A couple of weeks ago, Brian and I and two friends - Chris and Stef went to ride at Mt St. Helens. We took the van, and the dogs and knew it was going to be quite the adventure. Surprisingly the dogs were quite well behaved and Bitz even warmed up to Chris and Stef.
Ape Canyon trail was the one we did. It was basically climbing 4 miles up and then descending 4 miles back down. Everyone says that the views from the top are worth it. They weren't lying.
This was our first viewpoint, right away as we started the trail. It was weird riding so close to Mt. St Helens. It was like you could run right over to it and touch it!
We kept climbing and then kept stopping for fantastic photo opportunities like this one. We just couldn't stop taking pictures!
I added the picture above because I have no idea how my camera turned the sky that blue. I don't remember it being this color but apparently it was.
Here we are at the top. The next photos attempt to capture the glory at the top of the mtn. We had 360 degrees of beautiful views. I forget which mtn this is. I'm sure someone knows, maybe Mt. Adams? or Hood. I can't keep them all straight there are just too many.
You can see the trail at the top. It was a weird trail, made mostly of ash, rocks and some snow.
Yeah, we are dorks. We have matching bikes. Brian got his first and then I had to get one too. That is basically the way it works with all of our bike purchases.
More trail photos. Really close to Mt. St Helens at this point!
Hello! Like I said, dunno which one this is....
I thought this was a cool shot. You can see the trail in the reflection of my glasses.
Seriously! We were so close, yet so far from the mtn. It is amazing to see the vegetation growing up there. Still quite scrubby but it is coming back for sure.
My last panoramic photo. It isn't perfect, but then again, they never are.
So much fun! Our next little adventure is another 24 hour mtn bike race in our favorite place - Bend Oregon! We leave this Wednesday after work and are staying through Sunday. I am not racing this time, just Brian. Mentally and physically I can only handle one 24 hour race per year. Brian is a trooper though - he is excited to race in Bend. I've got a lot of packing and provisioning of the van to do before we leave. Perhaps that is what I will do on this glorious day - Labor Day!
