Capitol Forest - Mt Molly Loop/ Molly Porter #3 trail question

[TacomaSailor]

Is there a trail around/above the BIG washout on the Mt Molly Porter #3 trail at the top of Potosi Creek? I road up there three times in August/September 2011 and could find no way around the washout. I tried it coming from the north on C4000/C4500 and from the south on the Mt Molly Porter #3 trail. Coming from the south - I did a hike-a-bike up the hillside from Mt Molly Porter #3 to the Mt Molly Loop trail to head back south again but that HAB section was not so much fun.

Is there any way around the washout?
Are there any plans to connect Mt Molly Porter#3 back to C4000/C4600 by putting a trail in above the washout and below C4000?

Another way to ask the question is how do I do the rideatoptobottom loop in the Ride Guide with the washout in the middle?

[sunoly]

Ride 6 and 8 instead.

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[TacomaSailor]

Mima Porter 8 and Green Line 6 are fun and I ride them a lot.

But - there is a nice loop starting on the C Line where Mt Molly crosses - take Mt Molly Loop up to the washout and if possible onto C4500 - then down C4000 to Molly Porter 3 on the west side of Larch and Capitol Peak - then back up #30 to CP and down GL6 to Fall Creek then up MP8 to CLine and back down CLine to the car parked at C Line/Mt Molly

There are many nice loops to make in Capitol Forest and I'd like to try the Mt Molly - MP3 - 30 loop.

[kitsapracing]

6 and 8 are sweet. You can't go wrong with those. Enjoy !

[sunoly]

Start at McKinney on 6 and ride to 20. Follow to 8. 8 to 10. 10 to 6. 6 back to McKinney. Great quick 14 or so ride.

Just say no to Moto trails.

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[DRSpalding]

What are conditions like currently? We are first timers for Capitol Forest and are looking for a mid-sized loop for tomorrow. We can leave Redmond, WA by 10ish but have to be back by 6:00PM. So, a east side access is probably the best for us.

The one above from sunoly looks interesting but may be a bit short on elevation gain. How about the "Jackson's Loop", which goes from Fall Creek on Mima Porter #8 to Trail #30, Green Line #6 along the ridge and back down to Fall Creek. That is about 15 miles too but has 3000' of elevation gain according the map on capitolforest.com. It has about the same length but goes nearly to the top of Capitol Peak, which I suspect we will climb up to anyway if we go up there.

Any help or thoughts appreciated!

[Agate]

That's a good loop, and shouldn't take more than a few hours. #8 is a good climb up to Wedekind, and #6 from the ridge to Fall Creek is the Super D course, which is a lot of fun. I probably wouldn't bother going up to the peak. Not likely to be a view tomorrow, and it's just a ride up a steep gravel road to some radio towers otherwise.

Conditions were great a few weeks ago, but I'd guess it's a bit more dusty now. Still, should be good for you.

[TacomaSailor]

DRSpalding

a week ago today everything was very dry and dusty - great riding

I can send you a couple kmz or gpz files that show some great routes I have done recently - all in the 18 - 23 mile 3000' to 4000' climbing.

I highly recommend starting at MimaFalls trailhead (44 miles from Hwy 16/I-5) and taking GL6 up and down to where it crosses Fall Creek and then taking Mima Porter 8 back to Mima Falls. 18.5 miles MapMyRide says 2200' climbing - my GPS said 4025' climbing

Or - Start at the intersection of the C Line Road and Mt Molly Loop (965') and take the road up to GL6 (about 1.2 miles) - GL6 down to Fall Creek - MimaPorter 8 up to Wedekind and follow it to where it drops down into Hell Creek - turnaround and ride back on MP8 to Wedekind - take #30/GL6 toward Capitol Peak. Then GL6 down to the CLine road and back to the car 33 miles and about 4500' of climbing - GL6 and MP8 are both really fast smooth tracks.

Let me know if you want the files

[DRSpalding]

Thanks! PM sent with my email address.

Mima Falls is probably a bit faster/easier to get to for us being a bit time constrained too. But the GL#6 down from the ridge to Fall Creek sounds intriguing too. It's good to have a couple of options--my buddy and I can discuss it on the road in the morning.

The 33 mile loop may be a bit much for us in the timeframe we have available, but I'll keep that on the list of things to do for later!

I suspect that there is a little dampness happening too--we got some drizzle up here today and perhaps the dust is settled a bit.

[sunoly]

Start at Mima Falls on 8. Ride past Fall Creek on 8 to 50. 50 to 6. 6 back to Fall Creek. Keep going on 6 to 10. 10 to 8 and then back to Mima Falls. Long and hilly. All single track.

[DRSpalding]

Thanks all. All that we have to figure out now is whether to take the loop out of Mima Falls TH clockwise or counter-clockwise!

[sunoly]

Either way is good. Clockwise saves a big climb on 6 after fall creek for the end.