I rode with you a fair amount about 4 years ago. If you remember me at all you might remember I had red Conquest Pro with disc brakes. And, sometimes, when I drink, I push Henry around (after he hoses down my bike).
Anyhow, I've been asked by my seven year old son's den mother to be the "bicycling spiritual leader" and plan some bike-related activities for a bunch of Cub Scouts.
So I was wondering, after you make the usual jokes about pederasty and molestation, if you might suggest an easy bike camping trip/route that would be doable for a bunch of seven to eight year-olds on mostly single speeds (the adults will be hauling the gear on Xtracycles or in trailers).
I'm aware of teh internets ability to help with these sorts of things, but was hoping to crowd-source this info from some genuine bike hobos. In particular, please help us avoid the rural meth heads.
Thanks in advance,
James
Chip McShoulder
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:03 am
dog licking ice cream coneJoined: 11 Aug 2008Posts: 3022Location: Rainbow Road
Take them to Suiattle. The ride from the trailhead is what... 7, 8 miles? All dirt, but packed pretty hard. Just barely uphill. The campsites have toilets, and there is a river as well. You'll be alone, as the road is closed to cars. Just avoid the falling trees.
I guess it would be about a 2 hour ride for a bunch of kids.
I was thinking Suiattle, too. But 7 miles on gravel could be a long way for 8 yr olds on single speeds, not positive though. Iron Horse State Park/John wayne trail might be another choice.
No cars, can ride 2-abreast are the positives. Gravel, slight uphill (but nice downhill) are the negatives. I haven't camped along there, so I'm not sure of trail access close to campgrounds suitable for large groups.
Suiattle has the water, which would be nice for a cub scout group.
jimmythefly
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:10 am
Joined: 10 Jan 2007Posts: 1491
Also, depending on distances, there might be a state park that is big enough and ahs enough paths for just base camping and taking a long ride with picnic lunch around the park's trails.
mailemae
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:25 am
not very stokedJoined: 03 Sep 2009Posts: 303Location: winterfell
all of the above suggestions are probably better than the one I am about to make, but for what it's worth...
you could try Fay Bainbridge State Park on Bainbridge Island. it's about 7 miles from the ferry terminal and if you ride along the water it's really beautiful and the hills are of the rolling sort. you might want to scout the route first though because I could be forgetting a steep hill or two.
Fay Bay as we used to call it is definitely not going to provide a totally rustic camping experience - it's pretty much civilization. but it does offer some features that would be appealing to seven-year-olds and their parents: a playground, nice bathrooms, picnic tables, a big ol beach with lots of sea creatures to poke with sticks. once I saw a bald eagle dive into the water and catch and eat a cormorant there. that was pretty naturey.
my 2p.
gsbarnes
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:33 am
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
I've been trying for a while to get the family out bike camping; the weather and our schedule might finally cooperate this weekend.
My top two targets for a first bike camping trip are Lopez Island and the Carbon River Road in Mt. Rainier.
For the former, park the cars at a lot in Anacortes, bike onto the ferry and bike less than 5 miles on mostly flat, lightly trafficked Lopez Island roads to one of 2 parks (Odlin County or Spencer Spit State).
For the latter, drive to the ranger station at the Carbon River entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park, and bike the 5 - 5.5 miles to Ipsut Creek campground (the road is closed to cars past the ranger station). Gmaps says about a 700 foot gain in the last five miles. I think the road was paved (once), but since they're not maintaining it for cars and it gets washed out frequently, I'm sure there are at least some unpaved stretches.
Ipsut Creek Campground has a pit toilet and no piped water, but obviously has a creek (coming off the Carbon Glacier). Odlin and Spencer Spit both have toilets and piped water; Odlin also has hot showers. Obviously Ipsut Creek is more of a wilderness destination than Lopez Island. All 3 campgrounds are pretty popular in the summer, but apparently pretty deserted other times. Ipsut Creek has 2 group sites, but doesn't allow fires, which may rule it out for Cub Scout camping. I haven't looked it up, but I'd be mighty surprised if there were no fires allowed in a Lopez Island park.
Hopefully after next weekend I'll have actual firsthand knowledge to impart.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
lantius
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:41 am
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
carbon river road is a slog. it's more suitable to mountain/adventure bikes than family camping setups. there are sections of road but there are also big sections of muddy riverbed now, as well as wilderness-style log bridges.
gsbarnes
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:52 am
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Thanks, Lee. James may not get a definitive answer, but I guess I did.
Edit: ?Andrew? Apparently I can't read.
Last edited by gsbarnes on Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:39 am; edited 1 time in total _________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
gsbarnes
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:37 am
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Another idea: park in beautiful downtown Sequim (or some other suitable spot), bike the Olympic Discovery Trail to Sequim Bay State Park.
Similar to the idea above with the Iron Horse trail (Lake Easton State Park is right on the trail). The Willapa Hills trail and Rainbow Falls State Park (near Centralia) might work as well.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
dashap
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:20 am
professorJoined: 21 Jun 2006Posts: 1566Location: central district
Jeez, camping seems awfully ambitious for 7 and 8 year olds.
How about you ride bikes from the U-District to Matthews Beach and have a picnic?
Eric_s
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:11 pm
Joined: 07 Mar 2007Posts: 1691Location: the dirty south
For cubies and parents, I think that maybe a trip where you drive to a park, ride a mile or so to a campsite, and then "camp" is a really good idea. Say, find somewhere where there's a few trails, and unload at a parking area, ride around in the park, and then the parents who have not gone riding set up camp so that the now tired li'l cubbies can have dinner and some s'mores and ghost stories and fun. Where's a good place for this? Dunno, I've really only done back country or car camping. Maybe somewhere around wenatchee on the dry side?
The serious business trips are better suited to boys a couple of years older in the (mormon youth group) Boy (no homo) Scouts.
Alex
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 5:58 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Suiattle does present a short option if 7 or 8 miles seems like too much. There is a campground at about 3 miles in, also all on dirt. Friends who've camped there (also with kids on a similar trip) said that they liked it a lot. It seems to be a bit more busy than the other campgrounds on the Suiattle River Road, but that just means there are sometimes one or two groups there, instead of 0.
jamesw
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:59 pm
Joined: 18 Sep 2006Posts: 149
Thanks everyone for the replies.
I think something along the lines of Fay Bainbridge (our Pack is from Magnolia so the ride to the ferry would be cake), or perhaps a shorter version of the Suiattle River trip might make for a good first outing.
I really appreciate the help. Hopefully I can get out and ride with you sometime soon.
Best regards,
James
derrickito
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:08 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
faye bainbridge is on the north end of the island isnt it? the ferry dock is on the southern end. thats 10ish miles of highway riding, wouldnt want to do that w kids
mailemae
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:51 am
not very stokedJoined: 03 Sep 2009Posts: 303Location: winterfell
yeah fay bainbridge is on the north end, but the ferry comes in sort of in the middle of the island. it's not that far, and obviously you wouldn't take 305. the chilly hilly route actually gets you almost there before it turns west. I'm pretty sure it's less than 10 miles but like I said you would probably want to scout it/vet it with others who have ridden it recently before taking a gaggle of elementary schoolers on it.
enjoy.
henry
Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:12 am
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
mailemae wrote:
yeah fay bainbridge is on the north end, but the ferry comes in sort of in the middle of the island. it's not that far, and obviously you wouldn't take 305. the chilly hilly route actually gets you almost there before it turns west. I'm pretty sure it's less than 10 miles but like I said you would probably want to scout it/vet it with others who have ridden it recently before taking a gaggle of elementary schoolers on it.
enjoy.
Yeah if you go along the water that route is awfully tame and not too far.
I floated this at the Pack meeting last night and there was substantial interest.
There was also a strong preference for an off-road excursion and something in the 7-15 mile range was thought to be doable by the majority of dads who had kids that are into bicycling.
So, I think the number one option is the Suiattle River Trail, with the Icicle Creek Campgrounds (the road is currently closed to cars) as our backup.
I'll do some research on my own, but was curious is the campground you guys typically go to (the one with the BYOT shelter) the one that is around 8 miles in?
What amenities, if any does it have?
I want to know to tell people if they need to bring spades to poop, etc.
Thanks,
James
Alex
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 1:47 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
The shelter over the firepit at 8 miles in is gone, sadly.
It has a single toilet. I didn't check to see if it was unlocked this year.
There are no picnic tables. There is space for 20-40 tents depending on how close together you want to place them.
The campground at 3 miles is called Buck Creek.
The campground at 10 miles is called Suphur Creek.
Note that Sulphur Creek and Buck Creek have easier access to water than Downey Creek. The Downey Creek Campground has a ~20 foot descent scramble on sort of loose dirt down to the river. Sulphur Creek and Buck Creek are pretty much at river level.
jamesw
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:34 pm
Joined: 18 Sep 2006Posts: 149
Thanks for the additional info, Alex.
Unfortunately, it looks like the road that is currently closed to vehicle traffic will be closed to ALL TRAFFIC periodically starting on October 8.
We're planning the trip for sometime in October so this may put the kibosh on it.
Plan B is Icicle Creek, which seems ok, though parts of that road (also closed to vehicles) are at times under water.
I'm looking into Carbon River now, and will let you guys know what we decide, in case that info proves useful.
Thanks again.
James
Edited to add this link to a review of the Carbon River Trail that makes bikecamping sound doable: http://bit.ly/9g6NAg
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now with 50 percent more EVIL
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