Bike Trip Day 5: Lake Easton to Ellensburg

Biking: 40 miles

An easy day on the bike. The route was mostly flat from Lake Easton to Ellensburg, but the gravel was thick and the dirt was loose. There were sections that were easily rideable and sections that were difficult.

I forgot to mention that on Day 4 as we descended from the Snoqualmie Tunnel, we hit a few miles of fresh gravel. It was very rough going. So, if you’re someone who isn’t comfortable with thick gravel, you might want to wait until this gets packed down a bit before giving it a try.

Anita and Mark stayed in Cle Elum last night, and we met up at the historic Cle Elum train station which is right along the Palouse to Cascades trail. If you’re passing by, you’d be smart to stop. They have great coffee and pastries, and the restoration of the building is amazing.

It seemed that the smoke was clearing a bit today, or maybe we’re just at a much lower elevation, so we’re experiencing less smoke.

Thanks to Anita for the photos. She takes great shots, so I’m starting to use her photos for the blog.

We’ve decided to modify our route a bit to skip some of the Palouse to Cascades trail over the next couple days of riding. In our experience, the first part from the Cedar Falls trailhead through the tunnel was incredible. Great trails, incredible vistas and bridges, some gravel, but definitely rideable. I really enjoyed it. But, the loose gravel on the decent and some of the patches today made riding tricky, and honestly not fun. We’re working on some rerouting plans.

That’s it for today. We have a rest day on Aug 6, and then back on the bike to Potholes State Park and Othello the next day. Thanks for reading.