Pacific Northwest Trail

[chrisx]

I like the idea. Until such a place on the PNT website happens, here is a list I compiled for the 2015 edition of the Pacific Northwest Digest:

Recent Videos
The Pacific Northwest Trail, Oroville, Washington to Glacier National Park, Montana, by Zed Nek, posted 12/21/14, 13:06; vimeo.com/115093202
Legend's Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) thru hike 2014, by Jeff Garmire (aka ‘Legend’) Eastbound, posted 10/1/14, 11:19; youtu.be/u05l_DILIl8
Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), by Seattle SirHikesALot, posted 9/22/14, 13:13;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdZPXy1mBzc

PNT 2014, by Stephan Berens (Section hiker from Germany), three videos, vimeo.com/user31481372
Pacific Northwest Trail 2013, by Dbirdyurtdog, posted 1/10/14, 10:59; www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3GtOPl33K4 (External Embedding Disabled)
Pacific Northwest Trail, by Glaucoma Patient, posted 8/18/13, 2:25;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC8p7KPbdGA

Creating the 1,200 Mile Pacific Northwest Trail – Ron Strickland – Pathfinder, by Better World Films, posted 5/29/12, 9:57 ;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuIIRjAKvU

Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) 2012 – August – September, by backpacker1964, posted 10/12/2012, 50:22;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUr8tstmq0M

Nimblewill Nomad - Odyssey 2010 - PNT - Part 1, by Nimblewill Nomad, 8/8/10, 9:33;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbVnv94jglo

Pacific Northwest Trail, by Sam Haraldson, posted multiple videos for 2007 thru hike; www.youtube.com

I got this from the PNT forum

edit
http://pnta.proboards.com/thread/356/videos-journals-all?page=1&scrollTo=1640
here is the link
guess I did not copy it right

[chrisx]

from pnt home page
Many of our Pacific Northwest Trail Association members—or at least their kids or grandkids!—are bikers.

The United States Congress made this statement
The Pacific Northwest Trail is open to bicycles.  
Only an act of congress can change that

I have room on my bicycle for a shovel as well.  Idaho sounds like good place to do some shoveling.  let me know.

I e-mailed the PNT organization to look into the N. Idaho section and see about volunteering.  Looks like cyclists need to be more active in volunteering and advocating for bikes on this route.  Maybe we can find some more volunteers who are interested here on the forum...  I will post the response:  
 
"The PNT is not known as a mountain biking trail, although there are sections where Mountain Bikes are permitted.  It’s pretty much up to the landowner as to whether they are permitted or not.  Some short segments, that are on rail grades, are open to road bikes; probably less than 5%.  The trail is mainly a hiking trail and equestrian wherever possible.
 
We would love to have you as a volunteer and maybe form a volunteer group in your area.  The PNTA can assist with some trail tools!  We’re are not sure at this point where the Trail corridor is going to be from the Kootenai to Priest Lake, as the Idaho Panhandle NF is still trying to come up with a route they can agree to.  We’ll be starting the Advisory committee meetings this spring and hope to have the route determined within the next two years.
 
Feel free to call me, or email me any questions!
 
Thanks,
 
Jon Knechtel
 
Jon Knechtel
Director of Trail Operations
Board Member-Partnership for National Trails
Pacific Northwest Trail Association
24854 Charles Jones Memorial Circle #4
Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284
Office: (360) 854-9415
Fax: (360) 854-7665
Cell: (360) 391-0788
 
The mission of the PNTA is to promote, protect, and maintain the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail in a manner that make a lasting contribution to the recreation, education, and enjoyment of present and future generations.
 
Happy Trails and Keep on Hiking!  The PNTA needs your support, vist us at www.pnt.org and find out how you can help!"

[ScottM]

Eszter and I are starting to look more seriously at the PNT for this summer, and liking what we are seeing:

http://www.pnt.org/trail/bicycling/

The PNT website has been updated with a new page on bicycling.  Very cool.

They just need to update this statement: "With hundreds of miles of the Pacific Northwest Trail in National Parks and wilderness areas, it is not possible to “thru-bike” the Pacific Northwest Trail."

All that's needed are bike detours around Wilderness/National Parks... as is being discussed here in this thread.

Along those lines, this fall will be the "Olympic 420 Adventure":

http://olympic420.weebly.com/

(With the most awesome website ever)

It's one big loop around the parks/Wilderness, full of hard riding according to the organizer.  I don't know whether the northern or southern route would work best for the PNT, but intend to find out.

[chrisx]

Olympic national Park is a very good place to get of  your bike and do some hiking.  Apparently others think so too.  ONP is the most hiked park in the USA.   I recommend hiking the ONP coast trail.  Fork WA, gets more rain than any other city in the US. Forks is also the place where I go to the beach, some years only 2 nights, some years 10 nights, but every year.  Should be easy to find someone to hold your bikes a few days.  Olympic Peninsula is well connected buy buses, ( m - f ), for a return to your bike.

They just need to update this statement: "With hundreds of miles of the Pacific Northwest Trail in National Parks and wilderness areas, it is not possible to “thru-bike” the Pacific Northwest Trail."

?

[ScottM]

We've talked about the possibility of hiking Glacier.  Maybe ONP?  Don't know.  It definitely interrupts the continuity/flow of the trip to ditch or cache bikes somewhere.

Re: updating the statement.  IMHO, it's still a thru-ride if you take legal detours around places that bikes are not allowed.

The organizations behind the CT/AZT and even CDT recognize 'thru-rides' in this fashion.  The PNT just needs some established detours.

[ScottM]

We spent a few weeks up in Washington and Oregon and were able to do a little bit of PNT scouting, though that was not the purpose of the trip.  The conclusion was..... let's do it!

The current idea is to hike both the start and the end of the trail.  So that means ~50 miles through Glacier, picking up bikes (hopefully) in Polebridge to continue on from there.  Then we'll find a place to cache them, perhaps with a friend in Sequim, and do the beach walk to the finish.  Probably take the bus back. 

The northern side of the OLY420 route, just outside ONP, looks very nice for a PNT bike route.  We rode Dungeness/Gold Crk, the ODT "adventure route" (sweet and very bikepack friendly singletrack) and even Mt. Mueller.

We also ran into the PNT on Whidbey Island (definitely not just a pure road ride there) and in the Chuckanuts.  All of it looked good--very worthy singletrack.

I've starting digging a little into the maps and there is a LOT of terrain that seems 100% open to bikes, from Polebridge all the way to Washington.  Much of it could be hard to ride, and full of hike-a-bike.  But it seems to traverse several designated "Scenic Areas" that I am sure Wilderness advocates would love to see gain more protection, but as of right now bikes seem to be OK.  That probably means backcountry conditions and slow traversal, but from the look of it, beautiful scenery.

The traverse around the eastern Washington Wilderness area (forget the name right now) seems straightforward and short.  The big question remaining is: what to do about the Cascades!

The two main options are:

1 - Ride the main park road and dodge RVs, etc.  I have never been there but imagine the scenery from the road is quite nice, but am not sure if the shoulder/corners make it unsafe or not.  If it's like Going-to-the-sun road in Glacier that'd be fine, but Yellowstone roads were pretty sketchy.
2 - Detour into Canada and take the Kettle Valley railroad trail, which appears to go exactly where we need it.  Easy riding, but off road, and apparently it has many tunnels and high trestles.  Perhaps even visiting a few wineries along the way too.

We're aiming to start in early July and currently our only big debate is about bringing a tent or not.  We did not have one for 4 months on the CDT (just a tarp), but bugs seem to be more an issue in the PNW and MT.  We'll see.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Bring the tent.  The Cascade Mountain mosquitoes in July and August don't take any hostages.

[ScottM]

Bring the tent.  The Cascade Mountain mosquitoes in July and August don't take any hostages.

Noted, thank-you.

That's the conclusion we've finally arrived at.  Going to suck it up and get a Fly Creek UL2, methinks.

Getting soft, we are.   

[chrisx]

Not like Yellowstone roads/

When you are close to the pacific use a tent.  As protection from brown spiders.

[chrisx]

let's do it!

1 - Ride the main park road and dodge RVs, etc.  I have never been there but imagine the scenery from the road is quite nice, but am not sure if the shoulder/corners make it unsafe or not.  If it's like Going-to-the-sun road in Glacier that'd be fine, but Yellowstone roads were pretty sketchy.
2 - Detour into Canada and take the Kettle Valley railroad trail, which appears to go exactly where we need it.  Easy riding, but off road, and apparently it has many tunnels and high trestles. 

3.http://ladyofthelake.com/schedule-high-season_319.html
*Prince Creek   11:00am
*Flag stop only when landing is safe.
The IMBA map of Methow Valley, (Twisp, Winthrop, WA), looks interesting.  If you don't mind 2 bike carries.  One past a glaicer and over a pass to Marblemount.

[HappyWanderer]

We have done a lot of riding in the Winthrop/Twisp/Omak and north up around Loomis area if you have any specific questions about that area we might be able to help.  I hope you do the trip, and I would second the idea of bringing a tent.  The N. Cascades have a lot of water up high and can be really buggy especially on the west side.

[ScottM]

Well, we have acquired a lightweight tent (Big Agnes Fly Creek 2).

But we are less excited about this (see attached map).

It's been a hot and dry summer in the PNW, and it seems nearly the entire trail is smokey right now.

We're considering our options at this point, but may still go for it.  We'll see.

Thanks for the offer of help, everyone.  I do intend to look closer at a singletrack and N. Cascade NP park route.  It looks like there are some potential options to link from Oroville to the park.  Probably nothing as far south as Twisp, though.  Then the exit is pretty simple for jumping back on the PNT on the west side.

Still looking at the Kettle Valley rail trails, too.  Stopping at wineries sounds kinda nice.    But the connection back to the Bellingham is less appealing.  Some of those paved roads would be a little sketchy to ride.

[Chad B]

Plan B: San Juan bikepacking Scott? 

[ScottM]

Not a bad plan B, but we are still thinking PNW, just a little further south and out of the smoke's path.

[Adam Alphabet]

Let me know if you decide to hit the KVR instead. I rode it a couple years ago.

[chrisx]

pnt
on Flickr
some beaches are easy to get too

on Flickr
some take some effort

some take a climb and a hike


some are reached by pulling yourself up a 300 foot rope and throuogh the mud

[redtabby]

Washington air quality monitoring: https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/

Definitely escalating smoke levels along your route corridor being fed from fires on both sides of the border.  We are hoping for some air movement over the weekend as we get a bit of a break from the high pressure system which has fueled a heat wave over the last couple of weeks.

[ScottM]

Just saw today that the Kettle Crest trail is closed due to a fire.  Don't think we would have made it through in time.

Not a great year for the PNT.

This is working out well for us, though:

http://trackleaders.com/hotsisters

[chrisx]

http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/PARKS/docs/OCT_e.pdf
The Oregon coast is nice / most of the coastal state parks have hiker/biker sites and hot showers.
Siuslaw National Forest / Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest.

http://gacc.nifc.gov/nwcc/information/firemap.aspx
The fires are only in the places I wanted to go

[samh]

Just stumbled onto this thread and am going to subscribe.  I thru-hiked the PNT in 2007 and am the administrator of the PNTA Forums (http://pnta.proboards.com/board/1).  Most of what I'd comment on has been addressed in above in this thread but I'd re-iterate that a thru-ride of the trail is very do-able but some of the most epic portions would involve alternate routes (the Pasayten in particular).