Wow, was it hot last weekend. I mean, not just "I'm kind of sweaty" hot, but "I think I'm about to pass out from heat stroke" hot. I actually felt chills at one point when I knew the temp was about 100, so I knew something was wrong.
Aaron, Konrad and I rode Devil's Gulch near Cashmere, starting with the Red Devil trail as the road to the normal parking lot was closed. Red Devil is 800' of climbing and descent over 5 miles - a great addition. From the intersection of Red Devil and Devil's Gulch, we rode up the Devil's Gulch trail arguing about how much harder the trail was than the road. I say 30% minimum, and those guys were trying to tell me "not much harder". That was at the beginning of the climb. By the time we reached the intersection of Devil's Gulch and Mission Creek trails, about 9 miles up, we were almost out of water and did not opt for the summit. The trail is a bit dusty and some sections are starting to erode (where it cuts the ridge in a steep section and has lots of rocks). The creek crossings were a blessing after going through sections that felt like a blast furnace. We also had the strange experience of an old-growth tree snapping and blocking the trail in the hour between passing that point on the way up and getting back to it on the way down. Photo attached.
Saturday night was cocktails at the Stever's near Salmon la Sac, and Sunday dawned as hot as Saturday. John joined us at 11 for the climb up Kachess Ridge (the road, not the trail), and thank god, as I about passed out again during that sufferfest. Made the summit in about 90 minutes and had a great downhill - trail in great shape and all in the shade. Lots of roots, rocks and switchbacks on that trail - no time to rest.
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