John Wayne Trail Sunday June 5th

General
1

A plan is afoot to do a ride on the John Wayne Trail. June 5th. Meeting at the Rattlesnake Lake parking lot at 10:30 am.

Anyone have recent experience on the trail? I know the tunnels are closed, but I understand there is a way around the closures.

www.meetup.com Seattle Unicycle Group

2

The tunnels will probably still be closed. You should just move your ride a little farther south to So Cal :sunglasses:

3

The tunnels are closed indefinately, and there is no path around them that I know of. The poor buggers are ancient and probably too expensive to fix.

I might be able to ride with you, will have to see as the time gets closer.

4

I forgot to mention, there is plenty of trail without the tunnels and it is well maintained. :slight_smile:

5

John Wayne Trail Update Near Northbend WA June 4th

I checked out the trail from Rattlesnake Lake (Exit 32 from I-90). The trail is in good condition, no snow, no deep gravel. The trail is wide hard packed and a gradual climb.

I rode a mountain bike from the parking lot to Garcia Road about 8 miles. Scenic, bridges are intact.

Meeting at Rattle Snake lake at 10:30AM. I plan to potluck it with Bratwurst buns and salad if I can get someone to bring a portable barbecue.

I’ll be driving up from Tumwater WA if anyone needs a ride.

JD Miller
jmille2788@aol.com

6

Have you changed the date from Sunday to Saturday?
Are you starting from Rattlesnake Lake or just meeting there, parking cars, driving to another trailhead and riding back to Rattlesnake?

FYI: turns out it’s a busy weekend so I’m not holding out much hope of me making it, but things could change. :frowning:

7

John Wayne Trail ride is really on Sunday June 5th 2011

Blueharmony: Thanks for catching the error. Sunday at 10:30 is the correct time.

JD Miller
Tumwater WA

8

John Wayne Trail ride is really on Sunday June 5th 2011

My current plan is to Park at Rattlesnake Lake. Some folks may want to ride up and down. I personally want to just ride down. I thought we could work out the details at Rattle Snake lake. Its hard to make firm plans until we see who actually arrives. I can ride up with difficulty, but it would be more fun to have a ride down the hill. That involve parking a car or cars at a higher elevation and riding down.

Can you suggest a place to park cars on the uphill side? I only know the parking area near Garcia.

JD

9

I’m a little confused about which way you are planning to go since you’ve mentioned the tunnels in relation to this ride, but are talking about riding “down” from Rattlesnake. Here is my confusion:

  • There are two old railroad trails that converge at Rattlesnake Lake.
  • The one from Snoqualmie Pass (John Wayne Trail) rides [I]down from [/I]the pass to the lake. The tunnels are near the pass but closed.
  • The other rides down from the lake to North Bend and beyond via the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail.

If you are wanting to ride downhill to the lake I suggest accessing the John Wayne Trail at the Olallie State Park upper trailhead to Twin Falls. The trailhead is accessible by driving toward the pass, taking the Olallie exit, turn right toward Olallie then another right at the sign for the Twin Falls trailhead. There is a parking lot and short walk to the John Wayne Trail. From there it’s a good ride to the lake. I’ve tried accessing this trail from further up towards the pass but you have to hike a considerable distance carrying your uni to find the trail.

If you are wanting to ride down from the lake to North Bend or Snoqualmie then start at Rattlesnake Lake and ride down the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail. Both are beautiful trails, the latter has more downhill slope. Either way you will need to coordinate a trip back to your car.

You could also ride from the upper Twin Falls trailhead to Rattlesnake Lake on the John Wayne Trail, then continue on the North Bend via the Snoqualmie Valley trail…

10

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for the information on the Twin Falls Trail Head. That must be the one that is close to Garcia.

My plan is to have the group park multiple cars at RattleSnake Lake. At that point we can decide for certain how to proceed. Some folks are talking about riding up toward the pass then back down to Rattlesnake Lake. If everyone does this it won’t be necessary to shuttle up hill.

Others may be interested in driving up toward the pass with a car full of unis, park one or two cars at the Twin Falls Trailhead, then ride downhill to Rattlesnake Lake where we can have a picnic/bbq while someone goes up to recover the cars. I don’t think the tunnels or the detour around them are going to be part of this ride. I may check out the detour on my own in the evening.

I had not considered riding on the Snoqualmie Regional Trail. I have only seen the trail on the map, I don’t know the condition of that trail. I assume it is excellent.

Lots of options are available. If someone shows up with a non riding spouse who loves to set up a picnic that would be excellent. My wife often meets that description, but she is not available this weekend.

Some folks have the whole day available while others have just a few hours available.

It would be great if you came, particularly with your local knowledge.

JD