My partner needed to be in Fife all day, so we booked a room for a couple nights. During that day, I went on a short jaunt on the Foothills Trail to see it for the first time since it was continuous between East Puyallup and Buckley.
Related albums:
The morning of the ride, I was pretty sure I was going to have to bail on my plans, but the rain falling ended up being pretty minimal.
More after the break…
Outbound
I started at about 8 AM after getting back to the motel from the Poodle Dog in Fife for breakfast. I started off wearing my rain jacket, but had to take it off because I was overheating, and instead just wore my green wool cardigan as usual.
There was a lot of wayfinding done at the beginning, since I was following a new route in a somewhat unfamiliar area. I ended up missing my turn for the Puyallup Riverwalk Trail and had to walk down a very chunky gravel path to get to it.
I then got onto Valley Avenue, then went over a familiar overpass to the westernmost extent of the Foothills Trail. I hadn't used this entrance in years since I always preferred to join the trail at Alderton.
Once on the trail, I kept getting the feeling of "it's been too long." The trail winds its way through some of my favorite rural areas, and I missed seeing everything.
It's been too long. (@ Foothills Trail - East Puyallup Trailhead in WA) https://t.co/HI3hJkUoqi
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
Actually saw the Meeker Southern operating in Puyallup.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
After following the trail to Orting, I stopped to get something to drink at the Safeway there. The heavy breakfast from the Poodle Dog wasn't sitting well.
I'm at @Safeway in Orting, WA https://t.co/8QNBtNkg7E
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
And then I stopped by the former Trailside Cyclery. While there, I snapped a picture for the former owner, telling him I was in the area.
He told me to visit him at his house, an offer which I took up.
Was lucky enough to chat with the owner of the now gone Trailside Cyclery, which closed over a year ago.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
We talked about all sorts of things, like how he found a balance bike while out riding his motorcycle in the middle of nowhere, then repaired to usable condition. He also told me about how he grew up only a few houses down from his current one. His brother owns the house he grew up in. His current house was originally a dirt lot where he rode around on mini dirtbikes, and he had the house built on the property in the '80s. It was really nice seeing him again, but I couldn't stay for long since I wanted to get back to the motel at a reasonable hour. Hopefully I'll get the chance to see him again sometime soon.
From Orting, I set out along the more remote reaches of the Foothills Trail.
I then stopped at the Trailside Espresso stand, whose park had been expanded a little. I took the opportunity to pick up a few small food items and a lemonade before heading further east.
It's been too long. (@ Trailside Espresso in South Prairie, WA) https://t.co/JVLLiMQB9n
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
The first major change I noticed was that the bridge across South Prairie Creek was open. Previously, a wall fenced blocked it.
The trail right of way now passes through property that used to belong to a trailer park, but the county took it back to complete the trail.
I saw the equipment they were using to keep the Foothills Trail clean. It was a sort of large garden truck with equipment all over the back.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
I eventually made my way to a familiar bridge, which marks the westernmost extent of former "Missing Link".
I also came across the trail that follows the other right of way of the former railroad all the way to Carbonado.
From that bridge all the way to 268th Avect. E, the trail was familiar.
However, the bridge that was destroyed by a tree had been replaced with an embankment and culvert.
They replaced the Foothills Trail bridge that was destroyed by trees with a huge culvert. #seabikes
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
And then I got to where I snuck around a fence last time: the new upper extension to Buckley. This had previously been a muddy, rocky, and rooty mess, which forced the county to build a trestle over it.
The only major change I noticed was a shelter under the highway overpass, which is probably meant to keep water and debris from showering down on trail users.
Once to the first trailhead, I turned back.
Inbound
The ride was uneventful all the way until I got close to Orting, where bunch of people had been fishing both earlier and now. One lady asked, "You're not going fishing?" when I rode by. I had originally planned to take a little gravel trail along the river instead of going through Orting, but I decided to save time by going through town.
Lots of people fishing on the Carbon River.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
I pretty much backtracked the whole way back to the western end of the trail, then continued to backtrack all the way to the motel.
#bookends (@ Foothills Trail - East Puyallup Trailhead in WA) https://t.co/czWprRo4J2
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
My original plan had been to take a different route back to the motel, but based on the confusion from earlier in the morning, I just stuck to the same roads I'd taken earlier. I ended up walking the last half-mile or so due to construction closing the right lane of SR-99. Oddly enough, one driver in the lane still open waited for me, which I'd guessed was him leaving an opening for me to join the long line of cars, but I was fine walking. Despite the walk, I got back to the motel at 4 PM, right before my partner got back. She said she saw me walking, and rather than using her key card, she just knocked on the motel room door for me to let her in.
I walked the last half mile or so because of the construction closing the right lane on SR-99.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
That was a pretty good ride! It rained here and there, but not enough to require rain gear. I even took off the rain gear early on because I was over heating.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 1, 2018
To celebrate her completion of the test, we both went to the Emerald Queen Casino for dinner, which was pretty satisfying after a good ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment