Walker Valley Entertainment

[bowhunter007]

I've looked forward to the long drive up to The Walker Valley for months. I finally decided to suck it up & go. As I geared up & prepared to to leave the staging area, a neighboring rider was quizzing me...ability, attitude, knowledge of the area, etc. Upon passing the exam, I was invited to join a group of locals. 10 riders in all, and everyone is friendly, having been gracious enough to invite me along. A farely wide range of ability in rider skills, but everyone seems willing to work, to make sure everyone makes it through in one piece. The trail leader assessed the group & decides we're ok to tackle the "good" stuff. This area is not very big, in terms of mileage. However, the technical sections of single-track are brutal. 20 mi of single-track here, could easily equate 35-40 mi of single-track at my home base in Tahuya(in terms of time & fatigue). I also found out the hard way, why trials tires ARE the prefered traction device here. It was a fanatastic day of riding. I didn't want to waste such a long trip, so I joined a second group after my previous group loaded up and went home. Almost all the trails & then some, that I had ridden earlier, I was now riding the opposite direction. This is a real game changer, as a lot of the trails are much easier(however difficult) in a single direction. I was so tired upon return to the staging area, that I managed to stall my bike within eyesight of my truck. I didn't even try to kick it over. I just pushed it the last 200 ft. On the way home, I stopped at a nearby "Rest Area" for a nap. Today, I am sore as hell(but grinning from ear to ear). I shot about 12 gigs of standard resolution video. I really didn't feel like editing any at this point, so I uploaded this clip, for some entertainment. It really ends at 3:42 but I forgot to turn it off(in my excitement).

http://youtu.be/E7svFBLaPWA

[davedunaway]

Hey Bowhunter, that looks as fun as hell. We used to come down to race at Walker and at Mt baker when it was part of our pnwma circuit. I really miss those tracks. Do you have a contact or a calendar for your race series, would like to come down for a race or two

Dave

Get well Les

[bowhunter007]

I'm certain that there's a calender for the local events, but I've never raced before. I'm just a gnarly single-track junky. It was a ton of fun. I'll probably be sore for a day or two. One guy in our group flipped his CRF over a 15 ft embankment into a creek bed. It took 6 of us, and 40 ft of pull straps 10 min to recover the machine. No visible damage to the bike or the man on it. Maybe 30 min from crash to recovery, after all the photos, video, etc. He rode the undamaged bike away. If you like badass gnarly single-track, Walker has it. I drove nearly 4 hrs round trip for it.