Studio711.com – Ben Martens

Mt. Rainier Ride

On Sunday, I hopped back on the bike for another ride. I recovered surprisingly quickly from the 440 miles on Friday. This ride took Tyla and I down to Mt. Rainier. It’s a very nice ride covering mostly two lane roads and then a very nice windy road up to Sunrise lookout. There was heavy traffic, but not as much as I was expecting considering the holiday. Plus, traffic always seems lighter on the motorcycle since it is much easier to pass.

The view from the top was outstanding. We took our time at the top having lunch, a snowball fight, and a walk through the nature center.

It was a great day for the ride, and I hope that it’s just the start of our Mt. Rainier adventures for the year. I want to take the car back next time and do some hiking either from Sunrise or one of the other entrances.

That wrapped up a 600 mile weekend on the motorcycle for me. On those two rides, I went from sea level to above 5000 feet twice, saw three different active volcanoes and numerous alpine lakes, watched roaring rapids with rafters and a 100+ ft waterfall, had a snowball fight and sweated in near-100 degree weather. Seattle positively rocks. The more time I spend here, the more confused I am about why the entire country doesn’t live here.

Photos are available in the photo gallery.

benmartens July 9, 2009 Motorcycle

Cascade Loop Review

Not only did I survive the ride on Friday, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I took almost the exact route that I talked about in the post on Friday. The only deviation was that I took US 97 Alt right through Chelan to check out the lake. Impressions from the ride:

  • I have now been through all four east/west mountain passes in Washington over the Cascades. Highway 20 (the northernmost pass) has the best scenery. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to go through again! The pictures do not do it justice. You could easily spend a whole day stopping at each lake (there are lots of dams along the river) and relaxing.
  • It was HOT (upper 90s) on the east side of the Cascades. I tried riding with no coat for a while, but that didn’t last long. I think it was cooler with the coat on because it kept me in the shade. At some temperature, the increased wind speed actually makes you hotter instead of cooling you off. It’s a giant convection oven. That’s my theory anyway.
  • This motorcycle is awesome. I got a number of compliments/questions when I stopped for gas. In particular, I get a lot of questions from taller riders who are curious what modifications I made to the bike for comfort.
  • I was able to go about 100 miles per run (that number decreased toward the end of the run.) I was able to stretch out my knees fairly well, but there was no rest for the butt. I think I might try biker shorts next time to see if that makes any difference.
  • I got great gas mileage. Normally I get in the very low 30s around town but I averaged over 40 for this ride.
  • The AutoCom system I put on the bike is marvelous. I had music for the whole ride. It was an eclectic mix of Jason Mraz, Little Big Town, Flobots, The Hush Sound, and a few others. The audio highlight was listening to Preston and Steve’s Drunk Day podcast from last Thursday. Best morning show ever.
  • The audio system performed well even with the ear plugs that I wore for the entire trip. I had to turn up the volume, but in the end, I think I heard the sound better than without the earplugs. The plugs took out much of the wind noise and the audio made it through nicely.

The total ride was 440 miles and I covered it in exactly 10 hours. I don’t think I could have done it much faster as I kept all my breaks to a minimum.

I can’t recommend this ride enough! However, take two days to do it if you have the time and it will be even more enjoyable. There is so much to see!

 

Photos are available in the photo gallery.

benmartens July 7, 2009 Motorcycle

Cascade Loop

Ever since I arrived in Seattle with a motorcycle, I’ve been told about the Cascade Loop. It covers some of the most beautiful roads in Washington, but it’s also a big trip for one day. Today, I set out to conquer the loop.

You can see my basic route below. The actual Cascade Loops includes a run down Whidbey Island, but that would make a big day even bigger and I’ve traveled that road many times anyway. The highlight of this ride is going to be the northern stretch along Highway 20. That 5500 foot high pass is closed all winter long, and I’ve never been there.

The route is about 450 miles. I average about 50mph on long trips due to the need for frequent stops so that puts me at 9 hours. Factor in some extra sore muscles from a full day on the bike and I’m hoping to tackle this in 12 hours. I’m planning to Twitter my progress along the way so you can watch for updates on my feed.

I’m still undecided about whether I will come back through Stevens Pass or Snoqualmie Pass. Stevens is more scenic and gets me out of the hot weather on the east side of the mountains. Snoqualmie is 70mph interstate. I’ll make the call when I get near Cashmere. Interestingly it’s only 1 mile extra to go through Stevens than Snoqualmie, but I expect it’s about 15-30 minutes longer.

benmartens July 3, 2009 Motorcycle

Lake Easton State Park

Tim, Chelsea, Andy, Stephanie, Nick (an intern at Tim’s company), Tyla and I spent the weekend about 15 miles east of the summit of Snoqualmie Pass at Lake Easton State Park. We all convened at campsite 109 after work on Friday and crammed five tents onto the tent pad. The rest of the weekend was filled with cornhole, beverages, campfires, delicious food, and hanging out down by the water. The lake was beautiful, but the campground was very loud. I-90 was only a few hundred yards away. I guess when you try to cram train tracks, a lake, a campground and an interstate into a mountain pass, there’s not a lot of leftover room. It was great for a weekend trip considering how close to home it is(60 miles from my house.) On Sunday morning, we packed up and visited Mountain High Hamburgers on the other side of the interstate. It’s a Scherschel family favorite and made a nice end to the weekend.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and special thanks to Tyla for putting up with Nick and me talking about skiing all weekend. This winter he’s going to be living the dream: ski bum at Alta. Combine that with his lifetime full of 100 day ski seasons at Killington and I’m pretty jealous.

The next camping trip on the calendar right now is in late August when we take a trip out to the San Juans.

Photos are available in the gallery.

benmartens June 30, 2009 Outdoors

Idaho Nachos

On our trip to Indiana, we stopped at Granite City for dinner. It’s one of Tyla’s favorites and I finally got to try the Idaho Nachos that I heard so much about. Last weekend we decided to try and make them for ourselves. I think they actually tasted better than the ones from the restaurant!

Ingredients

  • 1 bag frozen waffle fries (we used unseasoned curly fries because we couldn’t find waffle fries)
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3-4 strips bacon
  • 1 small tomato
  • Chives

Bake the waffle fries according to the instructions on the bag. Near the end of the baking, push all the fries into a pile and smother with the shredded cheese. Once the cheese is melted, pull them out of the oven and top with chopped bacon, diced tomatoes, and chopped chives.

Dip Ingredients

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp curry
  • 1/8 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and top with parsley flakes.

This recipe makes a lot of dip. I think will probably cut it at least in half (maybe even less) the next time we make it.

Bottom line: delicious! They will go fast.

benmartens June 26, 2009 Food

Hiking Mt. Si

If you spend much time in this area, it doesn’t take long to recognize Mt. Si. Just east of North Bend, this chunk of rock is about 4200 feet above sea level. The hike to the top is 4 miles long and gains about 3300 feet. It’s one of the most popular day hikes in the area, but for some reason, I’ve never done it. I can see it when I drive out of my house and it bugs me every day that I haven’t been to the top.

Last Saturday, Tyla and I set out to change that. The hike up was actually easier than I had expected. The trail was indeed quite busy, but it was mostly hikers who knew what they were doing and not the random people in flip flops that you find on Tiger Mountain. We made decent time compared to the other people that we started with. It took us right around two hours to get to the top and about and hour and forty five minutes to get down. Interestingly, the down hike hurt more than the hike up.

We spent about an hour at the top. I even tried to climb to the top of Haystack Rock. That’s the piece of rock you see jutting out of the top of the mountain. When you reach the stop on the trail where everyone has stopped, keep going and you’ll see where the real end of the trail is. Every year, people die climbing Haystack, and now I know why. Tyla was the smart one and decided to sit it out. I had to climb it. It was a very steep climb, but going up was simple. Combing down was another story. It took me about five minutes to climb up but twenty to climb down. I even got stuck while climbing down and had to go back up to find another way down. I’m not sure I’ll be doing that again soon.

We didn’t get very many good pictures because it was cloudy for the whole hike. There are a couple shots in the photo gallery including a 3D profile of the GPS data. Nevermind the fact that there is a bit of drift in the data. We hiked the same trail up as we did going down.

Tyla, thanks for hiking with me! I love seeing all these amazing sights with you!

benmartens June 23, 2009 Outdoors

Mileage

If you live in the Seattle area, it’s probably not too hard to figure out that I love my motorcycle. I’ve been riding it every time I get the chance, and thanks to our incredible weather, I’ve had a lot of chances. Numbers always help to draw comparisons though. I had my first motorcycle for four years and I put 10,000 miles on it. The brainiacs among you will realize that I averaged 2500 miles/year. I bought this new bike in mid-Feburary. The odometer already reads 2700 miles and we’re not even halfway through the calendar year!

benmartens June 10, 2009 Motorcycle

Four Passes, One Morning

I found myself with a relatively free Saturday morning. It was such a gorgeous day that it would have been a crime to sit on the couch. I fired up the bike and left the house at about 8:15AM.

My ride took me up north on 203, east on 2, south on 97, and west on 90 for a 240 mile loop. Along the way I flew through Stevens, Blewett, Stampede and Snoqualmie passes. I’ve done this ride once before on the old bike but in the opposite direction. I love seeing how quickly the scenery changes as you head over the mountains. The west side is very lush and green. The east side is more brown and dry. The tops of the passes still have five or six feet of snow in places. On Saturday it was between 75-80 for the whole ride which is just about perfect.

This was the first long ride I have taken with the new bike. While I did need to make a stop every 60-75 miles to stretch, I think I could handle a 400 mile day which is good because I’d like to tackle the Cascade Loop this year.

Here’s a little tip if you make the same ride, skip downtown Monroe and look for Ben Howard Rd. It’s a beautiful ride! Tyla and I found it while trying to avoid some traffic. It’s longer when there is no traffic, but it’s worth a few extra minutes for a lot of extra smiles.

There are four photos in the gallery. I snapped them about 10 miles west of Leavenworth along the Wenatchee River. All the rivers are very full with all the melting snow and this one was no exception.

I was back home by 12:30. For the rest of the day I kept reminding myself of the things I had already seen that day!

benmartens June 2, 2009 Motorcycle

Oregon Trail

Tyla and I spent Memorial Day weekend camping in Garibaldi, OR with her family. They headed down earlier in the week, but we didn’t leave until Saturday morning in hopes of avoiding some traffic. We met them in chilly Cannon Beach where the wind and cool temps made for a short walk on the beach. Oskar enjoyed the ocean, we had some lunch in town, and then we visited a few shops before heading out.

The whole weekend was full of laughter, campfire, beaches, great views, cornhole, and delicious food. Tyla’s dad is a dutch oven genius… and I’m not talking about farting under the covers… but maybe that applies too. I wouldn’t know. The highlights included a quick hike Saturday morning and a ride on an authentic steam engine to nowhere. I may have taken a few years off my life by inhaling the steam and oil combo but it was a fun trip. We, of course, introduced the family to cornhole and I think it was a big hit.

We left early Monday morning to avoid the crazy traffic, but on the way out, we stopped at the Tillamook cheese and ice cream factory to pick up some cheese curds (Tyla’s favorite.) We hit the beginnings of the big traffic jams but still made pretty good time.

The weather was a bit iffy on Saturday, but Sunday and Monday were gorgeous. The four of them slept in the trailer while I was out in the doghouse tent. It can’t really be called the doghouse since the dog slept in the trailer too. I was happy to try out my fancy new Marmot sleeping bag. Even though the temps dipped down to around 40 degrees at night, I was very comfortable. It was a good purchase.

All in all it was a great weekend. Thanks to the whole family for letting me tag along!

Photos are posted in the gallery.

benmartens May 28, 2009 Outdoors, Travel

Heybrook Lookout

The Washington Trails Association website is great for discovering the status of various trails (covered in snow? etc) and finding new trails. They have one great site that lists a bunch of mountain fire lookouts that are reachable by day hikes. On Sunday afternoon, we headed for Stevens Pass to check out Heybrook Lookout.

The trailhead is on the north side of US-2 just east of mile marker 37 (east of Index.) The hike itself is about 1.25 miles each way and 1000 vertical feet. It’s a pretty steady steep incline but we made it up to the top in good time. Once you reach the top, you can climb the 86 steps almost to the top of the lookout. Fire lookouts, by definition, have a great view of the surrounding forests and this one does not disappoint. Tyla was a bit nervous when I mentioned that there were bears in the area. We didn’t see any, but I read some trip reports from that area from the same day and some bears were spotted. Make sure you know what to do when you see a bear if you hike around here.

On the way back, there was a lot of traffic heading west and it got backed up around Sultan. We decided to skip the traffic and explore some back roads so we headed south out of Sultan on 311th and the took Ben Howard Rd west to 203. I don’t know if it was faster, but it was a fantastic drive! We need to head back on the motorcycle. I wish I could figure out how to commute to work from there, but the drive is too long. There are some great houses back there.

Pictures are available in the photo gallery and you can click on the photo below for a large panorama from the top of the lookout. It was a bit hard to snap photos because of the sunny day. Not that I’m complaining.

benmartens May 19, 2009 Outdoors, Panorama