This Memorial day weekend, I took my wife on a road trip in our new toy, (Ardeneshwar) a 2012 Triumph Scrambler with a DMC M-72D sidecar. I had just converted the exhaust from the high pipe set up, to a (slightly used) stock Triumph Thruxton set which I purchased off of Craig’s list for almost nothing. I really love the way the exhaust turned out. It looks and sounds great while retaining a stock level of sound which is good when exploring forest roads.
We started from our home in north Seattle (Washington, USA) and took a local back road country highway and a series of smaller two lane roads North East along the Cascade mountain range. The roads were curvy and rural with pine conifer forest as well as deciduous (leafy) trees, and meadows. There were many lakes, streams and rivers along the way as well as cows, horses, goats, and other farm animals. The weather was very warm, in the low 80’s F. but the drive was cool due to the constant tree cover.
The first day, Friday I took off work a couple of hours early to get a good start, naturally there were many last minute delays but eventually we were on the road! We had only gone about a mile when we had our first “sidecar moment”. While waiting for a light to change, a young lady on the sidewalk spotted us and completely lost it holding her head with both hands and hopping up and down. Within seconds she was taking pictures with her phone as we drove off in shock. This sort of thing continued all weekend and became quite amusing once we got used to it.
We stopped after about an hour at one of our favorite spots, Lake Roesiger for a picnic dinner in a small waterfront park, and to enjoy the tranquility of this quiet remote lake surrounded by trees and cabins. Even though it was a major holiday, few people had yet penetrated this area either on the roads or at the lake. It is not far from “civilization”, but is off the beaten path to say the least.
As we were leaving the lake behind us, I remembered that we had not stopped for gas and on the way out I mentioned to the wife that we may want to keep our eyes open, just in case there is a station out here in the woods somewhere, it was at that moment that my low fuel light came on! Naturally, having just purchased this rig, I had emptied the attached jerry can of it’s unidentifiable contents and had not yet filled it back up.
I drove very conservatively from then on for the next hour or so as we went through the woods, crossing rivers and climbing up and down hills, until we finally arrived in the town of Granite Falls. Not wanting to drive any further distance than necessary, I stopped and asked a local family who were sitting on their front porch (in classic small town fashion) if they could direct us to the nearest filling station. They were happy to oblige and politely directed us on our way while marveling at our sidecar rig.
After filling the tank and the reserve jerry can, we made our way to the Bed and Breakfast which my wife had reserved for us, just 8 miles East of Granite Falls, on the Mountain Loop Highway. It was a very beautiful, recently remodeled home on many acres of land with gardens and a river. In the morning they actually even make you a nice breakfast! I would consider myself lucky to get a donut, so I was quite impressed.
After breakfast we went East up the Mountain Loop Highway to the top at Barlow Pass. After that, the paved road ends and it becomes gravel. I was concerned as to the condition of the road, and whether we would have to turn back or maybe go half way and get stuck, or who knows…? The owner of the B&B didn’t know, he advised us not to go there, couldn’t understand why anyone would want to leave the paved road.
I was pleased to find that the road conditions couldn’t have been better. The unpaved section of road goes for about 12 miles winding through the high mountain forest with river after river winding by. I cruised along in first or second gear depending on circumstance, taking my time, because everything was so incredible. The natural beauty of this section of road was absolutely astounding.
Many areas showed undeniable evidence of having been washed out over the winter, which is why they don’t bother to pave it. Each year there are multiple wash outs. There was even a period of many years that the damages were so bad the road couldn’t be repaired in time, and it just stayed closed. The year it finally opened there was a “grand celebration” in the towns on each end simultaneously, being Granite Falls, and Darrington WA.