Comments on: John Wayne Trail http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/ Searchable List of Bicycling Trails Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:05:50 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4871 Jeffry P King Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:17:21 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4871 Well Joe: I made a good try at riding up from Army East (Huntzinger Road actually, the vehicle gate to gravel road up to AE is locked)to the Boyleston tunnel, which is a 17 mile one way ride in soft sand broken by basalt fall in the hill cuts. Got up to the mile 12 restroom and it started to rain. Another 10 miles in the rain wasn't interesting, so turned around and headed back down. That said, I did not see any notices about the the tunnel being closed. "biker" Jeff Well Joe: I made a good try at riding up from Army East (Huntzinger Road actually, the vehicle gate to gravel road up to AE is locked)to the Boyleston tunnel, which is a 17 mile one way ride in soft sand broken by basalt fall in the hill cuts. Got up to the mile 12 restroom and it started to rain. Another 10 miles in the rain wasn’t interesting, so turned around and headed back down. That said, I did not see any notices about the the tunnel being closed.

“biker” Jeff

]]> By: Joe Ford http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4754 Joe Ford Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:28:47 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4754 Hello, all; Finished riding the JWT from Kittitas to the East Portal of Tunnel 50 (Snoqualmie Pass tunnel) last week, completing a a three year project, done a few days at a time. My wife and I are in our 60s and find the riding fairly easy and fun. We ride each trail segment both ways, and eventually plan to ride the Snoqualmie-Rattlesnake Lake section, too. We found that the Whittier tunnel (#49, west of Easton several miles) had a closed sign and no gate, and since it's very short, we rode through on our roundtrip ride from Easton to Snoqualmie and back. We rode around #48 at Lake Easton on an easy detour. Last year, we rode the two Thorp-area tunnels (46 & 47; pre-closure) although saying we rode the longer tunnel isn't really correct, since we pushed our bikes through the longer tunnel while touching the tunnel wall. Does anyone know the status of the Boylston tunnel (#45)? Is it physically gated, or just signed as closed? I walked to Army West off Boylston Road last week, and the surface looked ridable. I'm hoping to get the last eastside piece of the JWT ridden this year, with my wife in the support role, since she's not very interested in riding from Kittitas east. Or, as an alternative, make up a party with other one-way riders and leave a car on the west bank of the Columbia near the Beverly bridge, drive back to Kittitas, park there, and ride to the river, then return. The JWT is a great recreational and historic resource, and should be made accessible ASAP. People we talked with in Cle Elum who have biking and JWT trail connections say usage is way down. Good trail biking to all. --Joe F Hello, all;

Finished riding the JWT from Kittitas to the East Portal of Tunnel 50 (Snoqualmie Pass tunnel) last week, completing a a three year project, done a few days at a time. My wife and I are in our 60s and find the riding fairly easy and fun. We ride each trail segment both ways, and eventually plan to ride the Snoqualmie-Rattlesnake Lake section, too.

We found that the Whittier tunnel (#49, west of Easton several miles) had a closed sign and no gate, and since it’s very short, we rode through on our roundtrip ride from Easton to Snoqualmie and back. We rode around #48 at Lake Easton on an easy detour.

Last year, we rode the two Thorp-area tunnels (46 & 47; pre-closure) although saying we rode the longer tunnel isn’t really correct, since we pushed our bikes through the longer tunnel while touching the tunnel wall.

Does anyone know the status of the Boylston tunnel (#45)? Is it physically gated, or just signed as closed? I walked to Army West off Boylston Road last week, and the surface looked ridable.

I’m hoping to get the last eastside piece of the JWT ridden this year, with my wife in the support role, since she’s not very interested in riding from Kittitas east.

Or, as an alternative, make up a party with other one-way riders and leave a car on the west bank of the Columbia near the Beverly bridge, drive back to Kittitas, park there, and ride to the river, then return.

The JWT is a great recreational and historic resource, and should be made accessible ASAP. People we talked with in Cle Elum who have biking and JWT trail connections say usage is way down.

Good trail biking to all.

–Joe F

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4338 Jeffry P King Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:56:52 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4338 Has anybody out there ridden between West Army and East Army this year? Is the Boylston tunnel still open? Thanks "biker" Jeff Has anybody out there ridden between West Army and East Army this year? Is the Boylston tunnel still open?

Thanks

“biker” Jeff

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4065 Jeffry P King Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:57:36 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4065 John: Without knowing your definition of "scenic", best bet is to ride down from Cle Elum to the closed tunnel and back. See post #9 above, the upper part before the tunnels is the best. Not a lot of scenery east of that unless U like farm land, then sand, sagebrush, and basalt towards Othello. Better ride east of Cascades is the Columbia Plateau Trail from Fish Lake (near Cheney) to Amber Lake and back. Check out that bike ride on this website. Regards "biker" Jeff John: Without knowing your definition of “scenic”, best bet is to ride down from Cle Elum to the closed tunnel and back. See post #9 above, the upper part before the tunnels is the best. Not a lot of scenery east of that unless U like farm land, then sand, sagebrush, and basalt towards Othello. Better ride east of Cascades is the Columbia Plateau Trail from Fish Lake (near Cheney) to Amber Lake and back. Check out that bike ride on this website.

Regards

“biker” Jeff

]]> By: John http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4046 John Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:52:57 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4046 My wife and I plan to bike the JWT on the east side taking day trips up to 20 miles. Any suggestions on sections to do around Othello to Cle Elum ? Looking for scenic , not along the highway. thankyou, John My wife and I plan to bike the JWT on the east side taking day trips up to 20 miles. Any suggestions on sections to do around Othello to Cle Elum ? Looking for scenic , not along the highway.
thankyou,
John

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-4044 Jeffry P King Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:27:12 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-4044 Did a repeat of the post # 75 ride again today. WA St. Parks department has posted updated maps at the trailhead kiosks providing directions to detours around tunnels eastbound from the summit. Nice cool temperature day of riding, was a welcome break from the ~100 degree days here in E Washington of the last few weeks. Happy trails :) "biker" Jeff Did a repeat of the post # 75 ride again today. WA St. Parks department has posted updated maps at the trailhead kiosks providing directions to detours around tunnels eastbound from the summit. Nice cool temperature day of riding, was a welcome break from the ~100 degree days here in E Washington of the last few weeks.

Happy trails :)
“biker” Jeff

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-3906 Jeffry P King Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:49:47 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-3906 Not a lot of chatter on this web page now that most folks have figured out that the JWT/IHStPk tunnels are closed. As indicated in last post, did ride from Rattlesnake Lake up today, and even rode all the way up to the tunnel to check things out. There is a huge washout in what was that depression area about 1/4 mile west of the summit tunnel. It can be skirted around if you are careful. There is water run-off damage on the north side of the tunnel west end, as well as evidence that water was running out of the tunnel itself before dropping down the northwest side towards the Snoqualmie river. So OK, have to give the Parks Dept. the benefit of the doubt on the summit tunnel closure. Not a lot of chatter on this web page now that most folks have figured out that the JWT/IHStPk tunnels are closed. As indicated in last post, did ride from Rattlesnake Lake up today, and even rode all the way up to the tunnel to check things out. There is a huge washout in what was that depression area about 1/4 mile west of the summit tunnel. It can be skirted around if you are careful. There is water run-off damage on the north side of the tunnel west end, as well as evidence that water was running out of the tunnel itself before dropping down the northwest side towards the Snoqualmie river. So OK, have to give the Parks Dept. the benefit of the doubt on the summit tunnel closure.

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-3791 Jeffry P King Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:57:34 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-3791 Trail update as of July 4: Needed a break from the heat advisory last weekend just like a whole bunch of other folks. I can recommend the following ride(s) that somewhat compensate for the tunnel closures. Ride #1: Downtown CleElum up the Coal Mines Trail to Ronald and back. Ride a few side streets in Roslyn and you get 10 miles in. The up to Easton, unload at the Easton JWT trail head. There is no mention of tunnel closure at the trail head, probably because the Parks Department figures if you are there it's because you are headed back down to CleElum. Ride west through downtown Easton, to Lake Easton St. Park, follow the signs to the Iron Horse JWT. Nice ride up through the woods, make a right at the JWT and up to Cabin Creek or so for a turn around point. Tunnel 49 is also closed, so you can't ride up to the Stampeed Pass road. Not much scenery past Cabin Creek anyway. Then back towards Lake Easton, stay to the righ and ride over the Yakima River Bridges until you find a locked gate at the east end right before Tunnel #48. Back to Easton for another 10 or so miles of a ride. Then up to Crystal Springs exit # 62. Park where you can, the USFS campground where I normally park in the day use area is also closed. Ride ~ 1 mile up the Stampede Pass road to the JWT, then go west. Is about 8 miles up to Hyak from there along the south side of Lake Keechlus. The whole ride, which included a double loop around Lake Easton to discover the closed tunnel and locked gate, wound up being just a bit over 41 miles. Worst part of the day Saturday is that the Easton Saloon ran out of draft beer and we had to drink Schmidts from a can instead for the after ride break. Life is tough isn't it? Next ride over will probably start a Garcia, up to Carter Creek, then down to Rattle Snake Lake and back up. Happy trails, the Hiawatha in Idaho is there if you still need your "rail-trail-tunnel" fix. "biker" Jeff Trail update as of July 4: Needed a break from the heat advisory last weekend just like a whole bunch of other folks. I can recommend the following ride(s) that somewhat compensate for the tunnel closures. Ride #1: Downtown CleElum up the Coal Mines Trail to Ronald and back. Ride a few side streets in Roslyn and you get 10 miles in. The up to Easton, unload at the Easton JWT trail head. There is no mention of tunnel closure at the trail head, probably because the Parks Department figures if you are there it’s because you are headed back down to CleElum. Ride west through downtown Easton, to Lake Easton St. Park, follow the signs to the Iron Horse JWT. Nice ride up through the woods, make a right at the JWT and up to Cabin Creek or so for a turn around point. Tunnel 49 is also closed, so you can’t ride up to the Stampeed Pass road. Not much scenery past Cabin Creek anyway. Then back towards Lake Easton, stay to the righ and ride over the Yakima River Bridges until you find a locked gate at the east end right before Tunnel #48. Back to Easton for another 10 or so miles of a ride. Then up to Crystal Springs exit # 62. Park where you can, the USFS campground where I normally park in the day use area is also closed. Ride ~ 1 mile up the Stampede Pass road to the JWT, then go west. Is about 8 miles up to Hyak from there along the south side of Lake Keechlus. The whole ride, which included a double loop around Lake Easton to discover the closed tunnel and locked gate, wound up being just a bit over 41 miles. Worst part of the day Saturday is that the Easton Saloon ran out of draft beer and we had to drink Schmidts from a can instead for the after ride break. Life is tough isn’t it?
Next ride over will probably start a Garcia, up to Carter Creek, then down to Rattle Snake Lake and back up.

Happy trails, the Hiawatha in Idaho is there if you still need your “rail-trail-tunnel” fix.

“biker” Jeff

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-3652 Jeffry P King Wed, 27 May 2009 13:57:28 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-3652 Found the following on the Wa State Parks page: OLYMPIA – Jan. 30, 2009 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission today announced the closure of tunnels 46 through 50 on the Iron Horse State Park - John Wayne Pioneer Trail. Washington State Parks hired the engineering firm, Kleinfelder, Inc., to conduct a safety review of falling debris hazards in the tunnels. The firm determined that tunnels 46 through 50 all contain segments that have moderate, high or very high hazard ratings. For the safety of recreational users, the Commission has decided to close these tunnels until further notice. There is no estimated reopening date, although the agency is exploring options for repair. The closed tunnels run from Snoqualmie Pass to Kittitas. Looks like all of the tunnels on the JWT are closed, including the summit. Going to be a lot of trips to Idaho this summer to compensate. "biker" Jeff :((( Found the following on the Wa State Parks page:

OLYMPIA – Jan. 30, 2009 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission today announced the closure of tunnels 46 through 50 on the Iron Horse State Park – John Wayne Pioneer Trail.
Washington State Parks hired the engineering firm, Kleinfelder, Inc., to conduct a safety review of falling debris hazards in the tunnels. The firm determined that tunnels 46 through 50 all contain segments that have moderate, high or very high hazard ratings. For the safety of recreational users, the Commission has decided to close these tunnels until further notice. There is no estimated reopening date, although the agency is exploring options for repair. The closed tunnels run from Snoqualmie Pass to Kittitas.

Looks like all of the tunnels on the JWT are closed, including the summit. Going to be a lot of trips to Idaho this summer to compensate.

“biker” Jeff :(((

]]> By: Jeffry P King http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/comment-page-2/#comment-3641 Jeffry P King Tue, 26 May 2009 04:26:09 +0000 http://www.poplarware.com/biketrails/2007/iron-horse-wa/#comment-3641 Whitecub: See my post # 9 above. Assume you are saying Tunnel # 47 is now "offically closed"? It wasn't in that a great shape in 2007. Think they would just shovel the 2 years worth of rock fall out of there and monitor it. Thought that's why we wore helmets though those tunnels. "biker" jeff :> Whitecub: See my post # 9 above. Assume you are saying Tunnel # 47 is now “offically closed”? It wasn’t in that a great shape in 2007. Think they would just shovel the 2 years worth of rock fall out of there and monitor it. Thought that’s why we wore helmets though those tunnels.

“biker” jeff :>

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