Port Gamble Washington, Bike Trails

I haven't been biking lately and I'm kind of bummed on how busy I've been.  I did bike enough to catch the fall colors and the leaves changing and falling, but I haven't biked recently.

I did want to bring up the backtrails in Port Gamble that connect with the trails we normally get through at Stottelmeyer, the Pope and Talbot trails.

This is a really beautiful way to enter the trails.

It actually makes a very wonderful hike and an easier hiking option if you hike with kids. Just go to the road behind that row of historic houses and the church (if you're heading towards the Floating Bridge from Kingston or Poulsbo, then you'll see Port Gamble and the road will turn left, just take the at first left directly behind the houses to the trail head. There is some parking.

Be especially kind to the residents and make sure not to leave any garbage behind.

This connects into the larger trail system, though on certain days, you can smell the bbq from the new restaurant below and this does not make for enjoyable biking when you are hungry!  Pack snacks!

Happy riding.  Or hiking.

Stottlemeyer Trails Pretty Dry for October

Just went mountainbiking yesterday and it was beautiful!  The weather was warm, perfect, so it wasn't too hot or cold.

All through the ride we kept seeing what I call "Storybook Mushrooms."  Wish I would have stopped to get a photo of one, but this is what they look like:

They have a name: Amanita muscaria (aka "Storybook mushrooms") 


and apparently "primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol." 

The full article on Wikipedia 


Anyway, pretty, but don't lick the mushrooms.  


Also, some volunteers have really cleaned up some of the trails, so not a lot of overgrowth.  Thank you unnamed volunteers!

cougar sighting on Stottelmeyer trails in Poulsbo, Washington

cougar sighting
Originally uploaded by Uncleweed

Okay, this sign is NOT from Stottlemeyer, but I thought it had some helpful info in case you do connect with a cougar while riding.

Here's the gossip (and I call it gossip because I received this info through three people-- the person who saw the cougar told another mt. biker friend who told my husband who told me...)

The story is the person who say the cougar on Stottelmeyer (about a week or so ago) was riding a horse. The cougar ran after her on her horse, then was either spooked or had better things to do and took off.

Since then, a couple friends have been biking up in Stottelmeyer and have seen nothing.

Two weeks ago, I saw a deer (which to me is a good sign that there's no cougar around.)

But I do know it's spring and there are a lot of new babies around, there's a black bear with 2 cubs hanging around The Quiet Place and Stillwaters Environmental and on the Barber Cut-off (I write this in hesitation as I don't want them bothered as I feel we moved into the bear's community and not vice-versa, but also so you can be aware if you were to approach her.)

The mama bear hasn't done anything threatening and just seems to be caring for her cubs and looking for food.

Personally, I love that nature and animals are continuing on even while we develop their homes for our homes. It's also a reminder that we see them more because *we* as humans are taking away their green spaces to live.

Happy riding.

Gibbs lake - chimicum. A great place to ride

Car Break-Ins at Stottelmeyer Parking Lot in Poulsbo Pope & Talbot Trails - February-March 2010

If you bike at Stottelmeyer in Poulsbo, be aware that in the last few weeks there have been some break-ins on the cars, trucks, and horse trailers parked on Stottelmeyer near the trail entrance.

And just unlocked doors, think smashed window.

While the thieves seem to have strange taste for what they take (one took a firefighter's station coat, but left $$ and CDs - maybe they were hurrying?), they seem to be eager to break and take things.

So do not leave your ID, credit cards, purse, cash, or anything of value in your car.  I've been leaving the doors to mine unlocked to show there's nothing to take.

Kind of sad for our small time life, but hard times can equal stupid choices/robbery.

A few memories from Summer Mountain Biking...

Lake Anderson, my REI catalog pose...

Me and my much loved old purple helmet, now gone.

Wet rats, or happy mt bikers who keep going even when we are soaked to the bone...

***

So I have been so bad of keeping up this blog, but I have found so many good mt. biking trails in Kitsap.

Some folks have added a lot of wooden paths and jumps to Stottlemeyer. We've been mt. biking in Kingston near White Horse, a lot of great trails behind the golf course, just follow the paths, but be careful of the grassy areas as there are of a lot of blackberry bushes and they did some damage to my tires (this is under the powerlines).

The sandy areas aren't so fun, but a lot of other great trails.

I've also learned of some trails in Port Ludlow that I want to try out.

Here are some photos of me and a friend at Lake Anderson I believe & the when we got caught in a rainstorm and went down some crazy hill up on stottlemeyer and ended up on Big Valley Road. We were soaked that day.

I hope to get back to reporting where I've been. I'm currently riding a Norco storm and loving it...