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Tipsoo Lake - August 2020

Daboo

Member
Member
I rode with a friend to Tipsoo Lake on the east side of Mt. Rainier.  I was hoping to reach this pond where many a postcard picture has been taken.  We didn't make it that far.

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We took backroads all the way, only hitting the I-90 freeway for three miles till the next exit. 

Mt. Rainier
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The wildflower season has already peaked there, but in places where the snow melted later you could still see them.
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Tipsoo Lake
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Naches Peak
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Mt. Rainier
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One of the views on the trail.  That's Mt. Adams in the background.
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Mt. Adams
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We didn't make it the whole way to our destination.  My riding buddy looks like he had a bad case of overheating on the trail.  For a couple hours though, we thought he was having a heart attack.  He could barely breathe, couldn't speak.  Light headed.  Tingling in the extremities.  A pulse that was going from 139 to 107 to 139 in seconds.  We had two young ladies, one of whom was in the Coast Guard, stop to help out with the medical training she had.  Another had passed by on the way down the trail, then when she saw one of us going down trying to find a ranger (no cell service), she left her child with one of her children, then went back up the hill with her teenage sons to see what she could do to help out.  It turns out she was a nurse.  When we passed the word to others, they drove to the ranger station and got the word to them for help.  We had three rangers come up the trail to help out (long after their quitting time), with more in the parking lot below if they were needed.

Just a couple thoughts from all that experience.  We tend to think we can do what we could do in our younger, healthier days.  At times like this, the phrase that we'd hear in the old western movies, "Prepare to meet your maker", comes to mind.  And lastly, with all the negative news in the media these days, it was incredibly uplifting to see how people put their own plans to the side to help others.  It gives you faith in the human race.

Chris
 
WOW - Nice pics, any route planning you can share? 

Your ride buddy hope he turned out ok - very scary.  I subscribe to the notions there is far more good in this world than bad so I am not surprised you and your friend received such good, selfless treatment.
 
2andBlue said:
WOW - Nice pics, any route planning you can share? 
Your location shows you in the Northeast area, so I'm not sure how much good route planning would work for you.

Route planning on this was easy and quick.
  • Is the area open?  If you'll notice, the trips I post are generally in the spring, summer and fall.  You can't get to this area on a motorcycle in the winter months, or even in spring before the snow melts.
  • Set Google Maps and Bing Maps to avoid highways.  Then see what it gives you.

Roads on the western side of the Cascade mountains are generally "functional" to my way of thinking.  My suspicion is they were built after paving was common, and before a lot of people came here.  Contrast that with  central Oregon where there are roads that meander every which way...because that's how horse drawn wagons got around.  Those paths were later made into roads when cars came about, and then later paved.

That's a long way of saying there are only a few ways to get north and south in the Puget Sound region that aren't in the suburbs where you encounter one traffic light after another.  And once you get out of the lowlands and into the Cascade foothills, the main roads are unpaved Forest Service Roads that don't connect.

If I totally misunderstood you, please let me know. 

Chris
 
You’re good Daboo thank you for noting nothing intricate needed to plan this area.  I am located northeast US however have an uncommon situation of a blank itinerary for a quickly approaching (2nd / 3rd WK of Sept)10 day motorcycle vacation.

 
2andBlue said:
You’re good Daboo thank you for noting nothing intricate needed to plan this area.  I am located northeast US however have an uncommon situation of a blank itinerary for a quickly approaching (2nd / 3rd WK of Sept)10 day motorcycle vacation.
My bike doesn't have the legs of a Connie.  Or at least it doesn't if pressed hard, like running at 70+ mph with a 20 mph headwind.  So I plan things a bit differrent than others.

I'll usually look at where I want to go and decide how far I want to go.  I don't have a problem with doing a 11-12 hour day.  My "limitation" is simply to get off the road before Bambi comes out to play.  On a long trip, I'll use Google Maps because of its terrain feature and Street View.  I can pick out my route and then see what that looks like.  Sometimes, I'll pick the route among several roads based on the Street View look.

Once the general route is selected, I shift to Bing maps.  You can get gas stations to show up along your route.  Riding in the west, you sometimes need to plan your stops to make sure you have enough gas.  Going over Lolo Pass can be problematic if you don't fill up before you start down that stretch.  It's over 100 miles of wonderful twisty road...but no gas.

Kurviger (https://kurviger.de/en) works well as a planning tool too.  The default is to plan twisty motorcycle-fun roads.  The only limitation I see in it, is it will not route me over a ferry route.  If you know that up front, it isn't a big deal.  And it'll export in just about any format your GPS will use.

Both Bing and Kurviger will also show you attractions along the way.  That's handy for the little known things you might find interesting.  When I planned to go to the Badlands, my "destination" wasn't just the Badlands, but "bucket-list" destinations like Lolo Pass, Yellowstone, Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Highway...and the Badlands. 

If you have questions along this line, it might be helpful for you to simply start a thread and ask for tips.  There are a lot of riders in this group who think nothing about crossing multiple state lines and international borders just to have barbeque with others at a rally.

Chris
 
Absolutely stunning pics, you have a gift with the camera and a good eye and blessed to live in a such a beautiful part of this great Country. I kick myself almost daily for leaving the PNW. I have grown to have a deep dislike for Florida living. After our caregiver duties are finished with my mother and mother in law, we want to relocate. Nice post, as usual. I hope your riding buddy is okay.
 
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