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  1. #26
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    Agreed, Gunder. I rode about 50 miles of Galby over 2 days a couple of weeks ago with a day of pretty much all of Chuckanuts in between. The Chuckanuts trails were more my style and the setting is far better as well. But again, I'm not a jumper.
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  2. #27
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    I dont think he was talking about chuckanut.


    If OP is already in Port Angeles, some "quick" pedal laps at Dry Hill would be a great way to sneak in some DH laps between the more mellow XC stuff that most of the olympic peninsula will entail.

  3. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dromond View Post
    I’d never heard of the zoo trails. Thanks for the rec. The peninsula seems like it has a lot of untapped potential.
    We just rode the southern stuff at Port Gamble this morning. Short loops, but some fun sections intermixed with gravel logging roads. We rode the northern stuff last summer and it sounds like they’ve added some bike park type stuff up there.

    We also hit the trails outside of Canon Beach last Monday (after decamping the PDX heat wave), on our way up to the Penninsula. Short but fun

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by climberevan View Post
    Agreed, Gunder. I rode about 50 miles of Galby over 2 days a couple of weeks ago with a day of pretty much all of Chuckanuts in between. The Chuckanuts trails were more my style and the setting is far better as well. But again, I'm not a jumper.
    If you think Galbraith is all about hitting jumps, then you missed all of the best stuff up there.

    Quote Originally Posted by californiagrown View Post
    I dont think he was talking about chuckanut.
    That is correct.... not that Cnut's are not worth doing, there is just way more to be had than those and Galby.

  5. #30
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    Dry Hill was some fun shit, reminded me of Galby in the early days. Saw Exactly one other rider. Next time thru we will hit Port Gamble on our way to Seattle but didn’t have time to include that this afternoon. Got to food shop for a gourmet dinner at a friend’s house.

    The camping at Dungeness SRA was super chill, recommended.

    Thx climbervan & others for the beta. Since we drive to BC and Bellingham most summers, it’s good to have some Olympic options.
    Know of a pair of Fischer Ranger 107Ti 189s (new or used) for sale? PM me.

  6. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gunder View Post
    If you think Galbraith is all about hitting jumps, then you missed all of the best stuff up there..
    We specifically rode the non-jumpy trails. I enjoyed Dad Bod, Space Wolf (both pretty beaten to shit by a recent Enduro race though), Oriental, and Whoopsie, among others. It just seemed like the main thrust of the place was not my style, plus it was the most crowded I've ever seen a MTB area. I prefer to ride 50 miles in the backcountry and see 2 hikers.

    Anyway, with more time one could certainly branch out into what are likely the best trails: the ones not on Trailforks. I suspect it's like Santa Cruz, where the sanctioned trails are barely worth riding and the unsanctioned ones are great.
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by climberevan View Post
    I suspect it's like Santa Cruz, where the sanctioned trails are barely worth riding and the unsanctioned ones are great.
    IDK, the sheer quantity and diversity of the sanctioned stuff in the bellingham area is pretty incredible. I like the style of trails along the I-90 corridor further south better (steeper, techier, longer), but you must be pretty darn spoiled if you think that Bellinghams sanctioned trails are barely worth riding lol. Galby is such a spider web that it takes a while to explore it all and learn how to link up the trails you like most- so i can see how folks riding it the first few times could be underwhelmed (compared to its "hype").

    And yes, the second part of your statement is correct. Pretty outrageously great. And, without the tickets.

  8. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by californiagrown View Post
    IDK, the sheer quantity and diversity of the sanctioned stuff in the bellingham area is pretty incredible. I like the style of trails along the I-90 corridor further south better (steeper, techier, longer), but you must be pretty darn spoiled if you think that Bellinghams sanctioned trails are barely worth riding lol. Galby is such a spider web that it takes a while to explore it all and learn how to link up the trails you like most- so i can see how folks riding it the first few times could be underwhelmed (compared to its "hype").

    And yes, the second part of your statement is correct. Pretty outrageously great. And, without the tickets.
    Did you meet i90 or i5…. Both have similar stuff.

    The thing with galby is we have had so much logging the trails don’t hold up to the dry season like they did in years past. Plus the entire crew of the original builders are all on Ebikes these days so their trail building efforts are going into other zones and let the masses have the south side as that keeps them off of the stuff they don’t have the skills for.

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gunder View Post
    Did you meet i90 or i5…. Both have similar stuff.

    Plus the entire crew of the original builders are all on Ebikes these days so their trail building efforts are going into other zones and let the masses have the south side as that keeps them off of the stuff they don’t have the skills for.
    I meant I90- Tiger, raging mostly. Hoping the snoqualmie pass bike park ends up sick too. Plus, EMBA has big plans in progress for Olallie which should be super cool. Galby is kinda like tokul where there arent really any trails over 2mins long, and linking lots of trails and laps is the name of the game. I kinda like the big climbs to big descents... i can get my zen on for an hour or more, and then have a long type 1 fun trail back to the car. Personal preference. What sanctioned stuff on I5 are you talking about?

    Makes sense. Ive been out of touch with the Bham scene for a couple years now, and i can only imagine how many new zones have been opened up or had a bunch more trails built by ebikes. No more waiting for gates to open for access. That kind of access, and freedom to explore is what really makes me want to get an ebike, not necessarily just to get more laps in at the popular spots.

  10. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by californiagrown View Post
    What sanctioned stuff on I5 are you talking about?

    Makes sense. Ive been out of touch with the Bham scene for a couple years now, and i can only imagine how many new zones have been opened up or had a bunch more trails built by ebikes. No more waiting for gates to open for access. That kind of access, and freedom to explore is what really makes me want to get an ebike, not necessarily just to get more laps in at the popular spots.
    Nothing sanctioned, but if one was to go looking in the obvious spots along I5 south of town, one would probably find some big long descents... Then again you could probably find that from the top of any Ridgeline in the county now. It usually pays to do a little exploration around here, never know what one may or may not find.

    My entire riding crew has fully switched over to E-bikes. Only reason I haven't sold my amish Evil yet is I need it for one job latter this summer as you cant fly with the bikes yet. Once I sell that, I'll be moving on to the Ebike quiver, one full power for the big stuff and another SL version for Galby, etc.

    The whole sanctioned thing is a bit of a joke. All of the trails started here as unsanctioned. Now the City / County that was supposed to grandfather in many of the additional trails as part of the big land swap and trail easement agreement, is spending more time and money to close those trails down. Hell we donated an entire parking lot to them with the expectation they would build a cross walk and thats not happening either. They now want essentially a full house building permit done before any trail work gets done... thats not going to happen so stuff is going to keep getting built on the DL as it always has. I had some grumpy new to town millennial bitch about me riding my ebike on Galby... I just reminded him all of the trails where illegal when we built them and if it wasn't for illegal riding none of the trails he's enjoying would be there.

  11. #36
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    Who owns the land on the unsanctioned trails around Bellingham? I believe most are not on DNR or National Forest land. Are they on private timber land where the land owner doesn't seem to care (for now). I've ridden one of them with my friend there who is also into E bikes but is rather clueless on who owns the land he is riding on.

    Seems counter-productive to establish unsanctioned trails on DNR land because that is one of the few government land owners who are allowing new trails to be built. And Forest Service always gets pissy about illegal trails on their land. Bellingham seems unique in our area in that they have a long history of unsanctioned trail building but have actually convinced the private land owners to tolerate it.

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by altasnob View Post
    Who owns the land on the unsanctioned trails around Bellingham? I believe most are not on DNR or National Forest land. Are they on private timber land where the land owner doesn't seem to care (for now). I've ridden one of them with my friend there who is also into E bikes but is rather clueless on who owns the land he is riding on.

    Seems counter-productive to establish unsanctioned trails on DNR land because that is one of the few government land owners who are allowing new trails to be built. And Forest Service always gets pissy about illegal trails on their land. Bellingham seems unique in our area in that they have a long history of unsanctioned trail building but have actually convinced the private land owners to tolerate it.
    Tokul is private timber land. A few popular unsanctioned trail systems along the I90 corridor are on DNR land, and DNR is fully aware. Hell, one super popular shuttle spot up north (on the I-5 corridor) is on DNR land and is literally next door to the county sheriffs house.

    Lots of stuff is on mining or timber land. They are usually cool to look the other way, or low key support the trails in an effort to garner community goodwill for something that rapes and pillages the land and would otherwise piss off many folks. Plus, its not really worth their time to try and shut down trails... the most they would do is close access gates.

  13. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by altasnob View Post
    Who owns the land on the unsanctioned trails around Bellingham? I believe most are not on DNR or National Forest land. Are they on private timber land where the land owner doesn't seem to care (for now). I've ridden one of them with my friend there who is also into E bikes but is rather clueless on who owns the land he is riding on.

    Seems counter-productive to establish unsanctioned trails on DNR land because that is one of the few government land owners who are allowing new trails to be built. And Forest Service always gets pissy about illegal trails on their land. Bellingham seems unique in our area in that they have a long history of unsanctioned trail building but have actually convinced the private land owners to tolerate it.
    Galbraith is all private timber land, but the city owns an easement for the trails, I believe that agreement covers up to 50 or 75 miles, not sure. Regardless the Timber land owner is a fan of the trails and has been very open for the build community to get in and rebuild prior to replanting. His only condition is dont cut any of his trees, if you do its something like $200 a tree. 99% of the other trails are all on county or city property. The exceptions being Chuckanut is state parks and Blanchard / Alger / Y-road is DNR. Around here the DNR has very few fans. Its typically regarded as Do Northing Responsible or Do Not Ride. They have built Zero trails, and in fact have ZERO land set aside for public recreation in Whatcom county, despite being legally required to do so. After the whole North Fork shit show years ago, many of the more dedicated trail builders, figured the best way to handle the DNR was to take a whack a mole approach. They can try to close as many trails as they want, but they will just build more. The DNR logged the top of the South side of Galby (the only own the area around the towers), then put up DNR trail signs, which is a bit of a joke as they have done nothing to support those trails.

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gunder View Post
    Galbraith is all private timber land, but the city owns an easement for the trails, I believe that agreement covers up to 50 or 75 miles, not sure. Regardless the Timber land owner is a fan of the trails and has been very open for the build community to get in and rebuild prior to replanting. His only condition is dont cut any of his trees, if you do its something like $200 a tree. 99% of the other trails are all on county or city property. The exceptions being Chuckanut is state parks and Blanchard / Alger / Y-road is DNR. Around here the DNR has very few fans. Its typically regarded as Do Northing Responsible or Do Not Ride. They have built Zero trails, and in fact have ZERO land set aside for public recreation in Whatcom county, despite being legally required to do so. After the whole North Fork shit show years ago, many of the more dedicated trail builders, figured the best way to handle the DNR was to take a whack a mole approach. They can try to close as many trails as they want, but they will just build more. The DNR logged the top of the South side of Galby (the only own the area around the towers), then put up DNR trail signs, which is a bit of a joke as they have done nothing to support those trails.
    In the seattle area EMBA has spent literal decades working with DNR to get trails permitted and built. Its super expensive and time consuming but it can get done. Sounds like the Bham locals looked at spending $100k and 5 years to get one trail built, versus continuing to build as much trail as they like, where they like, for free and deal with the risk of it getting shut down, but riding sick fresh trails until they do. I mean, its not like the legal trails dont get destroyed by logging eventually anyways.

  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by californiagrown View Post
    I mean, its not like the legal trails dont get destroyed by logging eventually anyways.
    It all depends on who owns the land and what their mandate is. Most DNR lands are school trust lands. The schools are the beneficiaries and DNR must cut trees to fund the schools or else they breach their duty to the beneficiary. However, there is a new WA Supreme Court decision that opens the door slightly to managing some DNR lands for recreation and preservation rather than generating revenue. Capital Forest outside of Olympia is DNR land and has a long history of local riders working with DNR to allow more biking trails. I could see this area becoming even more of a major hot spot for biking down the road. Same with Gold Hills outside of Bremerton, which is also DNR land.

    National Forest lands are rarely logged in Western WA. But the National Forest almost never allows new trails.

    Sounds like Bellingham is blessed by Whatcom County owning a lot of land and the timber companies there being less willing to try to criminally prosecute trespassers. King County owns Duthie, so that won't ever be logged, but I can't think of other large tracks of land owned by King, Snohomish, or Pierce counties ripe for bike development. All the lands West of Rainier are private logging lands so I guess people could start building illegal trails out there. Just not enough bikers around here for that to happen and there are other places to ride.

  16. #41
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    The timber companies here, are either super supportive (Galbraith tree farm), or mostly just turn a blind eye to it as long was you are not building wood work / putting nails in their trees (they aggressively cut that stuff out). There are a few exceptions, where they have allowed the local trail building community to build with full reign, once the riding community purchased an insurance policy to insulate them from liability. At the end of the day, it's still very much a cat and mouse game, and the unspoken rule is no Strava recording on those trails, and don't tell any one. Anyone is welcome to ride them, but you gotta find them for yourself and thats part of the adventure.

  17. #42
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    WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

    We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.

  18. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by jtran10 View Post
    WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

    We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.
    Early oct can be wet, but often get an induan summer mid to late oct. regardless we can ride year round here in Bellingham. It’s just a question of how wet you are willing to get.

  19. #44
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    Unlike Utah you can ride when its wet in WA and its super fun, if you can handle cold-ish rain you will have a great time

  20. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by jtran10 View Post
    WA mags - sorry, didn't find another WA/PNW thread. We're thinking about coming out for the last 2 weeks of October to check out the area, see friends, and bike after work/weekends. When does the rain normally start up from about PDX north, and does that mean MTB season is shut down at most places?

    We'd be spending most of our time in Seattle and Bellingham, with a stop in PDX as well.
    MTB will be fully open for business at that time. Trails around here are built with the wet season (8ish months solid) in mind, and its very rare that there is any expectation to stay off a wet trail. What kind of rides/trails are you looking for? How big do you want your days to be? What bikes are you bringing?

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by californiagrown View Post
    MTB will be fully open for business at that time. Trails around here are built with the wet season (8ish months solid) in mind, and its very rare that there is any expectation to stay off a wet trail. What kind of rides/trails are you looking for? How big do you want your days to be? What bikes are you bringing?
    I'll get back to you if we pull the trigger on this trip btw. didn't want to make you ride plan for no reason

  22. #47
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    I'm the midst of round 2 in WA right now (headed up to BC to visit parents and ride). Notes above have been pretty useful but pretty much have hands full getting in the main rides. Did Goat Ridge and Osborne Mt on the way up. Coming back have done Kettle Crest, Cutthroat Pas, Buck Mtn, Angels Staircase loop, Entiat area (lake creek, pyramid Mtn to pyramid creek), Devil's gulch, Xanadu/tres, icicle ridge, Leavenworth ski, and nason Ridge. Doing enchantments hike tomorrow then Kachess, palisade/ranger/Suntop, then Juniper via Dark meadow, Norway pass, Mt St Helens, maybe Surveyors ridge or something else. Then gotta head home.

  23. #48
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    Jesus; the who’s who of rides in WA. Next time come check out Sandpoint/Cabinets. Some great epics out that way.


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  24. #49
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    Need mtb ride ideas for WA

    Quote Originally Posted by evdog View Post
    I'm the midst of round 2 in WA right now (headed up to BC to visit parents and ride). Notes above have been pretty useful but pretty much have hands full getting in the main rides. Did Goat Ridge and Osborne Mt on the way up. Coming back have done Kettle Crest, Cutthroat Pas, Buck Mtn, Angels Staircase loop, Entiat area (lake creek, pyramid Mtn to pyramid creek), Devil's gulch, Xanadu/tres, icicle ridge, Leavenworth ski, and nason Ridge. Doing enchantments hike tomorrow then Kachess, palisade/ranger/Suntop, then Juniper via Dark meadow, Norway pass, Mt St Helens, maybe Surveyors ridge or something else. Then gotta head home.
    Juniper to dark meadow is epic, but you should make time for Hamilton Buttes and Summit Prairie too.

    Surveyors ridge is meh and a lot of xc pedalling.

    Park at gumjuwac trailhead, pedal up to pocket creek snopark and up the road, then gunsight butte to gumjuwac. Raging fast descent right to your car.

    You can also hit crane creek, crane prairie or boulder lake before hopping on gunsight to add a great descent and more miles to the ride.

    If you can swing a shuttle or want a monster pedal: cooks meadow to dog river

  25. #50
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    Thanks, I'll take a look at those!

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