Spokane to Klamath Falls

[Dillon]

I'm looking at late April 2015 out and back from Spokane to Klamath Falls.  I would follow the Columbia Plateau Trail from Spokane to Pasco, then county roads to the north of the Oregon Outback.  The question is: the CPT is a rail trail...what is the surface like?  If it has 50 miles of cinders I take the fat tires.
I haven't done it yet but that route looks like relatively benign way for people to try out off-road bike packing, wilderness with railroad grades for climbing.
 Dillon

[Rooster Cogburn]

I (now) live in Spokane and have done much of the Columbia Plateau Trail and have talked with some of the very few who have done the entire route.  As you probably are aware, you can pick up the route on the west edge of Spokane where it is called the Fish Lake Trail.  After about 8 miles you detour to the highway for two miles and then the route starts up again at Fish Lake where it is called the Columbia Plateau Trail.  It continues to be pavement until Cheney and then switches over to delightfully smooth gravel until Martin Road.  The section between Cheney and Martin Road is quite beautiful and free of people.  I was out there yesterday and the flowers are at their prime. 

South of Martin Road life gets interesting.  The smooth gravel becomes rail bed ballast -- sharp angular chunks of basalt about 2 to 3 inches in diameter.  I've only done the first 8 miles and that was on a fat bike.  I wouldn't recommend anything less, although I heard of someone doing it on a full suspension bike with 2.4-inch tires.  Must have been brutal.  Anyway, you immediately are into some isolated country that follows a Missoula Floods scabland valley bouncing forward about 6 mph.  Very beautiful.  Although camping isn't officially allowed no one uses this section of the trail and simply camping along the trail out of sight of roads or houses should work just fine.  The pothole lakes or mud puddles alongside the track can provide some water.  Another potential source of water are the grain elevators along the route -- most are still being used and usually have an outside tap.  I've heard that there is one store between Cheney and Pasco but can't remember the name of the community. 

The rest of the route is unknown to me but this is what I've heard from others:  A number of the old trestles that span steep canyons are blocked off by wire fencing and so you will need a way to get to the other side without using the trestle.  I've heard that  a few are a nasty push and, because this spring has been so warm, you are likely to be stepping over rattlesnakes.  Bailing to the road in order to avoid the trestles is an option.  Also, there are several long tunnels that will require having a headlight. 

The last 20 miles into Pasco follows the Snake River and that part is paved.  Once you are in Pasco you have a tough decision.  Pasco isn't a very interesting place to hang out but the train does stop there and you could continue your trip by train to the Columbia Gorge where riding gets good again.  I've looked at paved routes connecting Pasco and The Dalles -- none seem interesting to me.  Nothing but wheat and narrow pavement.  The Interstate highway has a wide shoulder but boredom is a hazard.

If you are getting to Spokane by train coming from the east, it gets into town at an ungodly early morning hour.  If you camp near the Fish Lake Trailhead you will likely be sharing the area with homeless people.  Not a serious matter but one to think about.  I would just ride into the dark and stop for a nap once south of Cheney.  The wildlife refuge is heavenly.

Well, good luck on this adventure.  I'm planning to do it myself this spring, probably in about 2 or 3 weeks.  Be sure to post what you find along the route.  I would like to get the word out among fat bikers in this area who are searching for good bikepacking routes.  Bikepacking isn't yet a big deal around here but the area has a lot of potential.  Check out the John Wayne Trail for another long distance bikepacking route in Washington that follows an old railroad grade.


 

[Dillon]

Thanks.  It looks like about 6 miles of road will get past the trestles.  I might not have spotted the trestles early without the heads up.  Google giveth and Google taketh away, then giveth again, then suggestith trespassing because who's watching?  It looks like the abandoned rail bed in the gorge below the trail gets lots of local traffic to boat launches. 
 Also, if someone wants to donate enough time or money to put guardrails on those trestles you could stop some Administrator's nightmares.

 Dillon

[Rooster Cogburn]

A few weeks ago I was riding a section of the east-west John Wayne Trail about where it intersects the Columbia Plateau Trail.  A trestle once spanned this broad valley that is bordered by vertical cliffs.  The rails-to-trails public corridor extends across the valley but I needed to detour a few hundred feet off to the side to get over the cliffs.  No markers existed marking what was public and what was private and the adjacent rancher had his cows grazing the public land, probably without knowledge of the state. Wouldn't you know it but the rancher shows up on his ATV and large caliper rifle and catches me in the act.  I gathered together all my friend-making skills and talked story with him about growing up on this ranch and eventually I had permission to go to the other side of the valley.  It made me a bit more careful about trespassing around here, an area I haven't lived in for very long.  So, when doing bypasses around the trestles on the Columbia Plateau Trail I think I will look for sections that are immediately adjacent to a public road for getting on an off the trail.  One problem with Google Earth is trying to distinguish which roads are public and which are private.  Or more likely, I'll just hoof it up and down those ravines with the blocked trestles.  I'm rather fond of rattlesnakes.

Send me a private message if you need a place to land in Spokane at the start of your trip.