Washington And B.c. Mountain Ride

[Belfry]

This has been an unusual summer. Due to the failing health of a loved one, I can't be far from home for long so for the first time in a decade there was no Big Summer Bike Trip™. Instead, I've tried to do some one-day rides and last week I squeezed in an overnighter.

The plan was to cross the border at Sumas, WA, take WA-9 and WA-20, stay overnight in Oroville, then follow the Crowsnest Hwy./BC-3, the Hope-Princeton and Hwy. 7 back to the Vancouver 'burbs.

Full Size

The sun was out and temps were in the low 70s F when I hit the road at a leisurely 9 a.m. on Thursday. The plan was to ride less than 300 miles, so I figured I had plenty of time. After half an hour of negotiating the morning traffic out of town, I was headed east on Hwy. 7. An hour after leaving the house I was at the border crossing. This is when it almost went wrong.

U.S. border guard: "Where are you going?" (Usual question.)

Me: "Oroville."

BG: "How are you planning to get there?" (Unusual question ... by motorbike?)

Me: "Do you mean, what route?"

BG: "Yes."

Me: "Hwy. 9 then 20."

BG: "Is it open?"

He's asking me? Apparently WA-20 had been closed due to mudslides earlier in the week--news that failed to rate a mention in Lower Mainland newscasts. I decided to carry on anyway, figuring that I had the room in Oroville booked and the worst case scenario was that I would have to backtrack and head south to Hwy. 2 (Stevens Pass) or if that were out of commission too, I-90.

The farmland south of the border on Hwy. 9 is quite nice, with little traffic on a weekday morning. It was a pleasant ride along treed lanes to Sedro-Woolley where Hwy. 9 joins Hwy. 20. Heading east I saw my first sign trailer (the kind that flash LED warning messages)--fortunately it was parked at the side of the road, turned off and facing away from traffic--a good omen. And yes, it was about this time that I remembered I had a camera and should probably use it now and again. Let's try one without getting off the bike.

East of Sedro-Woolley on WA-20.

I passed two or three other sign trailers, all parked and turned off. Much riding of dry, forested, somewhat twisty highway with light traffic ensued (in other words, I neglected the camera again ...). Eventually I started getting thirsty and a rest stop appeared. I didn't note the name, but it was shady, had bathrooms and some nature to observe.

Parking area at rest stop.

After drinking some water, eating a Clif bar and using the latrine I decided to stretch my legs and hike up the path to the first viewpoint. It provided a view of a small waterfall.

The path carried on to a farther viewpoint, but I decided my new Gaerne boots weren't designed for walking distances.

Couple carries on to next viewpoint.

I headed back to the bike and continued enjoying the open road and mid-seventies temps. Along the way I passed two or three sections, each about 300 yards long near creek beds, where the road was caked with a thin layer of dried mud--likely the remnants of the mudslides.

A bit farther on an earplug worked loose so I pulled over at the entrance to a picnic area. Then I realized I could get one of those shots of my bike in front of a sign (to prove I was there) like the real photographers on VFRD do!

Luckily for me it was anything but 'rainy' that day. In fact, things were going so well that I completely neglected my photography duties for the rest of the day. I kept seeing 'great shots,' but unlike Olive, Cogswell, Dutchy and the others who are good at this, I couldn't convince myself to slow down, find a safe turning spot, go back, park, dismount, etc. in order to get the shot. One of these days ...

I passed quite a few bikes going the other direction and encouragingly only about half were Harleys. I don't have anything against HD, it's just that in the American West it can sometimes feel like you're the only person who isn't riding one. On this day the 'other half' was a healthy mix of Japanese and European sport and touring bikes, with an ample measure of dual sport and adventure bikes thrown in.

As the interior approached and the temperature climbed (into the 80s now), I passed through Winthrop. I had intended to take Superfunkomatic's advice and try Three Fingered Jack's, but it was 3 p.m. (too late for lunch and too early for dinner), and the town was packed with motorhomes and Harleys. I had the same reaction I've had the other two times I've been there, and kept rolling.

By the time I arrived in Okanogan, it was 91 F and the last bar on the fuel gauge had been flashing for several miles. I filled up, stretched my legs and had a short chat with a KTM rider who I'd been playing tag with on the road earlier. He pulled in a couple of minutes after me: "I'm not following you man, really."

A few miles later I was at my digs for the night, the Camaray Motel in Oroville. It's an older property and fairly basic, but clean and well maintained with a friendly staff. It really is rated 9.2 on Booking.com like the sign says.

After lubing the chain and taking a shower, I wandered around Oroville on foot, got a Jalapeno burger at the Hornet's Nest (sorry Dutchy, no food photos--another oversight), and headed back to the motel to relax, watch a movie and the local news. The weather forecast was calling for thunder showers overnight ...

The next morning I awoke to see that it had rained but the roads were drying. I packed up, wiped the bike down (the motel provided some thick paper towels for the purpose), and hit the road by 8 a.m. Oroville is just a few miles south of the border, so I was at the Oroville crossing in a few minutes. It was pretty straightforward, with the Canadian border services agent expressing the same surprise as her U.S. counterpart the previous day.

BG: "How long were you down?"

Me: "One day, I just rode up yesterday on Hwy. 20."

BG: "It's open?"

A few miles east of Keremeos I remembered to pull over and take another road shot.

Crowsnest Hwy./BC-3. Is that rain ahead?

As I got closer to Keremeos it started to spit. Then I noticed some of the oncoming cars still had their wipers on. For once I pulled over and got my rain suit and rain gloves on before I got soaked. I usually tell myself that I'll outrun the rain or turn away from it. This time the only way forward was through the socked in valley ahead. The rain steadily intensified into maybe the second hardest downpour I've ridden in. I was warm and dry in my gear, and I discovered that by tilting my head forward slightly I could easily clear the rain off my face shield--supplementing that with the left index finger wiper from time to time. The highway was soaked and cars were throwing up huge plumes of spray. Semis passing in the other direction simulated being blasted with a fire hose. The Crowsnest between Keremeos and Princeton isn't particularly twisty, but I have to say my (half done) PR2s did a great job. There was never a hint of trouble. The rain let up near Bromley Rock Provincial Park a few miles east of Princeton.

I stopped in Princeton for gas, lunch and to strip off all the rain gear and pack it away. The skies were brightening--the rain seemed content to fall on the stretch of Hwy. 3 I'd already covered.

The road was mostly dry and the temps, which had been down to the high 50s in the morning, were now into the low 70s again. As I approached the entrance to Manning Park I remembered the camera.

Is it just me or do the bear and the bike appear to be striking the same pose?

The road on the east side of the park is four lanes and fairly level with sweeping turns and a 100 km-h speed limit. It gets a little more interesting on the west side: twistier and two lanes with passing lanes. In no time at all it seemed, I was rolling into Hope. As I headed across town to Hwy. 7, I pulled up near a picturesque little Catholic church.

And took a picture of the view across the street.

And a little house for sale next door.

From there it was a fairly uneventful ride home down Hwy. 7 through some scenic Fraser Valley farmland into increasingly heavy traffic as I re-entered suburbia. 548 miles/882 kms total, but more importantly two days with nothing to worry about but enjoying the ride.

[The mailman]

I have an entire playground here in Colorado and have criss crossed this state too many times to count. However, one of my all-time favorite rides has to be Hwy 20 over Washington Pass and splitting North Cascades National Park. The road conditions were great - The weather was great - The scenery was just spectacular.

[Polarbear]

Oh yes, that would be a very nice loop for a weekend ride. Sorry about the failing health of a loved one. I rode the Highway 20 in Wa a couple of times on my way to Nelson and I swore I would go back in the car with the family. Very nice scenery. Nice shots too, too bad we don't have more... Thanks for the pics!

C

[Cogswell]

Nice ride and post - thanks for sharing. My thoughts out to you on your ailing family member - it's just awful when someone is hurting and there's nothing you can do.

IIRC, SR20 was being re-paved in 2011 on my way to Nelson . . . and now mudslides. Beautiful road though. Maybe it's just under a constant state of repair . . . The "Rainy Pass" name seemed to portend things to come. I guess we get the "Pacific Northwet" nickname honestly!

BTW - it looks like you got the no-cut frame sliders installed - would love to get pics/details/impressions on those.