A groggy, foggy start after a long night of new bike building and car-packing and hours in a jammed car led us the Olympic National Forest on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. I was battling a major case of poison oak and Gabe's button-pushing shit-talk; the prednisone I was taking did little to ease the agony of either ailment. Our morning started at Bart's house in PDX. It was the beginning of a 10 day road trip to Canada, starting on Vancouver Island and finishing up in Whistler (of course). 
We saddled up in classic Olympic weather--low fog and light drizzly mist--and headed up the Lower Dungeness trail. After a 2 plus year hiatus from shredding, I was still feeling the pain of getting back those cycling legs, and also getting used to my new bike. I had just retired my Santa Cruz Heckler, first generation, and upgraded to an Ellsworth ID. The first thing I noticed was the higher bottom bracket--I wasn't whacking my pedals every other stroke.
The trail had mandatory hike-a-bike sections, with long and steep pitches as it climbed up the drainage. After a few switchbacks, we finally came out onto a road. Since we had a ferry to catch in Port Angeles, we decided to turn back. The descent was not technical, but fast and swoopy and really fun.
Upon return to the car, we rode down to the river and dunked our heads in the ice cold water before heading to the ferry.
It was definitely a proper segue into our BC Shredding holiday--more stories from that are yet to come. Stay tuned!
Date: 6/30/07
Riders: Ryan, Val, Gabe
Area: Olympic National Forest, Quilcene Ranger District near Sequim, WA
Trail: Lower Dungeness Trail
Miles:10
Highlights: New Ellsworth shreds! First ride with Gabe. Dunking our heads in the creek afterward, before driving to the BC Ferry in Port Angeles. Musical inspiration from Mac Dre, noneother.
Photos, top to bottom: Navigating; Gabe + Classic Cascades Creek; View from Lower Dungeness; Ferry Time
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