Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Earlier this month, 23 brave souls lined up in Cle Elum, Washington, for the grand depart of the inaugural Washington High-Lite. Find a recap from route creator Troy Hopwood here, alongside photos from their ride…
Words by Troy Hopwood (@troy_on_trails), photos by Shawn Pedersen (@speders) and Troy Hopwood
October 1st, 2022, was the inaugural grand depart for a new route called the Washington High-Lite. Twenty-three hearty souls lined up in Cle Elum, Washington, to take on the unknown that comes with a new route. Washington weather in early October is usually pretty nice, though it can be a bit cool. But, this year, the weather has been spectacular, with temperatures in the low 80s expected for the entire route.
The route came to be because most people who participate in the annual Cross-Washington (XWA) event in May never get the chance to enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery along the route due to heavy snow and treefall. This portion of the XWA route, referred to as the “High Route,” tops out around 6,000 feet. The “Lite” portion of the High-Lite leverages the XWA Lite route to return to the start along the newly opened Beverly Trestle across the Columbia River.
Come 8 a.m., I called to the riders and led out the pack along the gentle Coal Mines Trail. This provided an easy start as we loosened up our legs and left the real world behind. It wasn’t long before the contenders pulled ahead, making sure to get in front of the pack for the holeshot heading into the long singletrack climb up Ewok Trail. Ewok is a long but immaculate climbing trail that does a great job of setting the stage for the amazing riding along the entire route. This is where Andy Leveto, Brian Ecker, and Daniel Perry all pulled away.
After a brief descent comes the first highlight of the route. A spectacular hoodoo appears to erupt out of nowhere right along the trail. Most riders stop here for their first photo of the adventure. This is also where I realized I had no rear brake. The pads were new, and there was no obvious root cause, so I soldiered on.
In the Teanaway Valley, we crossed both the west and north forks of the Teanaway River, which provided opportunities to load up on water before the big climb up to Red Top Mountain. This is where any remaining groups of riders spread out quickly. On the climb, there was regular back and forth as some riders would stop for a snack or to catch their breath, and others would continue on a bit further only to be passed later when they stopped.
What goes up must come down. And the descent from Red Top does not disappoint. It is rocky and rough in a few places but is generally a fast grin-generating romp down the mountain. There’s a resupply store at the bottom where the route crosses Highway 97, but it’s always a crap shoot whether they’ll be open this time of year. To our surprise, they were. At least for most of us. The last few riders didn’t make it before they closed early. But, fortunately, Randy Pulk bought a gallon of water as the store was closing and left it out for the stragglers.
From here, the real climbing begins. The climb up to Mission Ridge feels like it will never end. But the views are so spectacular you hope it never does. Fortunately, there are a couple of creeks along the road for water as it is generally very hot and dry on the climb. At the top of the climb, the views become otherworldly, though they were diminished some by wildfire smoke on this day. On a clear day, you can see across several ridges of the high Cascades and down deep into rocky valleys below.
The descent started slowly, as it can be pretty chunky. Eventually, it transitions to some fast and smooth gravel. This is where I really started to struggle with just my front brake. I had to manage my braking carefully to avoid overheating my brakes and also overcooking corners. This section is usually a joy-filled reward for all the effort on the climbs, but it had become a real chore. As we continued our descent, we ventured onto an abandoned road that parallels and eventually becomes the east fork of Mission Creek. A brand-new bypass trail opened a couple days after we passed through. This new trail will be added for 2023 and beyond.
The last climb before Wenatchee is short but steep. However, it was made infinitely harder due to the extremely dry conditions. The road surface had become 4-6 inches of deep “moon dust.” This made the it unrideable and difficult to walk. The road eventually improved on the descent down No. 2 Canyon into Wenatchee. This is where my brakes finally failed completely. The road was too steep and too fast to manage my brakes, and they eventually overheated. I found myself walking down a paved road several miles out of town. When a local offered a lift, I accepted, and my ride was done. Wenatchee was the day one destination goal for many of the riders. A few of the party pace folks had their day two sights on Wenatchee, while the mor ambitious crowd pushed well beyond. It is 80 miles and 11,000 feet of climbing to Wenatchee, so several folks chose a hotel in town even if they had planned on riding further.
The next morning, I got notice from the leaders that the Columbia Wildlife Refuge had just closed, and riders would need to route around it. It is such a shame that most folks had to miss this spectacular part of the route. The only thing more shocking than this unexpected closure was learning that the three leaders had made it that far in the first 24 hours. The route doesn’t get much easier leaving Wenatchee, and riders quickly find themselves grinding up Rock Island Grade as they work their way out of the Columbia River Gorge to get up onto the Waterville Plateau. This climb is shared with the XWA route and is a familiar foe to anyone who has taken on that challenge.
Several of the fast but “sane” folks opted to stop for some rest here. This included the top woman, Irena Netik. Soon, riders were treated to a new adventure as they deviated from the XWA route to take on Douglas Creek. This used to be a rail line, but without the trestles, it becomes one of the more challenging rail trails you will find. While dry this time of year, most creek crossings are still rocky and steep. But the scenery in the canyon is second to none and made all the better with the fall colors kicking in. Eventually, the creek crossings turned wet as riders closed in on Douglas Creek Falls.
As most riders were somewhere in Douglas Canyon and just shy of the halfway point, Andy Leveto and Brian Ecker rolled into the finish in Cle Elum. After battling back and forth for the final 60 miles past the Columbia, they eventually called a truce and rolled in together. They finished the 310 mile route in 1 day, 4 hours, and 59 minutes. Daniel Perry finished six hours later to wrap up the no-sleep brigade. The “normal” folks still had a long way to go. After a brief stop in Ephrata for resupply—or even sleep for a few—the route starts to ease up. It’s a flat bucolic abandoned road into Moses Lake. From here, riders had a detour to Othello due to the Columbia Wildlife Refuge’s seasonal closure.
Then it’s onto the “Lite” portion of the route as riders take the Palouse to Cascades rail trail back to Cle Elum. Irena stopped for a nap just before crossing the Columbia, allowing Chad McCammon to sneak past her. The next morning, she could see Chad’s lights up ahead, but he took off before she could catch up. Irena ultimately finished sixth overall but as the first-place woman with a time of 2 days, 3 hours, and 54 minutes. Out of 23 starters, 15 finished and 9 scratched. There were 4 women and 19 men.
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