events. Sounds like fun. I'm interested. Cle Elm or bust! (which could happen).

[MarcusArelius]

Here is the event page.

 

Please reply if you plan to attend so I can give the Depot cafe a good headcount estimate.

[nolenator]

I think you got the difficulty rating and terrain rating a bit low. Peace, Nolenator

[MarcusArelius]

I think you got the difficulty rating and terrain rating a bit low. Peace, Nolenator

 

Well how hard can it be to find a Cafe? I think it is wheelchair accessable (per state law).

[+EraSeek]

Puppers had some excitement at FF91:

 

"The cache turned out to be where I had hoped it was not. I thought I fully understood about not getting run over but after I had finished logging and was headed towards the next cache I saw a riderless horse approaching fast towing a heavy rope behind it. I tried to get the horse to stop, but I could see that was about to be fruitless so i dove to the edge. The horse sped past at top speed... probably 25-30 mph The rope was hitting the ground and then bouncing up and hitting the rear of the horse. In this area there are many steep drop-offs to the lake. I was concerned that the rider might have been thrown and so as I continued East I was checking for the rider along the way. Geocaching now set aside for a while. After about 1/2 mile another horse came flying by. This one while still going fast it was much slower than the big one that had just passed me. So I continued East again and in a little while I came across one of the riders he was running as fast as he could but of course the horses where much faster. I lent him my mountain bike to ride towards the horses much faster than he could run. To sum it up, The owners of the horse had taken the saddles and bits off the horses and had led them down to the lake to get a drink. After drinking though the smaller mare got spooked by some branches in the water and tore the rope loose from the owners hands. All the commotion caused the Arabian stallion to get spooked also and so he took off also Once the rope started hitting the stallion he had plenty of impetuous to keep going. The mare however soon was getting tired and only kept going to try and keep up with the stallion. The guy I lent the bike to found the tired mare about 1/2 mile short of the parking area and when he called the mare came running. The stallion made it all the way to the main parking area, about 5 miles and by this time he was ready to stop. A lady saw the spooked horse and was able to get hold of the lead and calmed the horse down. When the owner finally arrived he put the stallion in the trailer and headed back with my bike. He said that by the time the stallion reached the parking lot he had thrown his two rear shoes and his hoofs were bleeding. This was a lot of excitement for the day... but at least I heeded your advice and did not get run over!"

[+MtnGoat50]

Ok, looks like I'm in. I was wondering if anyone was bringing frs radios (or ham)? If so I'll throw mine in.

[+GeekGirl]

Ok, looks like I'm in.

MtnGoat50...since you'll be coming from Spokane, would you like to swing by Cle Elum on the way to Hyak? I can toss my bike on your 2-bike rack & we can head to Hyak together. I'll leave my XTerra & 4-bike rack at Hyak -- that way I can take you (and two others, if rides are needed) back to Hyak afterwards.

 

If that sounds like a decent plan, we could plan to meet at the published coords (near the Depot Cafe) at 7:30-ish. I think we'll need about 15 minutes to load/unload and 35-40 minutes to get to Hyak.

 

An alternative would be to meet at Hyak, leave your car there, put your bike on my rack, pick up two other people & their bikes, and head to Hyak with four in my rig. Then I'll need a ride back to Hyak.

 

I plan on bringing an FRS radio (If I remember! I'm not a morning person). At least I'll only be coming in from Ellensburg...way closer than Spokane! You'll have to leave at some ungodly hour, like 4:30 a.m., right? Ugh!

[+MtnGoat50]

MtnGoat50...since you'll be coming from Spokane, would you like to swing by Cle Elum on the way to Hyak? I can toss my bike on your 2-bike rack & we can head to Hyak together. I'll leave my XTerra & 4-bike rack at Hyak -- that way I can take you (and two others, if rides are needed) back to Hyak afterwards.

 

If that sounds like a decent plan, we could plan to meet at the published coords (near the Depot Cafe) at 7:30-ish. I think we'll need about 15 minutes to load/unload and 35-40 minutes to get to Hyak.

 

An alternative would be to meet at Hyak, leave your car there, put your bike on my rack, pick up two other people & their bikes, and head to Hyak with four in my rig. Then I'll need a ride back to Hyak.

 

I plan on bringing an FRS radio (If I remember! I'm not a morning person). At least I'll only be coming in from Ellensburg...way closer than Spokane! You'll have to leave at some ungodly hour, like 4:30 a.m., right? Ugh!

 

Sounds good to me. I'm not a morning person either but I seem to manage when I have to.

[+robinego]

I am looking for a ride back UP to Hyak from the Cle Elem take out. Since the geo-ignorant spouse and I have "weird" bikes, they do not fit on a standard bike rack so one of us will have to stay with them while the other gets shuttled to bring the truck back down. Anyone want to save this poor damsel???

[+runhills]

I am looking for a ride back UP to Hyak from the Cle Elem take out. Since the geo-ignorant spouse and I have "weird" bikes, they do not fit on a standard bike rack so one of us will have to stay with them while the other gets shuttled to bring the truck back down. Anyone want to save this poor damsel???

 

I could drive over and meet you on the east end and leave my Silverado there if you could give me and my bike a ride to the start. Then after the ride I could give you and some others a ride to the west.

[+Recdiver]

Sounds like I will be caching over and meeting up with you intrepid people at Cle Elum. See you at the diner when your ride is over. I'll be the one sipping an iced tea, enjoying the weather. Have a nice ride.

[+robinego]

I am looking for a ride back UP to Hyak from the Cle Elem take out. Since the geo-ignorant spouse and I have "weird" bikes, they do not fit on a standard bike rack so one of us will have to stay with them while the other gets shuttled to bring the truck back down. Anyone want to save this poor damsel???

 

I could drive over and meet you on the east end and leave my Silverado there if you could give me and my bike a ride to the start. Then after the ride I could give you and some others a ride to the west.

 

Ah, my knight... I will let the geo-ignorant spouse know we will have a companion to ride up with us. We have a Ford Ranger and we will be able to fit your bike between our "bents".

 

Shall we meet at 0745 at the take out to allow time for loading and unloading?

 

-R-

[+runhills]

I am looking for a ride back UP to Hyak from the Cle Elem take out. Since the geo-ignorant spouse and I have "weird" bikes, they do not fit on a standard bike rack so one of us will have to stay with them while the other gets shuttled to bring the truck back down. Anyone want to save this poor damsel???

 

I could drive over and meet you on the east end and leave my Silverado there if you could give me and my bike a ride to the start. Then after the ride I could give you and some others a ride to the west.

 

Ah, my knight... I will let the geo-ignorant spouse know we will have a companion to ride up with us. We have a Ford Ranger and we will be able to fit your bike between our "bents".

 

Shall we meet at 0745 at the take out to allow time for loading and unloading?

 

-R-

 

Ahhh, a plan develops; I will be there at 0745. Let me know if my bike is a problem and can try to stash it somewhere closer to the start.

 

runhills

[+EraSeek]

I'm out of this one. I thought it was on Sunday the 6th. When I found out it was Saturday I tried to get it off, but I have to work.

 

Have fun guys an gals!

[MarcusArelius]

Any other dry siders want to team up? I would drive my truck down to Cle Elum around 7:45 and put my bike in someone elses rig and get a ride back to the top. I would then be able to haul 3-4 bikes back up to the vehicle at the pass after Linner.

Edited August 3, 2006 by MarcusArelius

[+MtnGoat50]

I'm planning on meeting GeekGirl in Cle Elem around 7:30 "ish". I have a Subaru Legacy Wagon with a 2 bike rack. I have room for one more person and another bike in the back. If no one else has a more convenient setup, I'll fit you in. I think it's a good idea to have as many rigs in Cle Elem as possible.

[+hydnsek]

Cache ahead and I have teamed up, so we're good to go. See y'all there!

[MarcusArelius]

I'm planning on meeting GeekGirl in Cle Elem around 7:30 "ish". I have a Subaru Legacy Wagon with a 2 bike rack. I have room for one more person and another bike in the back. If no one else has a more convenient setup, I'll fit you in. I think it's a good idea to have as many rigs in Cle Elem as possible.

 

Thanks, if you only only have a 2-bike rack I suppose I could drop my bike at Hyak on the way to Cle Elum.

[+GeekGirl]

Okay, if someone can guarantee me a lift back to Hyak after the event, then I could take more 3 bikes and 4 more people from Cle Elum to Hyak. MtnGoat50 and I have already made plans to drive to Hyak together, but yesterday afternoon Patudles and her grandson contacted me about getting a lift up to Hyak. So if I drive up instead of MtnGoat50, that would leave room for one more bike-less person (MarcusA?).

As an added bonus, MtnGoat50 could start his long journey back to Spokane without having to backtrack to Hyak (same for Patudles, back to Wenatchee). But that leaves me and my bike potentially stranded in Cle Elum. Anybody?

[+hydnsek]

Okay, if someone can guarantee me a lift back to Hyak after the event, then I could take more 3 bikes and 4 more people from Cle Elum to Hyak. MtnGoat50 and I have already made plans to drive to Hyak together, but yesterday afternoon Patudles and her grandson contacted me about getting a lift up to Hyak. So if I drive up instead of MtnGoat50, that would leave room for one more bike-less person (MarcusA?).

As an added bonus, MtnGoat50 could start his long journey back to Spokane without having to backtrack to Hyak (same for Patudles, back to Wenatchee). But that leaves me and my bike potentially stranded in Cle Elum. Anybody?

No worries, cache ahead and I both have to go back past Hyak on the way home, we can take you and bike in one of our vehicles.

[+Patudles]

Okay, if someone can guarantee me a lift back to Hyak after the event, then I could take more 3 bikes and 4 more people from Cle Elum to Hyak. MtnGoat50 and I have already made plans to drive to Hyak together, but yesterday afternoon Patudles and her grandson contacted me about getting a lift up to Hyak. So if I drive up instead of MtnGoat50, that would leave room for one more bike-less person (MarcusA?).

As an added bonus, MtnGoat50 could start his long journey back to Spokane without having to backtrack to Hyak (same for Patudles, back to Wenatchee). But that leaves me and my bike potentially stranded in Cle Elum. Anybody?

No worries, cache ahead and I both have to go back past Hyak on the way home, we can take you and bike in one of our vehicles.

 

Looks like we have a plan. I will probably be driving a van with stow & go seats so I could haul people back up to Hyak if needed. I think I could haul more people than bikes in the van.

[+Stump]

Definite no on Mrs. Stump going but I'll be there. Will need a transport for me and my bike back to the start (or to the end). I'll have a bike rack that can supposedly carry 4 bikes but I've never gotten more than 3 on it.

[nolenator]

Anybody who wears a Hawaiian shirt on the ride will get a free picture with Nolenator at Welcome to the Tiki Hut...

 

Peace, Nolenator

Edited August 4, 2006 by nolenator

[+Patudles]

Anybody who wears a Hawaiian shirt on the ride will get a free picture with Nolenator at Welcome to the Tiki Hut...

 

Peace, Nolenator

 

[+AndrewRJ]

I remember discussing the possibility of having an out at Eaton. I am willing to leave my truck there if anyone isn't able/ doesn't want to complete the entire ride. (My wife and I may be in this group, I am still not sure about my ability for the extended distance.)

 

Does this sound like a good idea to anyone else?

[Moun10Bike]

Does anyone know what route the trail takes to bypass the bridge that is out at Lake Easton State Park? I know that it follows a route other than the railroad grade for a brief distance in there, but there are so many possibilities seen on the aerial that I cannot be sure which one.

 

The reason I ask is that I have created a track file of the ride for people to use if they want. It follows the railroad grade the whole way, so it will be inaccurate in the area I mentioned above. It works for loading into a filter in GSAK so that you can filter for caches along the route as well as for uploading to your GPS:

 

Track file for Riding the Iron Horse III

 

I have also generated files for benchmarks that show up as still present within 500 feet of the route. Since Mapsource seems to choke on upload of GPX files created with bmgpx these days, I have the data in both GPX format (for reading details on a PDA) and MPS format (for upload to GPS):

 

GPX file of benchmarks for Riding the Iron Horse III

MPS file of benchmarks for Riding the Iron Horse III

[+Prying Pandora]

COOL!! Thanks, Jon! I always seem to miss the benchmarks. (unless I happen to be caching with you)

[MarcusArelius]

Does anyone know what route the trail takes to bypass the bridge that is out at Lake Easton State Park? I know that it follows a route other than the railroad grade for a brief distance in there, but there are so many possibilities seen on the aerial that I cannot be sure which one.

 

The reason I ask is that I have created a track file of the ride for people to use if they want. It follows the railroad grade the whole way, so it will be inaccurate in the area I mentioned above. It works for loading into a filter in GSAK so that you can filter for caches along the route as well as for uploading to your GPS:

 

Track file for Riding the Iron Horse III

 

I have also generated files for benchmarks that show up as still present within 500 feet of the route. Since Mapsource seems to choke on upload of GPX files created with bmgpx these days, I have the data in both GPX format (for reading details on a PDA) and MPS format (for upload to GPS):

 

GPX file of benchmarks for Riding the Iron Horse III

MPS file of benchmarks for Riding the Iron Horse III

 

The bridge is not out, it's spanking brand new. We don't have to go through Lake Easton park.

[+EraSeek]

Does anyone know what route the trail takes to bypass the bridge that is out at Lake Easton State Park? I know that it follows a route other than the railroad grade for a brief distance in there, but there are so many possibilities seen on the aerial that I cannot be sure which one.

 

 

Jon, do you mean this bridge? Ghost Bridge If so, last I knew, there was a brand new bridge there, unless its gone again.

Edited August 5, 2006 by EraSeek

[Moun10Bike]

Cool, I didn't know that they had replaced the bridge! I guess the track file is accurate after all!

[+EraSeek]

Yeah. Its a nice bridge. Heres a sort of shot of it:

[+Recdiver]

I think a fun time was had by all, except for the participant who had the unfortunate face-plant. Ouchie

[+Patudles]

I think a fun time was had by all, except for the participant who had the unfortunate face-plant. Ouchie

 

Yes, but the crazy person still had a great time and made it all but the last 5 miles. Missing only two caches. A little stiff and sore tonight but will live and is still laughing about it. Someone has to entertain the troops.

 

All that aside Marcus this was a great event and I thank you for all you put into it. Especially the kid sitting. He had a great time and enjoyed your company. A thank you to all the knights in shining armour and the Ladies in waiting who came to my aid and stuck back with me the rest of the way. You all know who you are. Hope you all had as great of a time as I did. I bet I will have a real pretty leg to show off next week at the campout.

[+Recdiver]

Here is a picture taken part way through the after bike ride event.

We pretty much filled the cafe and I think the cafe staff did a great job.

As a public service announcement -

Since this cafe is owned by the park service no beer can be served.

[+Recdiver]

I missed taking pictures when Moun10Bike was presented with the custom made walking stick. From what I could see it was well received and a nice looking stick, complete with an inset Moun10Bike coin. Nicley done.

[+Team Jac'd]

Anybody who wears a Hawaiian shirt on the ride will get a free picture with Nolenator at Welcome to the Tiki Hut...

 

Peace, Nolenator

 

 

I think I have one picture that I will post, but can the others that took pictures at the tiki hut post them here?

 

cheers,

Poppa J

 

p.s. Wonderful time Marcus!!!

[+Princess Trouble]

 

Here is one of the pictures I took before everyone left. I think it has everyone in it.

[bhlent1]

Here is a picture taken part way through the after bike ride event.

We pretty much filled the cafe and I think the cafe staff did a great job.

As a public service announcement -

Since this cafe is owned by the park service no beer can be served.

 

Another Public Service Announcement!: The Depot Cafe is actually owned by the Cascade Rail Foundation, an non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and improvement to the South Cle Elum Railyard, operating under a 20 year agreement with Washington State Parks and Recreation. We CAN in fact sell beer and wine by event permit!

 

I want to thank the entire group for stoipping in. It was a fun event for us as well to serve the group of riders.

 

Thanks,

 

Brian Lee

Manager, Depot Cafe