Navigate: Top -->The Ogre's Clan -->15th Anniversary Tour -->Iron Horse Trail Day 1

After camping in a Tinkam campground (just east of North Bend Washington) we set out for the trail. The start of the days was cloudy and a touch wet with a light drizzle on our tents in the early morning and as we drove up the hill. By the time we started riding the rain had pretty much finished but it was still chilly and a bit breezy. None of us had really packed warm riding clothes and I was in shorts and short sleeves.

We started at the Eastern side of the Snoqualami Pass (Exit 54 then turn left and follow the signs to the trailhead) there are some great bathrooms with showers at that trailhead. The entrance to the Snoqualami tunnel was less than 5 minutes from the trailhead. My light wasn't charges (oops) and one of the other lights was burried in our luggage somewhere so we all shared two bike mounted lamps and a handheld flashlight. Within 5 minutes of the entrance the tunnel is pitch black.

One of the odd things about the tunnel is the fact that it is also a 'live' cave. There are tons of leaks in the roof of the tunnel and these leaks are forming into semi-natural cave features. There are small stalagtites and curtains growing from the ceiling in places. I imagine in 150 years or so there will be an impressive display.

On the far side of the tunnel the rain started picking up again (as did the protests from the girls). We pressed on and the rain was on and off for most of the ride down the hill. After about 13 miles I turned back uphill to go and get the van while Char and the kids went on to the next trailhead at Exit 38 (I think this might be the Twin Falls Trailhead).

Since the grade is only 2% on railroad beds the uphill wasn't bad and I was able to keep a good pace the entire time which was a good thing because it rained the entire climb. By the time I made it to the car I was soaked and my toes were numb.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

This unimpressive entrance hides a 2.3 mile train tunnel. It's hard for the brain to wrap around the idea of being in a tunnel that long but consider this, it took us over 20 minutes to get from the entrance to the far side. The inside of the tunnel is cold and wet. It is also a 'live' cave with stalagtites and stone curtains growing from the ceiling. There is one spot where the water has moved past the 'drip' stage and into the small waterfall stage.

After completing the tunnel we stopped for a minute in front of this little waterfall on the far side.

A view of the West Side of the tunnel and the waterfall next to it.

One of the reasons I really wanted to come to this trail was the fact that many of the tressles and tunnels were still in tact. Here is the view looking down from the first tressle we encountered.

The scale of these things just blows the mind. It is also cool that it curves.

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