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Iron Horse (John Wayne) Trail
Map from Bellevue
to Ellensburg
Iron Horse Trail
The Iron Horse Trail opened the latter part of the 1980s or early 90s. Even then the entire trail wasn't accessible. Several trestles were out and those crossable only had a cable railing which made one a bit uneasy compared to the chainlink fences that are now in place.
Today it is completely accessible from Rattlesnake Lake to Kittitas where a trestle is out. But continuing further by bicycle is rough going, 5 mph in sand. Taking the Old Vantage Highway out of Ellensburg is probably a better choice. It is about 28 miles, a gradual climb on the west side and a nice downhill run on the east side. At the top you can stop and check out the windmill farm.
Maybe what also makes me really interested in the Iron Horse Trail, as a boy every summer I worked on my Aunt's farm. The Milwaukee tracks ran right through her property on the Washingtin/Idaho stateline. Occasionally, during the harvest season, a spark from the train would set their fields on fire. But other times it was pretty cool to watch these long trains heading to Chicago.
I had been wanting to ride the Iron Horse Trail since the 90s. I had ridden the
West side through the Snoqualmie Tunnel twice, but never beyond. I tried to find
information on it, searching the Internet and even calling the Washington State
information line. But all I found was vague information. So finally, I rode to Ellensburg.
Although it is an awesome trail, there is a lot of missing information.
The
Washington State's web site and brochures market a wonderful trail across
the state. For whatever reasons, they don't mention missing links. In other words,
you can not ride a trail across the state of Washington. You can't even get from
Seattle to Vantage, even though it is marketed that way. Here is a more realistic
description of what to expect from my ride July 15, 2008.
Where to Start A sea to mountains trail has been the goal
but it has a ways to go (some call it sound to greenways). There is no trail to
get you directly to North Bend from Seattle or anywhere west. There are several
trails that help get you there depending on where you start.
Here is a map
from Bellevue to Ellensburg.
In Bellevue the trail starts at Eastgate on the west side of the tunnel that goes under I-90. It will take you to the round about at W Lake Sammamish Way. You continue to follow I-90 on W Lake Sammamish Way, then NW Sammamish Road to E Lake Sammamish Way. There you get on the Sammamish Trail until just before you go under I-90 and you will connect to the new Issaquah bike path. This will take you up to Highlands Drive. Here you go under the road and connect to the gravel path that runs along I-90. At the end of the gravel path you will get on High Point Way which will take you to the Preston on-ramp for I-90. Here is the fun part, riding on I-90 for about 5 miles, most of it up hill. I took the North Bend Way exit and road into town and connected with the Snoqualmie Valley Trail.
You could park in
North Bend and ride the Snoqualmie Valley Trail starting at Tanner Road.
Starting from North Bend adds five miles of scenery to the route. Bear signs were
posted in this area.
Or park at
Rattlesnake Lake which is where the Iron Horse Trail officially starts.
There are facilities at Rattlesnake Park including restrooms and parking.
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I had front and rear panniers, two rack bags, and another bag for my clothes. Total
weight including bike was 90 pounds. I had a tent, sleeping bag and pad, camera,
food (too much), clothes (including extra biking clothes), tools and pump, GPS,
four quart water bottles (it was hot!), lights for the tunnel (and possible night
driving), first aid kit, bike lock, cell phone, Kindle (reading material for when
I was camping). And of course, me, which added another 200 pounds. I want to stress
the weight here because it does add to the difficulty. The trail is entirely up
hill on the west side (although a maximum five percent I believe) and the gravel
can be very loose at times.
I suppose you could run off to REI and get all kinds of light and efficient gear
like tents or water purifiers. I just grabbed what I already had. The extra money
spent just to save a few pounds won't make that much difference. I had no problems
with the front panniers. There aren't any tricky corners or turns in the trail.
As long as you keep both hands on the handlebars you are fine.
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Why not use a GPS? These little electronic devices are fantastic! I have a Garmin 60CSx. I use it for biking, hiking and driving. For driving I use it for directions but for biking and hiking, I primarily use it to track where I have gone and upload the data to my computer. It works very well as a cyclecomputer so you know how fast you are going, what time it is, how far you have gone, etc.
The 60CSx easily mounts to the handlebars. I have the City Navigator maps installed. Myself, and most people I know who have a GPS, rarely see a need for topo maps - a hill is a hill, you can usually see them. But once I got into Ellensburg, it was nice to be able to see the streets and find locations.
How Far and How Long? My total trip was about 100 miles.
I say about because the GPS does not work in the tunnels. The Snoqualmie tunnel
is 2.5 miles. The next longest is about a mile but the rest are shorter. I had planned
two days, hence all of the gear. But it can be done in a day.
But it is not a race, the purpose is to get away and enjoy it - so no hurry. In
fact, with all the weight and heat, two days may be pushing it as well if you haven't
been training. I stopped a few times to take pictures, plus flat tires, so total
time was long. I also stopped and talked with a few people including a park ranger
near Ellensburg who was repairing the chain link fence cut open by bridge divers.
So unless you have done it before, plan for the unexpected and plan for it to take
more than you expect.
My total time on the trail was about twelve hours, eight hours riding. Speed is
not an issue, safety is. Most of the trail is good, compact gravel. However, unexpectedly,
you will come across very loose gravel or dirt. And it can throw you, especially
on a bike loaded with gear. Going up to Snoqualmie I could get around 14 mph but
I felt like I could conserve energy by keeping my speed around 12 mph. On the other
side maintaining 15/16 mph was a good, comfortable speed. With less gear it will
be faster but again that loose gravel will be more of concern at higher speeds.
Besides, what's the hurry.
From North Bend to Ellensburg you have trail all the way only having to cross a
road now and then. It is all gravel except for a couple of bridges that happen to
have concrete. No hills to speak of or other difficulties. Taking pictures, flats
or other repairs and meeting people will probably be your non-riding time consumption.
I originally wanted to ride to Vantage but I ran out of water and got my fourth
flat at a Dairy Queen in Ellensburg. I figured it was a good trip and maybe continue
on next time - a grape icy was the real reason I stopped. I did confirm with the
park ranger that a bridge was out at Kittitas and that the trail was very soft on
the Army land making 5 mph top speed but twice the effort. In fact, he suggested
taking the Vantage highway. There is no way to get across the Columbia. Apparently
the railroad refuses to open the bridge at Beverly due to money. And there is no
room on the I-90 bridge unless you really want to compete with cars and trucks doing
60-70 plus mph. There is no shoulder or sidewalk.
You can save some time and mileage by starting at Rattlesnake Lake. It will shorten
the trip by about eight miles.
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Half Way
If you are planning a two day trip, the state campsite at Lake Easton is perfect.
It is just about half way between North Bend and Ellensburg. And if you want to
meet someone there, it is right next to the freeway. At the campsite you can refill
with water, take a shower, use the restroom, or just get out of the sun. You can
also restock at the little store in Easton. The campsite employees are very friendly
and helpful, too. There are two bicycle specific campsites which are $14 a night.
Regular campsites are $19. The bicycle sites were covered with ants but I was able
to switch to a regular site. The lady checking people in made a note to have the
ants taken care of.
All Alone I say I talked to a few people because you don't
see a lot of people out there. You are alone 95% of the time. In fact, I only met
two other cyclists. I met Ron at the beginning of the Snoqualmie tunnel. Weird,
he had the same bike and GPS that I had. I met another guy who said he has been
riding around America pedaling backwards. I didn't ask, at that point I was feeling
the heat and wondering if anyone would ever find my body out here. I also met two
horse riders who didn't bother to say a word except "whoa!" because their
horses were afraid of my bike. Of course at the campsite and Ellensburg I met lots
of people. You will have plenty of time to think and daydream.
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Wildlife Not far into the ride there were posted signs
warning of bear activity. But all I saw were squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. I
do carry a can of bear pepper spray, wondering if I could get it out in time. I
also use a rear-view mirror. Cougars attack from behind. But I have only heard of
one or two attacks in the entire country. I never saw a rattlesnake either but I
hear they are more towards Vantage. Probably the worst thing to worry about are
cars and trucks anytime you are near the road.
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Scenery The scenery is incredible. Everything from mountains,
cliffs, rivers, to flat land. Bridges, old buildings, birds nests. On the west side
of Snoqualmie you have the mountains, trees, cliffs, water falls and long distant
views. The east side presents you with lakes, rivers, ranches and farms, old buildings.
The first tunnel is the Snoqualmie Tunnel, 2.5 miles long. Not far from it is another
tunnel maybe a mile long.
At Lake Easton there is a state park deep in the trees (or maybe Lake Easton is
a state park). It is a nice park complete with showers. Camp sites have neatly placed
tent pads made of 2x4 framed squares of gravel and sand.
In Cle Elum they left the original train depot that you ride past. It is now a restaurant
but was closed when I went through. Past Cle Elum you head into the canyon, home
of the Yakima river.
You follow the Yakima river most of the time riding below tall cliffs of rock. There
is one long tunnel and one short one on this stretch making for a nice shady break
from the sun. There are bats in these tunnels, too!
Finally, you end with relatively flat fields of hay and other crops until you reach
Ellensburg.
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The Tunnel There are five tunnels on the trail but the
Snoqualmie Tunnel is the longest by far, about two and a half miles. It is completely
dark inside, actually gets cold, and water drips from the ceiling, in some places
a good steady run. The trail is gravel and wet with puddles. And it curves a little.
You definitely need a good light, I had an old halogen. Fortunately, the battery
still had a charge. And no one else came through. I heard a story from one rider
that the wagon train came through and didn't even notice him, pitting him up against
the wall. Going through the tunnel adds to the adventure! If you are with a group,
it's always fun to turn off the light... The rest of the tunnels are pretty short
except for one about a mile long which is about 15 miles before Ellensburg.
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Food, Water and Clothing How much food and water should
one take is a big question when planning. But at least during the summer water is
the main issue. I drank about a gallon a day. And due to the loose gravel it is
best to keep both hands on the handlebars so I recommended one of those backpack
water containers. I used water bottles and found one-handed a bit tricky. It got
to be so hot on the east side that I ran out of water five miles before Ellensburg.
Power bars and pop tarts were all I needed for food. I never really felt that hungry
but you have to keep up your energy supply. I took too much food. Even at night
I didn't find the need to eat a lot. Think of snacks. I didn't take a stove so it
was all ready to eat food.
I took an extra set of biking clothes and one set of casual clothes including shorts,
shirt and flip-flops. I also took a light long-sleeve shirt. Many times I have planned
a summer trip and ended up camping in winter like conditions. One such trip started
the day in the 90s but ended that night at 36. So best to be prepared. If you can
you should start each day with clean biking clothes avoid of sweat. I washed mine
out that night but they didn't dry by morning so the extra set was neccessary.
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Problems Encountered The only problems I had with the
bike were flat tires. The Safari is a pretty sturdy bike, well made. I do carry
allen wrenches, tube repair kit, an extra tube, regular bike pump and CO2 pump,
electrical tape, a bit of wire, and a Leatherman mult-tool knife. You never know
when a hook on a pannier will break or come loose so best to have something to fix
it (like wire) or you may have to leave it.
I also think it is best to carry as much water as you can. It gets hot in the summer
and there are not a lot of accessible places. You aren't in survival mode so taking
a chance drinking river water is not a preference of mine.
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A Whole 'Nother World I have driven I-90 across the state
hundreds of times never knowing if anything existed beyond. And I have been biking
around Seattle for over 25 years, including several 100 mile plus rides. But riding
a trail like this gives you a totally new perspective, not primitive but only slightly
civilized. Away from the bland modern scape of the city. I finally did the Iron
Horse Trail and wish I had started long ago. I do hope more people bike it and it
becomes a higher priority for maintenance and improvement. Someday maybe it will
be completed all the way to Idaho. That would be really awesome!
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