6.9.10

Arlington, WA

They are a' working away on the nine mile extension of the Centennial Trail out of Arlington.

The approach to the Stillaguamish River bridge in Arlington has been cleaned up and blacktopped. The bridge is decked over. Guard rails are under construction.

We intercepted a section of new blacktop at the Lake Armstrong Rd. xing. We then drove up Rt. 9 to see what we could see. Some miles of blacktop are in along the road. Some sections missing.

They appear to be up to the RR crossing on 9 at 271st St NE. At that point it looks like rough grading and there is equipment parked there. Wonder if all the rain has kept the heavy stuff out of the woods till the ground firms up.

We drove to the northern trail head to find new signs, a new gate and not much else going on. This is swamp country. There is a tarn next to the entrance road that put one in mind of Poe - "the dank tarn of Auber in the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir."

Will they be done by November 2010? Stay tuned.


Ride on,

TrailBear

Ready to ride the new nine miles.

The Arlington Art Trail – beyond the Centennial

7/22/2009

The delightful Centennial Trail ends at the Anmar Trailhead on 67th Ave NE. What about the trail to the north shown on the TrailLink map? ToolBear took GPS and bike and set out to discover what was there.

He found out: not that good a ride. Perhaps someday when the Centennial is extended into town, but not this month.

From Anmar north there is a 1.2 mile gap called 67th Ave. – a busy two lane road with no shoulder. Good luck with the logging trucks. They love bikies. (Really, they do.)

Out of traffic trail riding beings again at the intersection of 67th and Hwy 531 (172nd). GPS: 48d09.127’n x 122d08.422’w. From here to the north, on the east side of 67th Ave is a wide blacktop multipurpose trail that runs two miles northward. You can follow it on Google Earth. On the ground – well, there is no signage on these trails and not much in facilities.

At the intersection of 67th and 204th the nice blacktop trail stops. Across the intersection you go, following 67th around the curve until you see the RR tracks closing in on the right. Unless you like to play in traffic, head up onto the RR embankment. There is a nice and compacted gravel track to the west of the tracks.

Take it north to the Rt. 9 overpass at Lebanon St. Down off the embankment, under the overpass and right there, across Lebanon St., is the start of what TB calls the Arlington Art Trail. GPS: 48d11.436’n x 122d 07.700’w. You can easily follow it on Google Earth.

It’s a nice blacktop track (5/5) with bits of art scattered the length of it. The first thing you hit is the porch glider. Give it a try. The area ahead looks like it was the old Arlington RR Depot with assorted tracks.

Now it is Legion Park (GPS: 48d11.603’N x 122d 07.613’W). Not much for facilities. Parking and picnic, yes. Need a restroom or water, better start looking. However, it’s all you get for an in-town trail head. Dream of the day when the Centennial comes to town and we can do a seamless ride from Snohomish all the way to Arlington for ice cream, beer, food and souvenir T shirts. ( You can do it now. The merchants are standing by. Check out the funky downtown right there.)

From Lebanon St. the trail winds through town for 0.7 miles to end suddenly at the intersection of RR St. and W. Haller Ave. (GPS: 48d 112.054’N x 122d 07.639’W). It’s very hard to get up to speed because of all the street crossings. There is enough cross traffic that running the crossings is a Bad Career Move. Who wants to be a hood ornament?

From the trail end you can head north on RR Ave. to Haller Bridge Park on the river. This can be your northern trail head. Here be parking, water, restrooms and the rest. Enjoy the river right there.

Bottom line: Should you commute to do these bits of trail. Not really. The Centennial – yes!

However, if you just finished the Centennial at Anmar, load the bike in the car, head up to Legion Park in Arlington and go exploring. We are told that the county owns the RR bed up into Darrington, so dream of the day when the rail trails meet in Arlington and we can ride, ride, ride.

Rating on the ToolBear Triple Trail Scale (1-5): Facilities 2, Trailbed 3-5, Scenery 2-4

ToolBear

Centennial Trail – Anmar to Lake Cassidy **** 4 Stars/5

7/22/2009

Another fun ride on the Centennial Trail in Snohomish County sandwiched into a shopping trip.

This time ToolBear turned the crew out at 06xx hours and was departing the Anmar Trailhead at the north end of the trail at 0840 - in time to catch the shade and cool morning air on the climb. Plug in the Creative Zen mp3 player, strap on the helmet and go. Bob Segar’s “Fire Inside” is first up.

From Anmar (N48d 08.099 x W122d 08.416, E: 125’) the trail heads south to the Wade Trailhead (N48d 07.641 x W122d 08.236’). Then it begins a steady climb along the west side of the ridge to top out at the Route 9 underpass at 343’. The nice thing about railroad grades is the steady grade. Just find the right gears and go for it. You will find the occasional bench along the way and a picnic table overlook with valley view at N48d 06.090’ x W 122d 07.943’.

The trail from the Route 9 underpass to Lake Cassidy is flattish. You are up on the plateau now. At 84th NE St. you find the answer to how to get trail traffic across a busy road. The trailistas have their very own stop signal/pedestrian crossing.

The trail gates at 84th are not ones ToolBear would run. He walked the bike over with the light. (Check out the picture of logging truck going full bore across the trail. That’s why.) You can stop at the trail head at 84th. It’s one of the lesser ones – gravel parking lot and a portable toilet (N48 04.304 x W122 06.119) . There are better places to stage from.

From 84th, it’s a short hop to Lake Cassidy. They call this a trail head, but not really. Trail heads are accessible by car. Yes, there are two handicap parking spaces there at the lake. These are accessed by a private lane (105 NE Ave.) and there is a gate across the lane beyond the homes, so driving in might be a bit of a problem. Let’s call this a Destination for trail users, and a rather nice one. Smart of them to exclude cars. Can you imagine the keggers at the lake here? With no cars, it’s clean and uncrowded.

Time for a snack and a few pix at the lake, then it’s back down to Anmar to resume trail research on the Arlington end of the Centennial (The in- town trail do not connect yet – Anmar is the north end. See my review.)

Once past the Rt. 9 underpass it’s time to put the hammer down. It’s downhill time. ToolBear has it in 3x8 and is seeing what he can do downhill on the descent. Which seems to be 18-20 mph.
The trail runs in forest. The air is still cool and the trail shady. Der Bear is having fun.

Too soon he is back at Wade Trailhead and then Anmar. Pack up the bike and head up the road to survey the Arlington art trail and that section of 12’ wide blacktop from 172nd to 204th, then off to go shopping.

Today the Centennial is a seamless ride from Snohomish to Anmar. Someday it might be a seamless ride into downtown Arlington - where they can sell you beer and lattes and food. Let us hope. Rumor Mill: A local tells Der Bear that the missing link is tied up in a SEPA review with the state. He also noted that the county owns the rail bed from Arlington up to Darrington. Now, that would be a nice trail. Be nice for Arlington if they were the hub for two trails. $$$

STATS...
Milage: 6.81 up x 2. Max speed up: 15.1. Average speed up: 9.5. Max speed down: 20.2. Average speed down: 12.7. Bike: SwissBike LX folding mountain bike. GPS: Garmin GPS Map 60 Csx Rider: The ToolBear, a Geezer. Trailbed – all blacktop, appx. 12’, and in excellent condition. Very smooth. A 4 on the 5 scale.

ToolBear