Whitehorse News!

Upon reading the Herald Article about the continuing work on the Whitehorse Trail near Trafton, I wanted to ride out & see if anything had changed since our last visit.  This has been the spot that I've lobbied to get completed since the bridges were decked.

East toward Cloverdale~

 It was a truly beautiful day, warming rapidly - with enough of a breeze to keep it comfortable.  Every time we trudge out on the rock, I think of how very nice it will be once the loose rock surface is mitigated.  I'm hoping that it will end up being something similar to the surface of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.

Farah halts!

 I saw the dust up ahead before Farah did!  She was moving right along - looking forward to her grazing time during our lunch break - when she realized something was up.

Punching through!

 I can't tell you how excited I was to see this happening!  Finally - after what has seemed like a very long wait - work is beginning on the Arlington end of the trail!

Excavator at work~

 With trucks coming & going, all the noise & dust, Farah was still Determined to have her lunch!  Pulling me right past the huge root balls below & over to the tall grass.

Roots of two huge Big Leaf Maples~

I let her take a few bites, but it wasn't our usual peaceful spot & our presence was slowing the trucks down, so we headed back.

Over Tin Bridge

 Once over the bridge, we stopped again - I ate my lunch & Farah was happy to graze before we started back.  I was anxious to get home & share with Butch the latest news!

At the project~

It's still pretty strange to have my husband arriving home earlier!  It hasn't even been a week & Butch is still adjusting to a 20-min. commute :-)   I wanted to see the changes at his project, he wanted to see the changes on the trail!  On the way, we stopped at Nutty's Junk Yard Grill for a hamburger & shake! 

Rock going down~

 We parked at Cloverdale & walked down to the trail.  Things were quiet & it was such a nice evening.  It's incredible how much rock it's going to take to re-build the old rail bed.

Further on~

 The hillside is being graded & all those organics have to be removed.

To 115th~

 This work goes as far as 115th, from that point on - there's another year's worth of brush to clear to get to bridge #702.

Very old signage - where the trail will continue~

 Below is how this section looked June 3rd of last year.

Trail from 115th - heading to Bridge #702

On that ride, we made it through & across Hwy 530 to the Cicero Bridge that had just been decked & was yet to open.  Post~ 

Where we went through~

The Google Earth image above shows clearly the area of construction now.  We walked on through to the end of the grading work.  Butch & I had hiked out this way from Arlington, Sept. of last year - Post - wondering how much longer it would be until we'd be able to reach the next of the bridges!  (I still remember the day Diane & I were stopped by a bridge with a rotting deck after having fought our way out from Tin Bridge.)

Looking back toward Cloverdale~

 At the Stillaquamish-Sauk Tourism All Action Team Meeting I attended this Monday in Oso, I again had the opportunity to talk with Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, Tribal Council Vice Chairman  J. Kevin Lenon.  Kevin is a fellow horseman, who's working to establish a parking area at the east end of the trail.  He shared the translation of Whitehorse - so-bali-ahli.

 If all goes well, the trail will open March of 2017.  Parks has published a Whitehorse Regional Trail project page that will be updated as projects are completed & funded.  In the Herald article, there's mention of a bike event already planned.  Horsemen in the Darrington/Arlington area are also making plans for a large group ride - to celebrate the trails opening!  On the Whitehorse, unlike the Centennial Trail - Equestrians will be able to enjoy the entire 27-mile length!  Parking is still a major limiting issue, but plans are still in negotiation for a parking area big enough for trailers at Cemex in Arlington.  We hope to leave from Arlington & ride east to the Darrington Rodeo Grounds.  Stay tuned!

Bracken to the Cicero Bridge~

To the Cicero Bridge!

I'd made another plan...  Driving home from Darrington last weekend, we did a little exploring.  Checking a couple side roads & finding the trail, it looked like I might be able to ride from Cloverdale - to the newly decked Cicero bridge.  Today - even though we got a late start, I thought we might just have time to give it a try!

A trail goes through it~

I was the only trailer at the Bracken parking.  That made me just a little nervous, but I locked everything up & just had to hope for the best.  I'd though about leaving from Haller - but decided if I could mitigate any of the going on rock - I would.  I was thankful later that I'd made that decision!

Bridge #2, first east from Tin Bridge

 It wasn't long before we were at the first of the newly decked bridges, where we'd stopped to turn back last week.  I had hoped that the trail would be less rocky from here on - more like the way it is when you leave from the Darrington end - but I was mistaken.

The rock was heavy~

The rock, as you can see from the photo above, was very heavy.  That kept us to a walk in most places...

This section is close to the river~

It's a really pretty section - along the very low river.  After last nights heavy rain, everything was pretty wet.  The weather went from heavy overcast, to brilliant, warm sunshine several times during the afternoon.

Road crossing~

Soon - we were at the first of the road crossings.  Butch & I had found a fishing spot at the end.  It's narrow, with a blind corner - keep an eye for on-coming traffic!

Beautiful Views~

We were at six-miles, it was getting late, so I called Butch & told him we'd probably go on another 1/2 mile or so then turn back.

Bridge #2 eastbound

But, that was when we came to the second bridge & I just had a feeling that it couldn't be that much further to our goal - so we continued on.

One more stretch of trail~

I could just see traffic up ahead & knew if we were coming to the highway crossing, the Cicero bridge would be on the far side!

It was!  But it was being worked on!

Going across the highway was challenging.  There's a good line-of-sight both directions, so we just waited until it was all clear & ran across.  Once we'd stopped to get the photo of Cicero, we turned back west.

Crossing back across~

This time, we again waited for the traffic & made our little run.  It's wide because of a bus stop on both sides.

Heading back~

Heading back, the views of the river are so pretty.  Soon the noise of the traffic faded away & the only sounds were the birds in the trees & the river below.  A Coyote appeared about 100 yards ahead - then disappeared into the trees.

On Tin Bridge

Soon we were back to our bridge & back onto the trails.  We hustled back to the parking area & it was a relief to find the Bronco OK.  Our trip was just over 15-miles, it would be very close to the same if we'd left from Arlington I think.  With all the rock - I was glad for Farah's pads, but even so - it's a whole lot of rock...  Not a ride I'll do again soon - until the trail gets the top dressing material to solidify the rock surface.

Darrington Days~

Mule Barn

Today we were on the road early, heading to Darrington to set up the information booth for the Centennial Trail Coalition.  Our first stop was the Mule Barn, near the Darrington end of the Whitehorse Trail, to pick up display easels.  We found it locked, so on to George's garage for our inventory.

The "early birds" helped with the awning covers~

We arrived at Old School Park - it was still early.  Blue sky, light breeze, moderate temperature.  It was a friendly group, mostly volunteers - with plenty to get done.  It wasn't long before the covers were up & we were setting up our tables with brochures, display items & t-shirts.

Our booth~

 The Forest Service had one end, hikers next, B.I.K.E.S & then the CTCSC.  There were different spots all over town with a variety of displays, crafts, etc.

There were several speeches by local dignitaries~

 We had a steady stream of visitors throughout the afternoon.  Everyone happy to hear about the improvements taking place on the Whitehorse Trail!  Many people had already been out on the trail & were asking when this or that section would be completed.

New Wood Carving~

  This amazing wood carving was donated to the city of Darrington.  At 3 p.m. we were done for the day, so packed up & decided to see what was going on with the bridges on the trail for ourselves.  First we picked up shakes & fries at Burger Barn!

Cicero Bridge

 The Cicero Bridge decking is done!  Just some bollards to be placed on the far end, fencing to finish & it's done!  The trail both directions has been brushed - things are moving forward!

From the bridge looking over at 530 bridge~

It's another beautiful bridge, with beautiful views of the river.  There were people sitting in lawn chairs down in the water.  Levels are so low, more like late Summer, rather than late spring.  Thinking back on all the years that we worked to get the Centennial Trail through - many times it seemed an impossible task.  Now, the Whitehorse Trail - years ahead of anyone's dream...  It took a terrible disaster to get things rolling - but what a tribute to the tenancy of the people of this area, combined with the hard work of County Parks -  that this trail too, will open far ahead of projections!