Midfork, The Whole Route 09/06

• 6.4 miles up Midfork trail to the Dingford Creek Trailhead
• 5.5 miles up road to Goldmeyer turn=0ff
• 3.4 miles from Goldmeyer turn-off to the top of the Midfork trailhead
• 3.4 mile technical trail to Goldmeyer
• 5.5 mile technical trail from Goldmeyer to the Dingford creek bridge
• 6.4 miles back down the Midfork trail to our cars

Round Trip Approx 28.4 miles

8 of us set off to ride the whole route on the Midfork. I have wanted to do this ride for quite some time and finally posted the ride for last Sunday. I decided to ride up the Midfork trail to the Dingford Creek trailhead and then up the road to the top of the Midfork trail. Then ride back on the trail the whole way back to our cars. It was a challenging ride. I've ridden the sction from the Midfork trailhead up to Dingford creek trail and back a number of times. Its a beautiful trail that rolls along the river and up on the side hill. I never get tired of the beautiful scenery along the way. From the Dingford Creek trailhead we rode up the primitive road past the Goldmeyer turn-off. Above the turn-off the road gets more primitive as it climbs steeply up to the top of the midfork trailhead. At points the road opens up to beautiful views up and down the valley. The ridgelines framing the narrow valley. We decided to postpone our swim at the Dingford Creek bridge and do it on the way back. Mistake for me. I had to stop along the road for a quick bite and to put my ipod tunes on for the long road climb. We were pushing a good pace on the ride. Not much time to stop and enjoy the views but I just gave up and decided to do the photo trip another day.

We finally arrived at the top of the Midfork trailhead, had a brief stop and decided to keep riding and take a longer break at the bridge. The descent down to the creek was incredible. Great trail and beautiful scenery along the trail. The Midfork at the bridge crossing is stunning. Water cascades over large granite and falls in to pools. The light in the early afternoon created rich color in the shade of the forest. I refilled my water bottle with my water pump. The break was nice before we began the technical rolling trail down (although there was quite a bit of up and down all the way back). The section above Goldmeyer is technical and primitive. We passed a hotspring pool along the way. I'll have to actually take a break there next time. Its about 3.4 miles back to where Goldmeyer trail intersects the Midfork. The trail continues to be primitive and technical all the way back to Dingford Creek. A definite workout. There isn't a lot of coasting on this ride and the coasting is filled with technical navigation over obstacles on the trail.

We finally made it back to the Dingford Creek bridge but by that time we had a slight cloud cover and the pool was in the shade so no swimming today. We took another short break and then it was a mad dash back to the cars. Again not a coast. Lots of up and down.

At the end of the ride as I was coming out on to the bridge at the Midfork trailhead I saw a young man poised on the supports on the otherside of the railing of the bridge. He apparently was contemplating jumping from the bridge in to about 4 feet of water below. One of the mt. bikers was explaining to him that it probably wasn't a good idea since it was too shallow. I figured he had it covered and I continued on. I had no desire to actually have to work on my day off. I only hoped the "jumper" would listen to words of wisdom and not stupidly jump off that bridge. Luckily I never heard a splash followed by a cry for help retrieving his broken body out of the river and I didn't have to spend my evening providing medical care to hopelessly stupid.

Back at the cars our two riders from Anacortes pulled out warm wash clothes so we could wash off some of the dirt from the day's ride. I jokingly said " Now all we need is some warm peanuts to go with these warm washclothes. Next thing I new I was being handed an open jar of salted peanuts. I then said "Any wine to go with those peanuts?" He laughed and offered up beer which we declined. I can't imagine trying to drive after a 28 mile ride and a beer. It would be nap time for me.

This was an incredible ride through some stunning scenery. A real jewel so close to the urban center. I hope we get to continue to ride these trails in the future.

Road Climb Above Goldmeyer Hotsprings	Jay	Top of the Trail
Upper Middle Fork Snoqualmie River - 1	Upper Middle Fork Snoqualmie River - 2	Upper Middle Fork Snoqualmie River - 3
Upper Middle Fork Snoqualmie River - 4	The Group Taking a Break	Paying Tribute to the River Gods
Falls	Scout	Randy Fixing His Chain
Trail On Upper Section	Afternoon Light	Photo of Lisa Taken By Tim Banning - 1
Photo of Lisa Taken By Tim Banning - 2