Green Mountain - Wildcat Lake Trail - Seabeck/Silverdale/Bremerton, Washington

Directions: Holly Road NW, Bremerton - Take Newberry Hill exit off Highway 3; head west; turn left onto Seabeck Holly Road. Turn right onto Holly Road; drive approx. two miles just past Wildcat Lake Park (on your left), the parking lot to the trails is just a bit further on your left.

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On many mountain-biking sites this is marked as "intermediate" and it actually has some very steep uphill climbs that you may have to get off your bike and walk up if you're 1) out of shape 2) not used to steep climbs 3) it's a dry dry day-- even with my bike which is made for this, my wheels were skidding in the dry dirt at certain points 4) it's too rocky for you

The bike winds it way through the wood. The first section is perfect! Lots of turns minor hills and valleys, lots of rollercoastering, some roots, but nothing that should stop you. You then cross over a gravel logging road to part two. It's either part 2 or part three that has this crazy steep hill with "log steps" in place every so often. Even the hikers who were walking back down this said to us as we passed, "We were just talking about how bikes could even get up here..." And um, yes, we walked our bikes up this steep steep part.

If you want to skip this harder part, you can actually just ride up the gravel log road. You'll go right (I believe) there's an old water pump (very cool photo op if you like old things) and there may be a manure smell from the barns, but RIGHT after the old water pump, turn right and you're back on the trail.

Partway through this trail there is a wonko bench at a terrible angle that you can sit on and have a snack. It was way too angled down for me (it's at the top of a hill) and I felt as if I was going to fall off it, so I sat on a rock. Interesting graffiti on the bench.

Going up takes 2 to 3 times longer than going down. Going back down was so much fun! If you have good tires and a mountain bike, you'll make it over the rocks (and there are places with a lot of them) no prob. I went down on my Norco Bushpilot and was fine and felt safe and confident the whole time. My friend who was on a Trek that wasn't hers, didn't feel as safe as the brakes on her bikes were tweaked so they were extremely touchy. She crashed once (no injuries) while learning the sensitivity of the brakes. We ended up switching bikes, and I was fine on that bike (it was muhc lighter than mine and just whipped up the hills, so I loved it.)

Other than that, if you're a beginning to intermediate ride, expect to have to walk your bikes up some parts of this. I would love to know if anyone could ride this whole trail without getting off their bike. I'm sure someone could, just know though, this isn't your Stottlemeyer trail or your beginner trail. The whole trail is mostly uphill and has areas with lots of rocks.

It was highly satisfying, even though I have to admit, we turned back before we hit the vista (supposedly the reason for enduring all this pain up this mountain...) I heard on a sunny day, it's a gorgeous view! Oh and most of the ride is in the shade. It was turning into one of those really warm 90 degree day, but we were able to go until about 2ish when it just got too hot and I needed to make it back home.

Here's a link to more reviews (it gets great reviews on the mountain biker site),



We will definitely be back to master this trail. I think just a little practice is all we need (and cooler weather!)

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Stottlemeyer Trail (or StottlemeTer as the new sign says...) Poulsbo, Washington - Kitsap County Trails

We're trying to figure out why the road is now called Stottlemeter instead of Stottelmeyer, but that's a whole other story. The trails are in Poulsbo, about 15 minutes from the Kingston ferry (by car). Or you can just ride off the ferry, follow the main highway.

Here's a link with a map.

Basically, from the Kingston ferry, just go straight on highway 307 which eventually turns into BOND Road. Take a RIGHT on Stottlemeyer (the sign says STOTTLEMETER currently- 8/15/09) and drive up a bit until you see a parking area on the left. Many times there will be horsetrailers here as horse use this area a lot (watch out for their droppings, bikers). Park your car and the trail begins just up a tad on your right.

Right up the hill and you will see trails beginning on your right. I recommend skipping the first one or two and going up a bit higher.

There is obviously some uphill riding needed, but it's a good trail for both beginner and intermediate. A few bikers have built jumps and trick logs, just look for them as you take the trails, but you can pretty much choose your own difficulty. We've taken our 9 year old daughters here (who have gear bikes) and they too fine.

A few days ago my bike partner and I got completely lost on the trail and ended up taking this steep trail down and winding up in someone's backyard on a private street. We followed the street down to the Big Valley Road, then had to ride up Sawdust Road onto Stottelmeyer to get back to our car. Of course, it was raining, a huge downpour, by the time we returned, so as residents of this area who have ridden this trail before, we suggest bringing a GPS so you don't get lost or just staying on the main dirt trails and avoiding anything that looks too overgrown.

Other things-- bring snacks, a cellphone (there is service for Verizon in these trails if you need help or assistance), and put a "bear bell" on your bike. You can get them at REI for $3 . You can just attach it to your bike. While we have never seen a bear while riding the trails, we have seen their droppings and having lived in Kitsap for 12 years, I've seen bears in my own neighborhood and around so we know they are out here. They don't want to hurt you (I've been up close two a couple bears that I've wandered upon during walks), they just don't want to be surprised by you so it's a good thing to have.

Other things, this trail requires a mountain bike, road bikes would have a terrible time here.

Bring a long sleeve shirt if you get into a place where the trees and bushes are a little too much on the trail.

Watch out for stinging nettles--actually, this is good advice for any place you bike in the Northwest. I've been stung by stinging nettles on my hands and legs more than I want to admit.

Other than that, have fun. This was one of the trails I really learned how to mountain bike on. And if you're in Poulsbo, Kingston, Indianola, Bainbridge Island, or Silverdale, it's easy to find and get to if you want to get out and do some riding. Plus, all the roads around it are gorgeous country settings in case you happen to ride your way out of the trails onto the main roads. Oops. I hope you don't.


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Women Who Mountain Bike

I started this blog because recently I went to find infomation on buying a new mountain bike, specifically for a woman and to read women's opinions and I realized how few websites devote themselves to women mountain biking.

Because of the way my body is porportioned (more on this in a later post about finding the right type of bike for your body) I ended up with a men's or unisex bike by Norco instead of women's line of bikes.

But as I said, in scanning the internet, there was not a lot of info about mountain biking for women so I have created this blog as a resource for women who mountain bike. I welcome comments, guest bloggers who want to post about mountain biking and/or trails or info for their area, and questions.

I am not an expert mountain biker, just someone who loves to do it and who is learning more every time I ride.

I'll posting more info and photos in the upcoming weeks.

Also, since I'm in the Northwest, much of the trail info will be for our area, but I'd love it if other women from around the US (and world) want to offer info on great trail rides for other women mountain bikers.

Watch for more info here soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Kelli