I rode from Orting to South Prairie and thence to Buckley (almost twice between S.P. and Buckley) between 8:35 and 12:20 today.
OMG! What a gorgeous, bucolic ride it is between South Prairie and Buckley! It was awe-inspiring!
My plan, when I started out this morning, was to ride between Orting and South Prairie almost twice, turning back to ride most of it again above the toughest — but very short — hill a few miles outside Orting, which I call Mount Olympus and Lisa calls Mount Vesuvius because we always bitterly regret its difficulty.
But when I got to South Prairie and stopped at the trailside honey buckets to do my thing there, I remembered that the trail south goes substantially farther beyond the bridge in South Prairie. So, I decided to head on up that way instead of turning around and going downhill back to Mt. Olympus and then reverting back to South Prairie.
I didn’t know how much farther south the trail goes from South Prairie (I just now looked it up; it goes another six miles and a little bit, so it’s just about a mile shorter than the 7.5 miles distance between Orting and South Prairie), so I just jumped back on the bike and headed south to discover a new trek.
And truthfully, it would be a trek (“arduous journey”) had I not quickly decided to shift down to 2 and 3 (from 2 and 6) and just enjoy the views as I slipped slowly south — and north (in height!).
The trail here has no more Mt. Vesuvius’s on it — that’s the great news — but it does have several steep grades similar to the two or three extended ones between Orting and South Prairie, and in a few places they’re longer and a wee bit steeper… but oh my! In gears 2 and 3, you hardly notice because the views all around are truly breathtaking…
You quickly get farther into the high country where there are no sounds of traffic. (Traffic sounds are ubiquitous from Orting to South Prairie.) All you hear are bird songs, rushing rivers in canyons below, and even a lovely small waterfall cascading down.
The trail here appears brand new. It’s beautifully paved and the bridges and railings are wide and gorgeous. They spared no expense on this part of the ride.
Just outside South Prairie, the trail is festooned with hanging baskets and other planted flowers (at least this time of year). It looks like the community decided to welcome bike riding families, hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders in wonderful ways.
The slightly steeper ascent starts right away just outside South Prairie, but again, in gears 2 and 3, it isn’t a struggle to make your way up. I will try to take some photos next time and put them here to show you all the many things I enjoyed seeing on the ride up…
Since I didn’t know how much farther up the road the trail went, after I rode about three and a half miles, I asked two ladies walking their dogs how much farther up the trail it ended. One of them said, “Not far. About a mile, I think. Keep going!” I nodded, waved my thanks, and kept pedaling.
After what I was pretty sure was decidedly more than a mile, I spotted another lady walking her dog and inquired again.
“Oh, less than a mile. You’re almost there!’
Feeling good about that (because I was ready to turn around by now–the slow ascent had still been probably another 400 to 500 feet between South Prairie and Buckley), I kept going.
She was right. I ended up at Buckley, turned around, drank a few sips of water, and headed back down the trail toward South Prairie.
The ride down from Buckley to South Prairie was fast and super easy because of the steeper grade. I don’t think I would have had to pedal more than about three times getting back to South Prairie, but of course I did: I was there to exercise! But in many places on the way down I was going 14 and 15 miles per hour without pedaling at all, so that gives you some idea of the steeper grade. (From South Prairie to Orting, coasting downhill without pedaling carries you about 11 miles per hour.)
I got back down to South Prairie in about 20 minutes, I guess, and realized I wasn’t finished wanting to ride, so I turned back up the hill to Buckley and tackled the ascent again, getting more than 3/4 of the way back up before deciding to call it a day and turn around for the 12 to 13-mile ride back to Orting.
The bridges between South Prairie and Buckley tower over ravines with rivers running through them. I wanted to stop just to look down and enjoy the sounds and views, but I didn’t this time because I wanted to stay active the entire morning; no breaks except to pee and a few sips of water twice. I will go slower later (now that I know what I’m dealing with miles-wise) and take pictures to post here.
I got back to Orting feeling exhilarated. I didn’t eat or drink anything at South Prairie other than a banana I brought along, so I didn’t add any calories to speak of during the trip. I didn’t feel hungry. I was too busy marveling at how much more gorgeous and quiet it is between South Prairie and Buckley.
The Orting to South Prairie section has always been my favorite trail to ride locally, but now that I see what lies beyond (and it will be extended soon beyond Buckley), my favorite new route is South Prairie to Buckley. I’ll see if I can talk Lisa into riding it with me just from South Prairie to Buckley sometime soon. I think she’ll agree with me wholeheartedly that it’s an unforgettably beautiful ride.
It’s a lovely, lovely trip!
In Memoriam: Happy Birthday, Dear Deaken in Serval Heaven!
