This weekend was all about a different kind of 'burn'. Not the familiar burn you get cross racing, but a ride to see the aftermath of this summer/falls tragic gnarl ridge fire. I had just had 4 days of mandated rest after my travel/race craziness and Tim had been sick, so we were told "no racing". I had to get some endurance in my legs & Tim was going to play it by ear. Yes, the temptation to race is so great that we had to remove ourselves from the situation totally, so off to the cabin we went with Kendra and Melissa joining us. The weather in the forecast was not optimal, but I had good gear. On Saturday, the rain was relentless, so finally we geared up and headed out. While the other 3 took a shorter ride, I headed out on a three hour tour that luckily saw a turn of weather and some 'almost' sunshine. It was a great route that kept me smiling, riding with the golden colors of fall surrounding me, and I kind of felt like I had cheated the weather gods, b/c it was actually quite pleasant. Sure, 75 degrees and sunny in Boulder may have been nice, but riding forest roads around Mt. Hood was not so bad. No camera on this day, but man, there were some gorgeous views.
Sundays plan was to go in search of the burn, with me taking an extra loop around Cooper Spur afterwards. This is something we had been wanting to do, and actually a ride we have done the past two years to 'transition into 'cross from mountain biking', but with the road closure and safety issues earlier in the fall, we hadn't had a chance. Sunday was perfect, aside from the pouring rain. Actually, it was quite opposite the day prior. We left when it wasn't raining, and it didn't take long for the rain and snow to eventually catch up to us. We were already in too far when the sideways snow started, so no choice but to continue. We took the back roads by the cabin that intersect Cloud Cap Road and then climbed up to Cloud Cap, back down Tilly Jane and home. It was somewhat of an epic ride. Check it out:
First signs of the fire, probably about 4-5 miles up Cloud Cap Road, but it would gradually get worse.
Wow, we thought we were getting into the thick of it.
I stopped for some inspiration part way through.
It kept getting worse. We were in total shock of the mass devastation the fire had caused. No wonder the road had been closed.
The high point. Hurry up and take pictures. It is cold & the wind was picking up.
The path from Cloud Cap to Tilly Jane. Nothing but burnt trees.
They looked like they were still glowing.
We stopped at the Tilly Jane A frame to try to warm up for the steep descent down. A hiker had started a nice fire. Climbing up had gotten me nice and sweaty so I could freeze on the way down. Not the smartest ride for a cold, wet day.
Descending an unrecognizable Tilly Jane. Erosion & ash seemed to be what we saw the most of, not including the sideways snow.
One of our favorite trails, or what is left of it.
Hard to believe this was a lush forest with lots of fall colors last year at this time. I have never witnessed a burn this soon after, so I was just amazed by the total devastation and the soil changes. I guess it is all a part of nature's cycle, but 'not in my backyard'. It will be interesting to watch this trail regenerate over the next decade.
First signs of the fire, probably about 4-5 miles up Cloud Cap Road, but it would gradually get worse.
Wow, we thought we were getting into the thick of it.
I stopped for some inspiration part way through.
It kept getting worse. We were in total shock of the mass devastation the fire had caused. No wonder the road had been closed.
The high point. Hurry up and take pictures. It is cold & the wind was picking up.
The path from Cloud Cap to Tilly Jane. Nothing but burnt trees.
They looked like they were still glowing.
We stopped at the Tilly Jane A frame to try to warm up for the steep descent down. A hiker had started a nice fire. Climbing up had gotten me nice and sweaty so I could freeze on the way down. Not the smartest ride for a cold, wet day.
Descending an unrecognizable Tilly Jane. Erosion & ash seemed to be what we saw the most of, not including the sideways snow.
One of our favorite trails, or what is left of it.
Hard to believe this was a lush forest with lots of fall colors last year at this time. I have never witnessed a burn this soon after, so I was just amazed by the total devastation and the soil changes. I guess it is all a part of nature's cycle, but 'not in my backyard'. It will be interesting to watch this trail regenerate over the next decade.
0 comments:
Post a Comment