Trail Highlight: Skills Park at North Mountain, Darrington (featuring Tom Vale's remix of the Backstreet Boys)
This week's trail highlight comes from Tom Vale, Evergreen Member for over 10 years, and top contributor to our Ride Reports. He has recently begun writing his reports in tune to songs we know and love. Call it a Ride Report Remix. Keep reading to sing the song with us and get the scoop on the North Mountain Skills Park!
TRAIL DESCRIPTION:
Evergreen partnered with the State of Washington and DNR to transform Darrington's North Mountain into a mountain bike destination, with a skills park at the base of North Mountain which opened in 2017, and a wide variety of singletrack across the larger trail system. North Mountain delivers on a post Oso Landslide promise to help spur economic activity in and around Darrington.
LOCAL CHAPTER:
Cascades to Sound
DIFFICULTY RATING:
Varies (Green, Blue, Black)
TRAIL SONG:
Larger Than Life by the Backstreet Boys
Ride Report by Tom Vale:
Sorry that I'm putting another ride report in for the Skills Park but it has the best draining trails in Western Washington! The snow is gone so the dirt is wonderful. Sing this report to the Back Street Boys song in the title....
I may go and ride
When the weather is safe, alright
And let me show you trails
Black diamonds or blue squares, alright
All of our time spent as bikers in flight
All you bikers can't you see, can't you see
How suspension changes capability
When we hit the flow
Air time will excite
Good bikes make you larger than life
Looking at the crowds
Watching Red Bull Rampage runs, c'mon
Wishin' I could ride them in that high level way, c'mon
'Cause time spent on our bikes keeps us alive
All you bikers can't you see, can't you see
How suspension changes capability
When we hit the flow
Air time will excite
Good bikes make you larger than life
'Cause time spent on our bikes keeps us alive
All you bikers can't you see, can't you see
How suspension changes capability
When we hit the flow
Air time will excite
Good bikes make you larger than life
Yeah, When we hit the flow
Yeah, Air time will excite
Yeah, good bikes make you larger than life
All you bikers can't you see, can't you see
How suspension changes capability
When we hit the flow
Air time will excite
Good bikes make you larger
Good bikes make you larger
Good bikes make you larger than life
--
Thanks, Tom, for the creative ride report! Hope to hear you on the mic at a karaoke bar with this one.
ACCESS
From Darrington, turn left to follow Highway 530 north (signed "east" at the intersection) for one mile. After passing the Darrington ranger station on the left, follow the sign for the Whitehorse Community Park - a left turn off Highway 530 onto North Mountain Road, then stay on the main road, ignoring multiple spur roads, for 10.5 miles to the gate. If it's unlocked, it's just another 1.5 miles to the lookout.
