The Northwest Rider

Weeks ago I decided to explore the Stossel Creek area, specifically the roads connecting Cherry Valley, just east of Duvall WA, with Ben Howard Road, a popular motorcycling venue that parallels the Skykomish River to Monroe.  I had heard that this route, which I’d ridden successfully a couple of years earlier on a VStrom 1000, had been recently gated.  The information I was getting though was vague and inconclusive.  I set out to explore and included my findings (that the road had, in fact, been gated) in a previous ride report.

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The mystery was only partially solved on that trip though.  I’ve been looking for the opportunity to finish my exploration, with the hopes of identifying specifically if and where the road had been gated from the north end.  I was hopeful that (with a little hiking if necessary) I would be able to determine a cause for the closure as well.

On the afternoon of March 8th, when a small window of good weather opened up in an otherwise cold and snowy weekend.  I headed out Ben Howard road, twisting and turning toward the intersection at Cedar Ponds, where I noted the ‘Dead Ends’ sign (my first clue of what was to come)  and headed enthusiastically into the hills toward Young’s River Truck Trail.

The county road (along with the pavement) ended as I turned right onto Potson Road.  Its just gravel, dirt and mud but my heart always leaps a little when I leave the asphalt, dodging and bumping throught the water filled potholes. 

Though the trip would be short, this was some great riding.  It was wet out there but the air was cold and crisp.  The sun was low in the sky and cut sharply through the trees, lighting the forest and causing steam to rise from the moss laden rocks and tree trunks.

The road was in pretty good shape, with varying terrain.  Steep sections in the meandering double track made it fun and exciting as I pieced together my memories of riding through here years ago on the Strom and made the mental comparison between that trip and this one, on a Honda XR650L.  For the most part, the trail is pretty standard.  There are opportunities though to test your skill (and nerves) on larger, coarser gravel.  I was pleased with how well the XR handled.  Compared to the DL1000 and to my current road bike, the XR is light and nimble, but with ample power to muscle through harder terrain.

I was not surprised to find the gate at the intersection of Youngs River Truck Road and Dagger Lake Road (about 3.3 miles in from where I began at Cedar Ponds.)  I was a little disappointed to find it so quickly though as I was really enjoying the ride, the climate and the terrain.  At the gate, there was a homemade sign indicating that the road had washed out.  I decided to explore on foot to see if I could confirm this.

A quarter mile or so up the road beyond the gate I found another roadblock.  A large trench had been excavated and lined on either side with boulders.  This barrier had been designed to keep all vehicles out of the area but was easy to cross on foot.

Within another quarter mile I approached a significant washout on Youngs River Trail, where the water had jumped its banks and washed the earth away, taking half the road with it.  A similar barrier to the one I’d traversed on foot had been constructed on the other side of the washout (and can be seen in the distance above) to assure that no vehicles ended up over the edge and 15 or so feet down the embankment.

I felt gratified, having found what I’d come looking for.  But with the sun still shining I wasn’t quite ready to head for home.  I returned to my bike and, rather than turning back, decided to see how much further I could get by riding up Dagger Lake Road.  As I got deeper into the woods, the road surface got a little slushy in places.  The Hondas thick knobby tires handled this well.

Within a mile or so I encountered another batch of ‘Road Closed’ signs, one for each direction on the Dotson Road loop.  With no gates in sight, I decided to push on a bit.  It was late afternoon and the sun was melting the snow in the treetops.  Even though there were very few clouds in the sky, water was raining from the trees as I made my way along the shores of Dagger Lake.

All of the dirt roads leading from the lake (aside from the one I arrived on) were, in fact, closed to through traffic.  This remote location would be the end of today’s journey.  After a quick photo I headed back in the direction from which I’d come.

As I made my way home through the Snoqualmie Valley, I was struck by a sudden, dramatic drop in temperature and a stark contrast between the bright blue sky above and the dark grey sky ahead.  A curtain of mixed hail and snow had engulfed Novelty Hill and now stood between me and my destination.  I pressed forward, fingers frozen and cheeks stinging from hailstones working their way persistently between my chin-bar and goggles.  Upon reaching the top of Novelty Hill, ice turned to snow and then dissipated altogether, making the balance of my ride as enjoyable as it had begun.

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