Author: MikeMcGuffin

At first light, Mykenna and I realized that we’d slept less than one hundred yards from a semi-permanent encampment occupied by an odd lady and several dogs enclosed in a makeshift chainlink enclosure.  She later told Mykenna that if he didn’t “behave himself” she’d have to release the dogs.  He behaved himself. The bivy thing […]

I’m not gonna lie, a mattress and a shower are good and welcome things.  With a good night’s sleep in the can, Mykenna and I opened up the Fred Meyer at six where we stuffed our pockets with as much calorie dense food as we could carry.  Our next resupply would be Ephrata, a tough […]

The Thorpe bivy wasn’t too bad.  I sure was happy that I’d purchased that new fifteen-degree bag two days before the Grand Depart.  By fortunate accident I’d placed my feet in the direction of the wind, which significantly reduced the breeze blowing through my shelter.  The trailhead restroom was also welcome. Mykenna doesn’t drink coffee, […]

Well, we certainly didn’t get our money’s worth out of our stay at the Anderson School as we spent only a little over five hours on the premises.  The same guy who had checked me in a twelve fifteen checked me out at five thirty.  We rolled out under cloudy but dry skies and coasted […]

After a cup of hotel lobby coffee, which was quite good, Mykenna and I set off into the misty wet morning in search food (a common theme on this trip).  The Egg McMuffin is a perfect blend of fat, carbs, proteins and convenience and when we saw the golden arches we rolled in.  The dining […]

Writing about the Cross Washington Mountain Bike Race (XWA) is proving to be as difficult as the event itself.  I suppose that I’ll approach this challenge in the same manner I approached the race – start at the beginning and move steady towards the finish. In the Beginning With road racing being shut down due […]

Early last summer, or late last spring, Ben D and I voyaged up to the northern Washington town of Darrington to ride Rat Trap Pass.  On the drive up we noticed a trail alongside Highway 530 that we later learned was the Whitehorse Trail.  Further research revealed that the trail runs twenty seven miles linking […]

The nice thing about owning a capable “all-road” bicycle is the ability to ride all roads.  And trails too.  For the past year and a half I’ve been exploring the unpaved roads and trails in and around Seattle.  I recently used a bit of what I learned to sew together a mixed media route starting […]

Since hearing about the much-anticipated opening of the Renslow Bridge I’ve been eager to give it a crossing.  When Michael P contacted me about doing a ride in central Washington I suggested riding the Palouse-to-Cascade trail up to and over the freshly opened bridge. The Renslow Bridge, a former Milwaukee Road railroad trestle, spans Interstate […]

One aspect that I enjoy about exploration and adventure is that one project often leads to another.  While researching an upcoming trip a door typically opens to a new undiscovered opportunity. While doing some casual online research on Troy Hopwood’s XWA (Cross Washington) route I stumbled onto a map of the Willapa Hills Trail: a […]