Duo tackles JW trail to scout route for trestle ride

Fred Wagner, left, and Chris Smith, Tekoa’s bicycle scout duo on the John Wayne Trail, started their cross-state ride Sunday at North Bend and advanced as far as Othello by Tuesday. They plan to finish at Tekoa Friday night.

Tekoa’s exploratory bike riding duo, Fred Wagner and Tristan Smith, advanced as far at the Othello area Tuesday after three days on the state’s John Wayne Trail.

The two mountain bike riders are pacing their cross-state ride to the arrive under the Tekoa trestle Friday night.

They will appear as an honor entry in Tekoa’s Slippery Gulch parade Saturday morning The Tuesday stint on the trail was reported to be a long, dry pull up a grade from the Columbia River to the Othello area.

Wagner and Smith have been accompanied by Pete Martin, Whitman County coroner and retired Tekoa physician’s assistant.

This weeks cross-state ride evolved out of plan by Tekoa residents to install decking for the Tekoa trestle, a long-time feature on Tekoa logos and part of the former Milwaukee railroad system.

Since the John Wayne trail was founded the trestle has been blocked off and never actually used as part of the state trail.

Tekoans have targeted decking the trestle after residents last year climbed up and the trestle and decorated it with Christmas lists.

Wagner, Smith and Martin have been funded on this week’s cross-state trip by approximately $3,800 generated May 29 in a fundraiser hosted by Ted and Debra Blaszak at their Tekoa Mansion on Howard Street.

Ted Blaszak is president of the Tekoa Trestle & Trail Association.

The association earlier this year opted to sponsor an exploratory ride across the state as a sort of “Lewis & Clark expedition” to develop Tekoa knowledge of just “what’s out there.” Results of this week’s ride will go into the hopper as the group decides to next hear sponsor a cross-state challenge ride as a fund raising for decking the trestle next year.

The three Tekoans received a sendoff at Saturday at E’Clair’s in Tekoa.

They then drove to Cle Elum and scouted out parts of the pending ride.

Sunday they drove over Snoqualmie Pass and began the eastbound ride on the start of the trail east of North Bend.

The trail, also known as Iron Horse State Park on the west side of the state, goes up the former Chicago, St. Paul & Milwaukee grade which roughly accompanies Interstate 90 along the hills on the south side.

Wagner and Smith made the climb in good time and arrived at the west end of the 2.3 mile Snoqualmie tunnel, the elevation high point for the trial.

“One thing they found out is that it’s very cold inside that tunnel, and on Sunday the wind was really blowing through there,” Martin reported.

The two Tekoa riders went into the tunnel after riding in 70-plus temperatures up the grade.

The east exit of the tunnel, which goes beneath the Snoqualmie ski resort, is at Hyak.

From there the trail goes down the south side of the Keechelus reservoir to Easton State Park.

The riders stayed at Cle Elum again Sunday night and then continued downgrade on the trial which crosses under I-90 past Cle Elum and continues down the Yakima River to Ellensburg.

They advanced as far at Kittitas on the second day.

Tuesday they crossed back under I-90 near the top of the Vantage grade, and then rode another barren part of the trail which descends down to the Columbia River at Beverly which is located downstream from Vantage and just below Wanapum Dam Martin said the descent down to the river is another bleak part of the trail where the former Milwaukee rail bed has been pounded into said soil.

The stint includes the desolate Boylston tunnel which carries an advisory warning sign at the entrance.

The segment of the trail is actually part of the Army’s Yakima Firing range and requires a sign-in book for riders who cross it.

At Beverly, the trio checked out the long-idle trestle across the Columbia.

Trail users for years have been allowed to cross the Columbia at Wanapum Dam, but that option has been restricted because of construction at the dam.

Martin reported they discovered about 100 feet of the railroad ties on the Columbia trestle at some time have been destroyed by fire.

“It looks like it somehow caught fire, and somebody put it out and it’s been like that ever since,” Martin said.

Martin noted their inspection of the long Columbia trestle makes the goal of decking the Tekoa seem a lot more possible.

A former state parks administrator at one time told the Gazette decking the Columbia trestle has been estimated to cost $1 million.

“That’s $1 million we just don’t have,” he added.

At Beverly, the Tekoans started the grade climb out of the Columbia on what is known at the Crab Creek part of the trail.

Martin reported at the top of the desolate grade, which closes to be along Highway 26 in the Royal City area, they discovered the Milwaukee rail line in still in place starting at about 10 miles west of Othello.

“It’s called the Royal Railroad, or something like that,” Martin said.

Wednesday the trio planned to chart a rural road route along the railroad at far as the Warden area and then Wagner and Smith will ride the trail to Lind and Ralston.

They also have to detour off the trail east of Ralston and get back on it at Marengo in Adams County.

Thursday agenda call for a ride from Marengo to Revere and then up the grade to the Ewan area.

They plan a stay at Badger Lake Thursday and then make the ride across Whitman County along Rock Lake and then to Pine City, Malden, Rosalia, Pandora, Lone Pine and then to Tekoa.