Seattle Forrest

Beth and I spent the weekend in the Methow. I got to ride a loop over the Loup from Twisp, and we hiked Tatie Peak and Grasshopper Pass yesterday from Harts. Lovely, all around. Here are some pictures from the ride.

woodway

Nice pics SF! Never made the ride over Loup Loup but have been wanting to for a while. How was highway 20 to ride on during a weekend?

Also, what route did you take?

Seattle Forrest

You know, I kind of forgot I was on a major state highway at times. Traffic is pretty light, it's far from population centers and away from the main destinations. Got passed by some big trucks but everybody moved well out of the way before passing. The road isn't bad and goes through some pretty burn zone. Once you leave 20, it's awful chipseal, then Beaver Creek Road is very very washboarded and it felt like I must have gone slower on the descent than climbing the pass.

Here's the route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1269592821

indyfabz

Nice. And you had great temps. I did Loup Loup from Winthrop then on to Tonasket in '99 and '00. I want to move somewhere out west when I retire.

ModeratedUser17082018

Thanks for posting such great ride reports.

Seattle Forrest

We spent Sunday hiking nearby, from Harts Pass to the headwaters of the Methow River near Grasshopper Pass. Both of us got pretty burnt. Beth has a white spot on her chest where her necklace was, the rest is lobster-colored. We were both eating snow to cool off. No shade up on the ridge. Still love burn zones.

We've been thinking a lot about buying a house in the area. Plenty of scouting, in person and online. PM me if you want any recommendations.

indyfabz

There is still snow up there? I was touring in Montana back in mid-June. My route used a lot of the same roads I used in 2014. I was somewhat disappointed that many of the peaks had little snow cover compared to two years ago. This year I extended the route to Ennis, which I had not ridden to since 2000. During the descent into town there is a scenic overlook with a stunning view of the Madison range of the rockies. Since I was arriving five days earlier than in '00, I was hoping for a repeat of snow-capped peaks. This is what I saw instead:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349...7667672266654/


Unfortunately, retirement is at least 4 years away, and maybe 9.

rumrunn6

impressive! how was the traffic?

Seattle Forrest

Traffic was very little, almost non-existent. Maybe a dozen cars and trucks on the way up, none on the way down. That's the appeal of most of the Methow Valley: low traffic, polite drivers.

Not on the bike route, but we hiked the next day and almost immediately started crossing snow patches, even below 7k'. We were able to reliably fill our bottles (on the hike) by melting snow. But it's not a continuous blanket, it's on N faces and in shadowy areas. Also, this was our first snowy winter in a few years, I'm not sure how Montana did?

Wildwood 

I was there a few years back on a cross-state jaunt.
your pic shows the accumulated wear/tear on the LL Pass sign.