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I just finished a 100 mile day trip. I departed Ellensburg and rode down to Selah Washington on the old Durr Toll Road. The Durr Road was built in the late 1800s to haul freight from Yakima to Ellensburg. The road goes over two ridges the Manastash and the Umptanum.
For the most part the route is pretty easy though there a few steep spots and several bad wash outs that can be managed. The worst part of the road is actually the repairs that have been done, large crushed rock 8-14 inch diameter rocks have been put on the road in the wash outs and 4WDs have ripped these areas up by creating deep ruts with large boulders that shift and move when you ride over them. My return trip was via SR 821 the Yakima Canyon. The total time for this ride was just under 6 hours and I stopped for a nice lunch in Selah before heading home.
Here are a few pictures from the ride.
View of Mt Stewart from the Kittitas Valley
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Nice farm house about 3 miles north of Durr Road
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Old Homestead on the Durr Road. The basalt here is so deep that ground wells are impractical to drill (2,000 to 10,000 feet thick basalt). So water is trucked in in lieu of wells.
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Rest Stop and Water Break-You can see Mt Rainier behind the bike mirror.
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Mt Rainier
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I had to cross the Umptanum Creek which flows to the Yakima River. This canyon had quite a bit of vegetation and was the only shady spot on this route.
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Basalt Outcropping
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Mike
For the most part the route is pretty easy though there a few steep spots and several bad wash outs that can be managed. The worst part of the road is actually the repairs that have been done, large crushed rock 8-14 inch diameter rocks have been put on the road in the wash outs and 4WDs have ripped these areas up by creating deep ruts with large boulders that shift and move when you ride over them. My return trip was via SR 821 the Yakima Canyon. The total time for this ride was just under 6 hours and I stopped for a nice lunch in Selah before heading home.
Here are a few pictures from the ride.
View of Mt Stewart from the Kittitas Valley
Nice farm house about 3 miles north of Durr Road
Old Homestead on the Durr Road. The basalt here is so deep that ground wells are impractical to drill (2,000 to 10,000 feet thick basalt). So water is trucked in in lieu of wells.
Rest Stop and Water Break-You can see Mt Rainier behind the bike mirror.
Mt Rainier
I had to cross the Umptanum Creek which flows to the Yakima River. This canyon had quite a bit of vegetation and was the only shady spot on this route.
Basalt Outcropping
Mike
