Whiskey Dick makes for hard riding
My only regret is that we made the mistake of going out here on the opening weekend of elk season! We had planned to do the 20ish mile short loop, ended up doing a 16 mile loop.
We were descending into a portion of the route that would take us through a little creek's valley, but noticed the ridges above it were covered in flecks of orange. That ominous sight coupled with a group of hunters staring through their scopes in the middle of the trail into the valley was enough to convince us to cut our losses and take a shortcut - which happened to cut 7 miles (and many hunters) out of our 20ish mile loop, but left us with the same amount of climbing. Lucky us.
Tubeless tires are going to be your friend out here, the trails are often covered in goatheads - although my friend who was riding with tubed tires only got one flat the whole day.
The rocks on the trail can be pretty big, talking baby head territory here - the fatter your tires the better - and for some downhill sections you've just got to loosen your grip on your bars and trust that speed will get you over them.
There's a few places you're defintely going to have to hike your bike up hill, with sections of 20%+ grade and loose rocks - but what's an adventure ride without some pain?
Front suspention helps a lot, although one of our party was riding an '80s rigid MTB...but he's a monster, so YMMV.
It was pretty hot and sunny even though it was late Oct, so loading up on water is a necessity - at least two water bottles for 15miles.
Temperature changes are rapid in the late fall, don't get caught out there towards evening w/out some warm stuff to put on
Beautiful views, lots of "wild west" scenery, and some terrifyingly fun descents - can't stress enough how much of a fun ride this is if you're looking to really get some classic Eastern WA views.