The Kid and I decided on a short trip down the Dosewallips River Trail as a trial run for a future bikepacking trip. The now-abandoned car-camping campground would be our destination so loaded up with a stove, food, and water filter, we were on our way.

The route had significantly more hike-a-bike than I had realized in reading prior trip reports. The slide ended very close to the river and we chose to walk, rather than ride, these sections. At one point you need to make a decision about going high or low. We chose the low side both directions which required use of the rope to gain footing and haul the bike from the river back to the old road.

An old sign cautioning the upcoming grade

We finally made camp, having climbed some pretty sizeable grades – so much so old signage warned cars against stopping! The river drew the cold air down to the campground so even in the middle of summer I felt fortunate having packed a down jacket and winter hat in the bags.

Descending the steep pitch leading to the camp

After a warm lunch of mac & cheese we began the ride back to the truck. The ride back was mostly downhill and we encountered only a few other people on foot and a handful of other cyclists.

Definitely a fun day with the Kid and a great test run for a bikepacking adventure!