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Greet scenery. narrow trails end the odd bit of rock can be found on Thronson Ridge. Trail riding east of Swauk Pass How to get there By James LeBear May 18, 1980 is a day that dirt bikers in the state of Washington won't soon forget. On that morning Mt. St. Helens, in a shattering volcanic erruption, covered some of the finest riding in the Northwest with eight inches of gritty volcanic ash. Ninety miles to the north'east. the town of Ellensburg was in total darkness at high noon. 34 As luck would have it, we were trail riding 20 miles west of town and just outside the heavy ash cloud. With the (hopefully) temporary loss of the beautiful trails in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, we've had to look elsewhere for places to ride. Fortunately we have found some good ones. Although there are several locations in the Central Cascades with good t, trails, most riding takes place in the Taneum and Little Naches areas. Few riders are aware of the excellent trail system east of Swauk Pass. The riding here is interesting, but not impossible for the average rider. For those who like mountain scenery, there is plenty of it. At Mission Peak one can see both the snow-covered Mt. Stuart to the West and the Columbia River in the eastern Washington desert. It isn't too hard to put together an 80-mile trail ride, 80% on forest trails and the rest on dirt roads. Riding will continue to improve with time as Wenatchee National Forest continues to build trails with state ORV Funds. Take State Highway 97 out of Cle Elum and drive to the top of Swauk Pass. At the top of the pass turn right on Forest Road #2107. go four miles and turn left on Road #2100. (The next couple of miles are steep narrow mountain road. Better check it out before attempting the climb with a motor home.) The top is another 1. 7 miles where Road #2008 approaches from the right; stay on Road #2100 for another 0.6 mile. On the left side of the road there is a good spot to camp and also our starting point. We set our speedometers on zero and started down the road. At MP (mile point) 0.5 the faint trail to the left (uphill) is hard to find, but we managed to spot some ancient blazes. A short steep pitch took us to the ridge top, 6,000 feet above sea level. One has to keep a sharp eye here because the old trail has actually grown dim from lack of use. At two miles out, the trail got a bit rocky, . nothing serious, just a few softball-sized marbles. Fifty feet to the left is a sweeping view of Swauk Creek Canyon. The Swauk is gold mining country, country that to practiced hands still yields up grains of the yellow metal. Histroy buffs may want to take time to visit the old towns of Liberty and Blewett. At MP 2.6 we intersect Road #2100, go left O. I miles then go left again on Tronson Meadow Trail #1205. We stayed on the two track trail and climbed an open ridge with picturesque rock formations and a breathtaking view ofthe Stuart Range. Take time to stop and enjoy! Carry a camera and you won't regret it. MP 4.4 marks the junction with Tiptop - Mt. Lillian Trail. We turned left on to a handlebar-wide mountain trail for some serious riding. The blue and white triangular sign said: "Your Washington ORV funds at work." Happily we found plenty of evidence to support that statement. Th~ next 12 miles are a pure pleasure to ride - even if it was all downhill. Wenatchee National Forest is making an outstanding effort to see that trailbilte riders have a decent opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreation. They made a few mistakes all right - like two new switchbacks that made us think they were built for Bernie Schreiber. My guess is that it won't take them long to find out what mere mortals can negotiate feet up. Poi!1t is that it's damned refreshing to find government people with the professional competence to give dirt bikers the same consideration other recreationists get. Nuff saidl We followed a rocky ridge covered with Tammarack and Douglas Fir, then dropped off on to a very rocky open hillside. In some places the original trail was blasted out of solid rock. Even so, the new surface is easy riding. Twenty or SO miles to the northwest, patches of snow still remain on the higher peaks of the Stuart Range, a grim reminder of the coming winter. A time Northwesterners can either slog through the rain or throw another log on the andirons and kick back in an easy chair with a copy of Cycle New•. Two thousand vertical feet below, cars on Highway 97 looked like ants. At MP 7.9 we intersect the old sandhill sheep driveway and hang a sharp right on Trail #122!l. After winding through ponderosa pines along the ridge top we drop off on the northside and for the next couple of miles switch back through golden tammarack. Downhill switchbacks can get to be tiring, but these really feel like they were built for dirtbikers. At Red Hill we nearly ran into a herd of squirrels... on foo-foo bikes. Three in all, one- in a helmet, none with gloves, and two in tennis shocs. Don't know how they got this far and it didn't seem wise to stick around and find OUt how they plan to get down. Oh well, everyone has to learn sometime. At MP 1!l.0 we bear right and follow an old skid road. At MP 1!l.6 cross a logging road and continue. At MP 15.9 in the bottom of the canyon, the trail intersects Road #2205. According to the map we have lost 4,000 feet of elevation in the 1st II miles. One thing to remember about Forest Service Roads in the state of Washington - they are classed as "public roads" and your scooter has to be more or less "street legal," i.e., headlight, tail light, mirror, license plate, etc. At MP 17.7 we turned right on Rd. #2204 and at MP 20.5 Mission Cr. Trail #1220 bears to the right. At MP 20.6 it's a choice between Mission Ridge Trail on the left or Mission Creek Trail on the right. We pick the creek. The next seven miles are "perch· ed" on a steep sidehill, often naJTC?W r-:ith...