Shakedown around Squamish and the Circumambulation of Cloudburst Mountain

The final long, hard weekend of training…

It may be the daily commuting, but Scott and I both had still had some fatigue in our legs this week and we talked about taking it easy this weekend.  And then we made the right decision— just go ride!

Neither of us wanted to drive far or spend a lot of time planning a new route.  Work has been hectic for us both recently;  I was in the field last week and Scott was heading to Ontario on Monday morning.   So we sketched in some rough plans for another ride in the Squamish area.  Ride about 30 kms of singletrack and then hop onto the Stawamus-Indian FSR.  The FSR connects the north end of Indian Arm to Squamish and is supposed to be rideable.

Recent heli-logging operations had opened up part of the view and exposed Sky Pilot.

The first washed out (removed? decommissioned?) bridge was more frustrating for the atv and dirt bike crowd than the mountain bike crowd.

We could get out wheels over and around the barriers after an initial scout on foot.

The second washout (removed?) was too difficult to ford though.  I had really looked forward to this trip and was excited to see the northern terminus of Indian Arm so this early return was disappointing.

We camped north of Squamish at Leggett Lake with 100 or so loud, drunk, night owls.  At least the constant whooping and hollering meant we didn’t have to worry about bears getting into our food bag, which we didn’t hang, until the drunks quieted down around 6 am which was when we got up to start the day.  We were both awake at 3 am because of the noise and Scott actually suggested starting our ride.  URGH.    Sunday morning we headed north again along the Sea to Sky Trail.  Armand, of Republic Bikes, had told us that ATVers had punched a trail between the Chance Creek Basin and the Squamish River valley, essentially allowing a circumnavigation of Cloudburst mountain.

We lost some time with route finding.  Since much of BC is still being logged, it can be hard to rely on existing maps as the roads change as the logging progresses.

The ATV trail was a disaster.   Ankle deep mud in knee deep ruts.

Interspersed between some nice sections of trail.

The view of the Tantalus Range and the far end of the Squamish River valley were amazing. Almost Yosemite type views. Glacial Valley. Granite batholiths.

I spoke with a friend at work, a geotechnical engineer who started his career in forestry.  He gave me a run down on logging road construction b/c the road out was STEEP!!  Greater than 18% grade in numerous spots and more than 1000 m of pure downhill on loose, rutted, blast rock road. I burned through a set of brake pads this weekend!

Less than 3 weeks before the race and I’m trying to keep my nerves under control. As a bright friend said earlier this spring– trust the training. AGH.
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I think we found a mojo for Scott while getting water at Lake Lucille.

I AM IRON MAN