by Andy Dappen
Article in partnership with The Wenatchee World. Forty for Forty: Recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust with 40 stories about lands the Land Trust has protected and kept open for public access.
Honor the old; teach the young. I’m thinking about this proverb when I challenge the Desmarais twins, age 33, to a race in the Sage Hills. The twins are two of our more impressive and successful regional adventure-racing athletes involved in long trail runs or multi-day bike rides. They have run from the Colchuck Lake Trailhead to the top of Aasgard Pass in under 90 minutes; for a time they held the speed record for the Enchantments thru-hike (3 hours, 36 minutes); they have been on the podium for 50-kilometer trail races; and they have placed in or won such bike rides as the Cross Washington, a 690-mile-long mountain-bike traverse.
As a 70-year-old who has never competed in long races, I’m no match for endurance athletes who are half my age, but there is a hitch to the race I’ve proposed that could make me the hero of my own story and maybe even teach the twins that aging need not be feared – I’ll be on a mountain bike while they race on foot. Furthermore, I’ve chosen the circuit we’ll use and have picked trails that climb neither too steeply nor too much. I hope the route won’t have me lagging too far behind on the uphill and will see me breaking away on the downhill.
Only one of the twins, Niles, has a schedule overlapping with mine but he, too, is curious about how an old mountain biker will stack up against a young trail runner and has taken a shine to the project. On a weekday morning, we meet at Kenzie’s Landing in Wenatchee and review a map I’ve prepared with two possible courses. The first, an eight-mile circuit, climbs only 1200 vertical feet and follows smooth, wide trails, making it particularly bike friendly. The second is nine miles long, covers much of the same ground but adds an additional 500 vertical feet of climbing and then loses most of that extra elevation on a technical trail where running may be just as fast as riding. Niles recognizes the advantage of the second course and opts for it.
And then we’re off. As we climb up the Maiden Lane Trail to Three Trail Saddle, Niles is moving like a hare. I’m pushing a gear that’s several shifts above my granny gear and feel like I’m moving quickly, but Niles is two minutes ahead by the end of the first mile. “Patience,” I whisper. “You’ll reel him in later on the downhill.”
When I reach the portion of the course giving true advantage to the runner, I downshift into my granny gear. Confidence falters seriously when I look far up the hill and see Niles is already near the end of the climb I’m just beginning. He’s easily got ten minutes on me, maybe more. “How is that possible?” I wonder. “What kind of X-Man is this guy?”
Still, I know that beyond this climb, there’s 1.5 miles of flat trail as well as a long downhill plunge on a dirt road. Here bike gears and gravity will offer ascendancy over human mutancy.
When these favorable sections of trail and road finally arrive, the tortoise sprouts wings and flies. Nonetheless I find Niles nowhere along the flat Lone Fir Spur as I traverse to the Horse Lake Trailhead. That leaves me completely reliant on the descent of Horse Lake Road to catch up. Traveling at twice the speed that any mortal runs, I round corner after corner expecting that I’ll hear the slap of Niles’ footfalls as I roll past him. Time after time I round the corners with no one to pass.
Near the very bottom of the descent I finally see Niles and hope floats… like a stone. He’s roughly two minutes ahead and is already on the uphill traverse of the Balsamroot Trail leading back to the finish at Kenzie’s Landing. The two miles he has yet to cover is predominately uphill and, so far, this wing-footed Mercury has thrashed me on every trail that gains elevation. But he’s enjoyed none of the gravity assist that helped me over the past several miles. Having pounded out every single step, perhaps he’s pushed himself into the red zone and is about to implode. I keep the gearing higher than what I normally choose and crank. As I round each curve I hope to catch sight of a bedraggled Niles, tongue hanging low, body staggering slowly onward.
By the last bend, however, it’s the older man whose tongue hangs. Niles is seated in the shade of the shelter at the trailhead, looking relaxed and fresh. He smiles and glances at his watch as I roll in. I’m six minutes shy of being the hero of my own story. Hubris gives way to humility as I congratulate him on such an impressive performance. Another proverb comes to mind and spreads a shadow over my own performance: Age does not provide sense, it only makes one slow.
Details: Old Biker vs. Young Runner
Concocting cockamany schemes with friends is a fun way to elevate your quality of life while enjoying the wild lands and trails surrounding us in Central Washington.
Access. To enjoy this particular outing, drive southwest on Maiden Lane through the Broadview housing development in Wenatchee. Park at the very end of Maiden Lane at Kenzie’s Landing Trailhead.
Trip Instructions. For mountain bikers who are not racing, the best way to complete a ride following most of our circuit is to enjoy the 8-mile loop referenced early in this story in reverse. From Kenzie’s Landing, ride the Balsamroot Trail north to Horse Lake Road (2 miles), climb this road to the Horse Lake Trailhead (2.4 miles), follow the Lone Fir Spur south to Gut Saddle (2 miles), ride southeast on the Sage Hills Trail through ‘The Gut’ to Three Trail Saddle (0.9 mile), turn left and head north down the Maiden Lane Trail back to Kenzie’s Landing (0.7 mile).
Distance: 8 miles. Elevation Gain: 1,200 vertical feet.
Allowed. Mountain biking, trail running, hiking, dogs on leash (scoop their poop).
Not Allowed. No motorized use, camping, campfires, hunting, shooting, plant removal, off-trail travel, or littering.
Land Ownership. This outing spans lands owned by the Land Trust and the Chelan PUD. It also uses an unpaved county road.
Maps. See this map at WenatcheeOutdoors (https://wenatcheeoutdoors.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Sage-Hills-Outings.jpg) or this one at CalTopo.com
(https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=47.45048,-120.39757&z=15&b=mbt)
Andy Dappen is the founder of the WenatcheeOutdoors.org website and a former board member of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust.
