Spent the last two days mountain biking in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Mt. Adams with Aaron and Kendall. 3 rides in two days, it was heaven! Camped at Adams Fork (very nice campground - old growth trees and right on the Cispus river) and rode Blue Lake Ridge, Hamilton Butte and the Valley Trail. Hamilton Butte, at 5500', has a view of Mt. St Helens, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood that can't be beat.

Hamilton Butte is the best of the three for mountain biking - about 3000' of climbing on forest roads, followed by a short hike to the top of the butte, then almost 100% downhill from there back to the road (trail 118). Very fast, relatively smooth downhill. Dusty in parts with whoop-de-doos throughout. The Blue Lake Ridge trail has a lot of grunts but also some great views. Also lots of sections with loose rock in them. Valley trail is pretty tame with only a few grunts and not a lot of real elevation gain or loss. Ride the Valley Trail from South to North and you can ride the road on the uphill for the N-S leg.