With the snow mostly gone, I opted for the classic hike to this gorgeous alpine lake.

Fantasic tour under blue skies, under falling leaves, and quiet roads among farmland. I started the ride from BI on the normal loop to Port Gamble with a small detour for a road closure.

I hadn’t been to Royal Lake since a backpacking trip in July 2011. At the time we were unable to make it to the upper basin because of a late melting snow pack. I was excited to explore the upper basin on this trip as over the last few years I had become pretty familiar with the region from prior rides and hikes.

This year’s edition of Ride the Hurricane had two great changes from last year:

✅ Ride from BI to Deception Pass and back in one day.

An abandoned forest service road, a beautiful river, great views, and a mac & cheese lunch. Pretty perfect ride with Kid.

We’d been waiting anxiously for the weather to be favorable for an attempt at cycling to Bon Jon Pass for a few weeks. Kiel Reijnen’s posted a ride on Strava going over the pass so we decided it was high time we gave it a try.

My fifth trip up to Lake Angeles, but first time in the summer, did not disappoint. A beautiful lake view rewards this steep Olympics climb. Unlike my typical winter foray we left the lake behind us and climbed the Klahhane Ridge Trail to an exceptional lunch spot with clear views to Mt Olympus and its glaciers.

I had been wanting to ride this event for a long time but the timing never worked out. Finally this year the dates aligned and I was able to ride it.

The trail is as advertised, steep and with little in the way of scenery. This is the kind of hike where the effort is the reward, especially on a socked in winter day. It was also eerily quiet as I was the only person around until I arrived within a quarter mile of the trailhead on my return. All said however it was what I wanted, a short hike with lots of effort close to home.