This ride has all of the elements of the classic Epic ride.
A lot of climbing, a lot of descending, and even a lot of road, everything the
classic Epic ride involves.
You definitely need to be packing plenty of supplies on this
mission.
The trails on this ride are well maintained and are all
natural except for some bridge crossings. The area equestrians have made and
maintain most of the trails on Blanchard and deserve your respect both on and off of the
trail.
The view above is from when I saw a massive low-tide from
the hang-glider take off on Blanchard a few years ago. The image is a panorama made
of 3 separate shots. I am not ready to release the full sized image on the Internet
yet, sorry. Actually I have a lot of sweeter trail shots than on this site.
This site has the ones I will 'let go' for free. Compare the image above to the
ones below to get an idea of how low the tide above really is. 30 feet in elevation
makes the difference between a mud flat and a field.
Whatcom Falls Park is the beginning as always for our rides,
did you know I live by there? From there take any road route to Arroyo Park in
Fairhaven and take the Inter-urban Trail to it's end at Clayton Beach in Larabee State
park.
Now we hit the road for a bit on the spectacular Chuckanut
Drive. Near the end of Chuckanut is the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT). The PNT
trail head is on the left just past the Oyster Bar. Normally there are a few cars
parked at the trail head. The PNT is a great hiking trail also.
Now a steep but totally ridable 25 minute climb is at
hand. Totally ridable, but a hurting kind of ridable. 25 minutes is a fast
time but has been done. At the top of the PNT is the hang-glider takeoff on
Blanchard.
That's a profile of the grunt up the PNT on the left above.
The hang-glider take off is the bare patch on Blanchard, the hill in the foreground.
In the center is Tim 'Gouldy' doing some repairs just below the hang-glider take
off after a near clear climb. On the right is the view looking towards Lummi Island
from the same spot.
From the hang-glider take off head to Max's Shortcut.
Max asks you to climb for 25 more minutes. Once at the end of Max's shortcut you are
at Lilly Lake. We normally head to the Oyster Dome for a quick break and to check
out the view.
Now it's time to head back past Lilly Lake, over to Lizard
Lake then on to the British Army Trail. The trails around the lakes are like the PNT
trail, the British Army Trail is similar, but a bit more technical. At the end of
the British Army trail we now take fire roads down to Lake Samish. About halfway
down we take a left to wind around Lake Samish to the fire road climb up the back of Pine
and Cedar Lakes.
| To the right is a sample of what is in
store for you if you're smart and decide to take a tool around Pine and Cedar Lakes while
your in the neighborhood. |
 |
Since we're making an Epic 'loop' we decide to go down the
steep side of Pine and Cedar Lakes down to Old 99. This is steep and a heavily used
hiking trail, please ride responsibly.
On Old 99 it's a road ride for a bit back to Galbraith Lane
and the Pipeline. If your having a good day and feel peppy you can insert a roost on
Galbraith here. Most of the time, by now we're pretty bushed and go to the
Ridge Trail and take the Miranda back to Whatcom Falls Park.
Once finished it sinks in.
Another day shot. Another day to remember.
Another day spent on an Epic ride.
