After the small disaster last time, I had to try to go to Mineral again. This time, thankfully, the roads were all clear and the weather was beautiful!
Albums from past rides in the area
More after the break…
Outbound
Going into this ride, I wasn't really feeling like SR-169 again, so I instead used SR-99, SR-167, and SR-410. Despite the bitter cold when I left in the morning, I managed to at least not be in pain thanks to my Merino base layer.
My first stop was in in Bonney Lake to get gas at the Costco there, as my fuel light turned on when I rolled into town (a first on this bike!). Its premium was cheaper than the regular at nearby "normal" gas stations!
Next, I stopped at Charlie's Cafe in Enumclaw again for breakfast. Unlike last time, it wasn't very busy, so I didn't have long to wait. As has become my tradition, I got some hot coffee to warm up.
From Enumclaw, I started on my usual route via SR-165 and SR-162, but decided that I didn't want to deal with Orville Road. Instead, I headed into Orting, then hung a left on the Orting–Kapowsin Highway. After not long along that road, I started getting a strange feeling that I'd end up at the Kapowsin Ale House & Grill, and thus Orville Road, so when I did hit Kapowsin, I hung a right to avoid that road. Eventually, I hit SR-161, which I took all of the way to SR-7.
After hitting SR-7, I realized that I'd have to contend with the meandering part of it around La Grande. Unlike my past time in the area, I took the turns much more confidently. Going this route also gave me the chance to get better photos of Alder Dam from afar
While I was stopped there, a pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer loaded with chain-link fence sections pulled over and the driver asked me where the next gas station was. I told them that Elbe was the closest one I knew about and they were on their way…or so I thought. I don't know what was happening, but on the stretch of SR-7 to Elbe, I saw them sporadically slow down and pull onto the shoulder.
My next stop was at Elbe to get a bottle of water at the gas station and use the restroom at the adjacent rest area.
While I enjoyed the scene, that same truck from earlier finally did make it and was able to get the gas they needed. Glad things turned out okay!
I left Elbe the same way as last time, and approached the turn for Mineral Road with apprehension. Much to my relief, it was completely clear of slush, so I was free to finally head into Mineral! I was greeted with a view of Mount Rainier in the distance, though I strangely didn't see it while I walked around taking photos, after first parking in front of the "closed until Spring" Mineral Market.
While walking around, I tried to find access to the lake. Across the street was a gravel parking lot and restrooms that required a Discover Pass to use, but I didn't really see any sign that the gravel road behind it headed down to the lake. Seemed like it was someone's driveway.
I wandered around a bit, waving by some adventure motorcycle riders who rode by, before coming across the Mineral Lake Lions Den Campground. Looking around for signs whether or not it was open didn't help, but thankfully a caretaker rolled up in a utility UTV and told me that they were technically closed. He said that I could go down to take some quick photos, but only after making extra sure that I was taking them for personal use only.
When I was done, I told him "thanks again", but he seemed pretty focused on trying to get the UTV to not stall.
I walked back to my bike, noticing that The Headquarters Tavern had opened since I started my walk.
Inbound
I headed back the same way I came. When I arrived to SR-7 again, I noticed a large pack of sportbike riders coming my way down the highway. After making my turn, I kept a fairly quick pace, but that simply wasn't enough for them! They kept passing everyone, and when they were waiting at a stop sign to turn, they kept revving their bikes. Zero chill, those guys.
Rather than dealing with the winding SR-7, I took the Alder Cutoff back to Eatonville, then joined SR-161 for the rest of the route to South Hill. I stopped once for a restroom, nacho Bugles, and gas in Graham, and while I did, an older lady driving a Z06 Corvette parked next to me. Neat!
The traffic in South Hill was horrible! I ended up stuck behind a Walmart semi truck, and eventually just gave up on getting to SR-512 this way. I hung a right on 53rd Avenue SE, then meandered left and right for a while, avoiding turning into housing developments. My last turn in the area was a left onto Shaw Road E…which put me at the end of a long line of cars waiting to head downhill. Once we did finally get moving, I saw that police were directing traffic around a bad car crash. The trunk on one of the cars was completely smashed in!
The bottom of the hill revealed familiar scenery: a road that I'd often used to get to/from the northwesternmost trailhead of the Foothills Trail. That left me with only a short jaunt before joining SR-167 via SR-410 in Sumner. However, I wasn't feeling like riding SR-167 yet again, so I used SR-18 to switch to I-5, then jumped over to the HOV lane.
Like last time, I took the left exit to Georgetown, but I took a wrong turn around the First Street Bridge mess and ended up on SR-99 southbound. I didn't want to deal with the grated bridge deck on the northbound bridge, so I made my way up the western side of the Duwamish Waterway. At one point, I had to do my first full-lock U-turn from a stop when a stoplight simply refused to acknowledge my existence.
Feeling the need for one last break, I stopped at həʔapus Village Park for photos and my last energy drink. I wanted to get a photo of my bike parked there, but a lady in a Subaru parked in the only free spot next to my bike shortly after I parked. She sat there for 15 minutes with the car idling, then left…only for a guy in a stick shift Scion xB to park there instead. I got my photos and went on my way at that point.
Continuing my trend of wrong turns, the lane I chose under the West Seattle Bridge had me end up on the Spokane Street Bridge instead. It wasn't a big deal, especially since my GPS sent me straight to the same ramp to SR-99 that I would've taken either way.
Traffic wasn't bad for the remainder of my ride, but there was one SUV on SR-99 that really wanted to speed. After passing several folks both before and in the tunnel, it ended up stuck behind a moving wall of cars, which I smirked at.
I finally got home at about 3 PM.
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