Day two, after dropping Bake's bike at Methow Cycle and Sport, we headed east, up over Loup Loup Pass to Omak because there's a skateboard park there. Kinda. Pretty run down. Pretty depressing. Pretty much wanted to get the heck out of Omak almost as soon as we got there. But hey, it killed a few hours and Loup Loup is definitely something I shall return and ride someday. Perhaps soon. (The Methow's Fall Bike Festival www.mvsta.com/summer/bikefest.html?)
... then we picked up his bike--now with a new derailleur--and headed back up to Chickadee. Pedaled 'round Beaver Pond then climbed to Sun Mountain Lodge from where we enjoyed a screamin' descent back down. The boy's new derailleur worked like a charm.
Back to B'ham this afternoon. A great trip! 
The sassy John Clark and I rode once again to Artist Point for probably the last time before the Mount Baker Hill Climb which takes place Sept. 7. Came across lots of folks on bikes climbing and descending. Met up with Randy Olsen who was riding with (but on his own bike) the above tandem, powered by a very nice couple whose names unfortunately, escapes me.
Bake and I are likely off to Winthrop tomorrow for a couple days of mountain biking and sleeping on the hard ground. That's right; we're camping, baby!
With hiking season being upon us, I thought it might be useful to revisit some stories I've written about my favorite places in the mountains. This one focuses on Hidden Lake Peak, a spectacular hike just east of Marblemount off Highway 20 in the North Cascades. Along with a really cool fire lookout cabin--that you can stay in overnight--it offers spectacular views. (You can read about it below or in my North Cascades book there to the right.)
Usually, though, he's laughing when he says these things and that removes any fear that we'll end up in Outside magazine, the subjects of an "Into Thin Air"-type tragedy.
"There's no charge if you're poor or a college student, but most people send between $10 and $25," said Dr. Fred Darvill, a Northwest climbing legend and author who heads up the Friends of Hidden Lake. "Of course if you're Bill Gates or someone like that, you probably should leave several thousand dollars.""This is the peak, baby!" Rick calls back to me after about 20 minutes of scrambling. 
I look up and above the large granite flake where he's perched, I see nothing but blue sky. A couple minutes later, I join him. Though it doesn't seem possible, the views, which were stupendous at the lookout (and the notch below the lookout), are even more so from the peak. It's like we've stepped out onto the wing of an airplane. Wedged in the rocks we find a plastic tube containing the summit register and while I click off photos, Rick fills it in.
"What kind of trail run is this, McQuaide?" he writes.
An amazing one. A little steep maybe, but amazing nonetheless.
TO GET THERE: For the Hidden Lake Lookout hike, take Interstate 5 to Exit 230 at Burlington, Skagit County, and go east on Highway 20 (North Cascades Highway) for about 40 miles to Marblemount. Just past Milepost 106, go straight onto Cascade River Road where Highway 20 takes a hard left. Cross a bridge over the Skagit River and continue on Cascade River Road for 9.8 miles to Forest Road 1540. Turn left and follow the rough, narrow gravel road for 4.7 miles to the road-end trailhead. Elevation: 3,500 feet. Northwest Forest Pass required for parking.
Statistics: Nine miles round-trip; add about a mile if you scramble up Hidden Lake Peak. Elevation gain: 3,400 feet. High point: 6,890 for lookout, 7,088 for Hidden Lake Peak.
Safety: This hike/run/climb took place on a windless, sunny day when there hadn't been precipitation for at least a month, and the trail was about as melted out as it ever gets. Snow, rain or any kind of bad weather will raise the difficulty level significantly and raise safety issues as well, especially the higher you go. Check the weather forecast and the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Web site (www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs) for the latest conditions, or call Mount Baker Ranger District, 360-856-5700. And always go prepared with the hiker's Ten Essentials (maps, compass, flashlight/headlamp, extra food and water, extra clothing, sunglasses, first-aid kit, pocket knife, matches and fire starter).
Check out Thursday's Northwest Weekend section of the Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2008127969_nwwbakerride210.html) for my story on this year's Ride 542 (http://www.norkarecreation.com/) coming up Sept. 7. Charlie Heggem's added a century ride for folks itching to ride to Artist Point twice (as well as ride the Powerhouse Hill twice), and a 10K Trail Run. And, like last year, there'll be a cyclocross race at Silver Lake Park the day before the hill climb. (If they could only have the 'cross race the day after the hill climb, I'd be all over it.) 
Northwest Washington Fair last week. Lotsa heat, lotsa sun, lotsa Bake spinning 'round and 'round on the Sizzler. Kid next to him looks like she's holding on for dear life. Or trying to get comfortable so she can take a nap; one of the two.
He was on his annual birthday ride wherein he rides twice as many miles as his age. He was doing 110 that day. From Maple Falls (I gather) to Artist Point, back to Bellingham and then Lummi Island. Kind of a cool idea. I didn't talk to him that long but he said he'd ridden the Alps, the Pyrenees, Alpe D'Huez, etc. Said he didn't do RAMROD this year b/c he was riding in Colorado and he's not doing the Mount Baker Hill Climb because he'll be in Japan. So I think he's some sort of captian of industry who spends his disposable income in the same way I would were I to have some. 
So intrigued was I by the big mountain during last week's RAMROD that on Wednesday past I headed down to Mount Rainier for a story I'll be writing for the Seattle Times about day-hiking to Camp Muir. It's an incredible place, the Paradise area of Mount Rainier, akin to Mount Baker's Heather Meadows-Artist Point Area. Only bigger. Much bigger. Below, a field of magenta paintbrush, which are everywhere up there right now.
From Paradise, elev. 5,420 feet, I set out for Camp Muir, elev. 10,000 feet, just a hair lower than Mount Baker's summit. Once on the Muir Snowfield (not a glacier so no crevasses to worry about), I followed boot track and wands that were still in place from earlier in the summer.
It's a strenous hike--about 5 miles with 4,700 feet of climbing one-way--but after about 3-1/2 hours I arrived at the below-pictured Camp Muir. It's base camp for most of the 10,000-plus folks who annually climb to the summit of 14,441-foot Mount Rainier.
Camp Muir is a whole village unto itself with climbing rangers (who pretty much live up there and have their own hut), a stone shelter for those who want to stay inside away from the elements (and likely wrestle with mice all night long), and several privies.
Below, check out the trail runner descending Camp Muir. I've no idea if he ran up too.
At 151 miles with 9,750-feet of elevation gain, it was killer strenuous but truly spectacular. The best ride Scott and John had ever been on, they said. Above, we're about to start our journey at 5:15 a.m. under cover of semi-darkness. Below, check out the cool lenticular cloud hovering like a halo about the summit of 14,410-foot Mount Rainier. The thing grew and expanded throughout the day and at one point looked almost like the rings around Saturn.
Put on by the Redmond Cycling Club (http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/), RAMROD is certainly one of the best events I've ever participated in. The food is good, the organization and volunteers are tops, and the course can't be beat. There're two big climbs--10 miles up to Inspiration Point and 11 miles to Cayuse Pass, both which top out at roughly 4,700 feet. In between, there's a smaller one to Backbone Ridge, which is fairly harmless.
The first climb doesn't start 'til about 60 miles in so there's lots of time to eat, drink, try to warm up (it must've been in the high 40s at the start), as well as find lots of other wheels to tuck in behind. I did RAMROD four years ago and then we road all the way to Paradise, this time they had us top out Inspiration Point, about 600 feet lower. Which I was kind of glad about; for whatever reason, I wasn't feeling super stellar. (More on that in a moment.) 
The following descent was ridiculously fun, fast, and most important, felt relatively safe, wrote this author who's usually a pretty conservative (not politically, er anything) descender. Smooth roads, not a whole lot of turns, zero to very few cars, and long, long straightaways where you could see far ahead of you.
After Backbone Ridge came the 11-mile, 2,500-foot climb to Cayuse Pass where I partook in an involuntary reenactment of Floyd Landis's famous crack on La Toussuire during Stage 16 of the 2006 Tour de France. (That's the one that spurred his epic beer-, testosterone-, whatever the hell else-fueled comeback the following day.) At the bottom of the hill, which starts at about mile 100, I didn't feel good. A mile into it, I felt less good and a mile later, blurted out an inadvertent "Oh fudge!" (or something that sounded like "Oh fudge!") and told the guys, Sorry, but I'm cooked, cracked, knackered, and no good to nobody nowhere. I was like a balloon with the air let out; I had no power at all.
After the descent, we were treated to sandwiches of our choice and the best tasting icy cold can of Coke I've had in my entire life. From there, it was about 30 miles of downhill and flat during which the indefatigable John and Scott pulled about eight of us into the finish at Enumclaw. 
Below, that's us at the finish. Our stats: 151 miles with 9,750 feet elevation gain. Eight hours 57 minutes of riding time, about 10 hours and 15 minutes total time. (We finished at about 3:30 p.m.)
Coming up in the next few days: the harrowing story of lost motel reservations, our new digs next door to a casino and airport, and Mike wrestles with a roll-out bed. Here's a photo to whet your appetite:
