W*h*ine Tour - Days 5 and 6
During the next two days we were about to be all too familiar with blackberry thorns.
Prologue…
Continuing our travelogue, here are days 5 and 6. We road ride from Castle Rock, reaching Willapa Hills Trail in Adna. In Castle Rock we rode the Riverfront Trail and discovered a wonderful bicycle skills area.
In a few days a heatwave would hit the Pacific Northwest and we were riding towards it on hot pavement, road tar melting and popping under our tires.
June 20, 2021
Cowlitz River Trail, long hot roads, and ice cream to end the day.
To escape the surround sound, cacophony of trains, trucks and automobiles, we hurriedly packed up and headed towards Castle Rock to the nearest park along the Chehalis River for breakfast. What a relief to hear only the birds, as we watched the lazy river from our trail-side park bench, sipping our first-of-the-trip, fresh ground, hand-pressed coffee... freed from sensory Hell, delivered to Heaven, in just a few miles!
I wasn’t expecting the overnight experience to be so mentally jarring. Laying in what had been our cozy home just the night before, trying to find some semblance of rest between I-5 and the railway, it was a stark realization of how many of our advancements have become an assault on everything that exists in the natural world. I wasn’t t just reading about it, or seeing it from a distance, I was in it.
Somehow during the night, I had made out the sound of deer moving amongst the skinny trees surrounding our tent. As branches snapped under their hooves, their experience was mine for the first time; my stomach dropped. The sensory assault they must endure, as we fly by on I-5, barely noticing their presence along side the road. And the birds, I strained to hear in the early hours, were still singing their melodies, yet were barely audible, buried by our never-ending raucous rising from road and rail. “You cant understand me until you walk a mile in my shoes”....well what about hooves, or paws, or claws? How do I/we make it right??...I wish I had a real answer that was bigger than myself, Nature.
We were now retracing country routes Nivaun had pieced together on far too many road trips between our home/now cabin on the Peninsula, and my family home in Oregon. We already detested I-5, and now with even more fervor. One of our recent road trip stops had been in Vader for a tail-gate lunch break at the local park. Anticipating our upcoming bike trip, we marveled at the layout - bathrooms, covered tables and power outlets, next to a grassy lawn, swings, and historic jail house. As the heat of the day began to kick-in, we were excited to return to it, and fully appreciate all it had to offer - Thank you, Vader!
On the way out of town, fully charged and fueled we felt deserving of ice-cream, so stopped in at the local Dollar market to grab a bar. We watched the locals come and go from the shaded edge of the parking lot, as we slurped down our ice cream, enjoying every cool slide, no matter how fleeting. Our bikes drew attention before we finished, from a local guy, as burly as his truck. He saw us a ways back on the side of the road, then again in Vader, and had to satisfy his curiosity. He talked of his own road trips and how he goaded his buddy into making a long distance bike trip to California. Life was starting to feel normal again, swapping stories with curious locals and sharing actual smiles.
From Vader, we were road riding until we picked up the Willapa Hills trail coming out of Chehalis. Our original route had us doing over 1500 feet of climbing to get to Adna which after a sleepless night, and in the heat of the afternoon, sounded like torture. Change of plans - to the flattest, most direct route, so we could get off the road and onto the trail as soon as possible. We purposely weren’t checking the temperature. We dripped over rolling hill, after rolling hill, and instead reminisced on our first STP, traveling some of the same sections in reverse. Barely anything had changed out here - a comforting thought to know some places are still just out of the reach of city sprawl.
By the time we got to the trail and trees, it was late afternoon. I let Nivaun know, if it wasn’t already obvious, I was at my mental temperature breaking point. We had been in direct sun on baked pavement all afternoon, and over the last 3 miles of descending to the valley, I had started to feel cooked from the inside out. We powered through 7 miles of trail to reach the Adna intersection with our minds set on everything cold we could swallow. A Google scramble to find the closest grocery - and panic set in - 4 min away with 15 min to closing! We flew down the neighborhood street, and rounded the corner to see a quaint, busy, road-side grocery/gas stop come into view. Hallelujah! It was perfect! We rolled into their freshly mowed side yard, and propped our bikes against one of several picnic tables each shaded by a colorful umbrella. I bolted for the entrance, and straight for the coolers to find the biggest, coldest water bottle and then scanned for the ice cream bars. The store was also a smoked meats shop, so I grabbed a refrigerated pepperoni bag, and headed to the cashier with it pressed against my forehead. Nivaun appeared in the doorway, probably wondering if I had passed out, checked to see what I had panic-grabbed, and then noticed a soft-serve machine next to the checkout... We had scored BIG and just in time! But, it got even better!!
As our bodies relaxed into the shady picnic table, and the inside chill of soft-serve slowly lowered our thermometers, we began to reaallly take note of our surroundings....picnic tables, port-a-potty, big grassy lawn, butted up against nice shade trees, next to the river below, mostly hidden from the road above, a fire ring, stack of wood....hmmmm. Nivaun disappeared, heading back to the store without saying a word, and then re-appeared a few minutes later with a smirky, satisfied grin...“WE have a campsite!” Who can explain the magic of the trail? It is just simply awesome!
Feeling so relieved and fortunate, we setup our tent as the last of the patrons left the lawn and parking lot. Nivaun stretched out inside the tent to soak it all in, while I tried to figure out what to make for an actual dinner, after downing bowls of soft-serve and several sticks of pepperoni. We thought everyone had left, but here was a man heading intently toward us. I shook Nivaun to get out of the tent. The man looked nice enough, but wasted no time getting to his point, “so...you are camping, here?” We quickly tried to explain that we had the approval of the woman at the checkout, still not really knowing who she was, or he was, but guessing that he must own or manage the store. We assured him that we would be gone by morning, and would leave no evidence we had been here. After surveying us, our gear and setup, he relaxed a bit, and started to explain how they were encountering more homeless from the city coming into the area. He just wanted to be sure we weren’t intending to setup residence in his lawn. A few more light-hearted exchanges, and he headed back to the store satisfied, only to return a few moments later...carrying two more bowls of soft-serve ice cream. We graciously accepted his welcome gesture, and the invitation to fresh coffee, biscuits and gravy starting at 5:30 the next morning. So much for a well-balanced dinner...
June 21, 2021
Willapa Hills Trail and stopping to smell the flowers
What a morning! After regaining much needed sleep, we awoke to a country breakfast just a few steps away, and watched the town’s Monday routine unfold before us. This place was not only a trail gem, it was a well-placed hub & meet-up for locals aboard logging trucks, utility trucks, dump trucks, pickup trucks, and more, all making their usual stop at the store whether for fuel, food, or an exchange of yarns over coffee to start their day. We exchanged a few ourselves with the owner, and learned it was his wife that had granted us permission to camp, they just hadn’t connected, before he spotted us in the yard. After expressing our gratitude once again, we headed out the door and back toward the trail. Thank you Adna for your hospitality!
We checked the rail/trail map back at the intersection to see what lie ahead and to gauge whether we could make up some time and get to Raymond. We felt good, accomplished. We were doing this, even with alternate routes, the unknowns, the trail was showing up, and making it magical without fail. Starting a little ahead of 9, we set out to enjoy a day of road-free, car-free travel.
Rail trails here make cycling seem almost effortless; providing beautiful landscapes in every direction, sightings of critters on trail and across fences, glorious shade and well-placed benches, with seemingly endless rivers and creeks paralleling every trail. We stopped for a mid-morning snack in a densely shaded stretch alongside our new river that would follow us almost all the way to Raymond. Future trip plans by pack raft had already started to take shape. We couldn’t help but scout sections along the Chehalis with thoughts of endless travel finally feeling, ever more-so, within our reach.
Our Plan A had been to reach a campground just beyond Adna the night before. Instead, we arrived there mid-day and decided to make it our lunch spot to check out the waterfall and the campground for a possible stop over on our future pack-raft trip. It was a country road-side location but the forest was gloriously green and dense. We found a spot near the falls, that looked more like falling rapids, where we could watch families clamber over the rocks to the rivers edge to swim. We still had over 30 miles to go, so we elected to keep our sweat and start moving again.
Nearing the Willapa Hills, the trail map noted it was now “primitive” all the way to Raymond. We didn’t give it much thought...until the punctures started. Mid-afternoon Nivaun’s rear tire went flat for the second time on the trip. This wasn’t road-side glass, but a blackberry thorn. Seriously questioning whether Raymond was realistic, we reluctantly passed up what looked like a perfect tent spot in a lush understory full of fern, where we had surprised a young buck drinking from the creek below. We continued on silently kicking ourselves...only harder, after the next water break, where I felt my bike slide ever so slightly down my leg. It was now my rear tire.
Decision was made - now out of frustration and exasperation. Nivaun declared “We’re riding until we find the next perfect spot!” Stated criteria: must be trail-side, include access to the creek, a soaking pool, an ample tent spot, and minimal bugs. The trail heard us...a short distance ahead appeared the next small bridge over another creek coming from across the road to join the one along-side the trail - this spot too was perfect, and included all the stated accommodations. We took a soak, a shower, did laundry, met the creek-side neighbor frog, and settled in for dinner, and actual relax time, creek-side. Nivaun whittled his first spoon, while I started our first blog of the trip. Nature and Trail you are too kind - thank you for listening!
