Day 2: Issaquah to Goldmyer Hot Spring

August 17, 2011

The sun was shining when I got away from the motel at 9:15. I took the most direct route to Issaquah-Fall City road, which turned out to be a 12% grade that climbs 500 feet. The first part of Issaquah-Fall City road had a small shoulder and nonstop traffic. I had to wait at least 2 minutes to cross the road at the beginning. Geography makes east-west roads very difficult in this area. The only east-west routes are this road and I-90 a couple miles to the south. Fortunately the traffic dropped off after the road turned away from the town of Sammamish.

In Fall City I turned onto highway 202 towards Snoqualmie and North Bend. The road follows the Snoqualmie river upstream with moderate traffic and a very narrow shoulder. I stopped to look at Snoqualmie falls. It's a popular tourist attraction with a large parking lot and very nice facilities.

The Snoqualmie river drops 268 feet (82 m) at Snoqualmie falls.

Snoqualmie falls and nearby Mount Si were featured in the ethereal opening sequence of the 1990's TV show Twin Peaks. I wonder how many viewers knew that all the outdoor scenes are in suburban Seattle?

The town of Snoqualmie has a huge outdoor railroad museum. Much of the equipment is visible from the highway. I didn't find the town to be very charming, though. 5 miles down the road I had lunch in North Bend which is more charming and has an impressive view of a prominent rock escarpment called Mount Si. I bought a fuel canister at the alpine store (fuel isn't allowed on the train).

A few miles east of North Bend I was finally out of suburban Seattle. No more numbered roads leading to houses hidden in the woods.

The Seattle area is mostly numbered roads.

Today's destination is Goldmyer hot spring which is deep in the forested mountains. The last 21 miles is unpaved and the last 5 miles is closed to motor vehicles.

I pedaled up Middle Fork road which parallels the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river. Pavement ends after about 3 miles, where the county road becomes Forest Road 56. The gravel road was fairly smooth and gently graded for the first 11 miles. The road stays very close to the river but trees are so dense that the river is often invisible when only 20 feet away.

Middle Fork road and the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river.

Threading into the Cascade range along the Middle Fork Snoqualmie river.

21 forested miles of gravel to Goldmyer hot spring.

After crossing Taylor Creek the road becomes much rougher and climbs steeply. 5 miles later the road ends at the Dingford creek trailhead. From here all Goldmyer hot spring visitors must hike or bike another 5 miles. The old road up Dingford creek was easy at first, but eventually I had to push the bike across several washouts filled with boulders. The road ends at a footbridge crossing Dingford Creek. After the footbridge is a half mile of single-track to the Goldmyer hot spring caretaker's cabin.

Crossing Dingford creek 1 mile from Goldmyer hot spring.

I arrived at 5:30 PM and checked in with the caretakers Katie and Will. I was given a very long recitation of the rules, assigned a campsite, and given a food canister to use with the hanging cable at my campsite.

The loud noise of Dingford creek could be heard everywhere in the area. I set up my campsite and had a quick snack. Then I hiked the steep terraced half-mile trail alongside Dingford creek to the actual hot spring which is at 2200 feet elevation, 400 feet above my campsite.

The hot water originates in a cave in the rock escarpment. The largest and deepest pool is the source pool in the cave, with room for maybe 5 people. It's so hot that I could only get in for a few seconds. It's nearly impossible to get a good picture of the cave because it's so dark and the steam is so dense.

Hot water flows out of the cave pool down to a small and shallow pool that is about 105F. Very nice, but only big enough for one person to get mostly immersed, or for two people to sit in shallow water.

Finally the water flows down to the third and lowest pool. It was about 100F and deep enough that I could get fully immersed when laying down.

The cave and lower two pools at Goldmyer hot spring.

Dingford creek is amazing. The gradient is so huge that the creek is sort of a continuous waterfall. The creek is very loud and the hot spring is only 100 feet away.

Dingford Creek 100 feet (30m) from Goldmyer hot spring.

I soaked for about a hour, then went back to the campsite to make dinner. It was great to simply observe and ponder the lush forest surrounding my campsite, and how it contrasts to downtown Seattle 24 hours ago.

My reserved campsite at the Goldmyer hot spring property.

The Goldmyer property is a private in-holding in Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Visitation is limited to 20 people per day-any combination of overnight campers and day visitors. Even though it's deep in the forest, reservations are recommended because it's near a big city. For more information visit their web site at www.goldmyer.org.

Today was a strenuous day-mostly uphill with 21 miles of gravel. But I was rewarded with a soak at a "new" hot spring and a campsite in an enchanting old growth forest.

Distance: 49.9 mi. (80 km)
Climbing: 3255 ft. (986 m)
Average Speed: 8.5 mph (13.6 km/h)
Hiking: 1.5 mi. (2.4 km)

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 67 miles (108 km)

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