Three Pass Run

Fall came in with magnificent weather in the Pacific Northwest this year. So of course there were HSTA riders ready to enjoy it. The Three Pass Run, held September 22 to 24 and based at Packwood, Washington, was our state's first three-day non-event. Packwood is situated between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, at the foot of the Cascade range near three magnificent mountain passes.

Nadine Berthold (Oregon State Director) and I arrived in Packwood at about 4 PM, after a great ride through the Mt. St. Helens volcanic monument area. Three other riders had beaten us to town; Elbert Silbaugh had a short ride from Seattle, Rod Eastwood had a short ride (for him) from Medical Lake, and Don Clark had a somewhat longer ride from Victorville, California. (In Don's case, getting there wasn't half the fun; ask him about construction on 395 and 97. But he said later our Saturday ride made up for it.)

Nadine Berthold, Rod Eastwood, Elbert Silbaugh (wearing the map), and Don Clark, watching the sun go down behind Mt. Rainier

On Friday night we settled into our rooms and visited the restaurant next to the motel for a pizza feed. After thoroughly stuffing ourselves, we returned to motel's deck where we watched the sun go down behind Mt. Rainier and experienced a few of Rod's stories. (If you haven't heard his "Snowbound in Snowville" tale, be sure to ask him for it next time you see him.)

Saturday dawned bright and clear and COLD (and after a warm summer, 35 degrees definitely feels cold). While some of us were hooking up our electric gear, others were stalling, hoping things would warm up. Eventually they did, at least a little, and we started our 200 mile tour of Mt. Rainier. Since it's a national park, with narrow, winding roads, and lots of rangers, our pace was moderate (some might even say sedate).

Nadine, Elbert, and Don warming up at the Sunrise Visitors Center

Our first objective was the Sunrise visitor center. We headed northeast on Highway 12 to 123, then rode north over Cayuse Pass to the park's White River entrance. From the entrance the road climbed quickly through numerous great switchbacks to Sunrise, at about 6500 feet. It was warmer there than at the entrance, so we took our time warming up and getting some great pictures of the mountain.

Leaving Sunrise we rode back to Cayuse pass, then headed east to Chinook Pass. It's only about three miles between them, but the road twists upward about 800 feet in that distance, taking us up to 5600 feet and giving us an impressive view of the mountain's east flank.

Chinook Pass, with Don shedding layers

From Chinook Pass we headed back down to Cayuse Pass, south to the Ohanapecosh park entrance, then west on 706 to the Paradise visitor's center on the mountain's south side. Traffic had been fairly light, so we were surprised by the parking lot at Paradise. It was completely full of cars, busses, and RVs; I suspect the hiking trails around Paradise were more crowded than the roads! We found enough room to park our bikes, then explored the main lodge a bit and had ice cream cones for a snack (it had warmed up that much!).

Taking a break at Paradise Lodge. The day had gotten warm enough for ice cream.

Heading west from Paradise to Ashford, we returned to Packwood on a seriously twisted Forest Service road. Arriving in town, we found two more HSTA members waiting for us. Dan Meekhof and Rob Kramer had ridden from Seattle, and we had crossed paths somewhere on the road to Paradise.

Saturday night we had dinner at the restaurant across the street from the motel. Afterward most of our group retired early, but some stayed up late to examine Packwood's night life.

Elbert playing chiropractor for Nadine on White Pass

Sunday morning also dawned clear and cold. At around 8:00 AM, four more club members arrived (I'm sorry I didn't get their names). They had left Seattle at about 5 AM, and they were frozen. They spent the next two hours in the restaurant thawing out. We all had breakfast together, then our group broke up. The defrosted riders headed north into the park, Dan and Rob went west, and the rest of us rode up to White Pass, to see the third of the three passes before heading home.

It was a great weekend, with excellent roads, weather, and company; we'll do it again next year!