After doing RAMROD solo and a number of different rides in the park, I had wanted to do a ride linking Paradise, Chinook, Sunrise, and Cayuse Passes in a single ride. With the Stevens Canyon road recently reopened and a second baby on the way, I decided this summer was my opportunity to do it.
I parked outside the Grove of the Patriarchs entrance and started a little after 8am with a loop down to Packwood, up Skate Creek Road, up to Paradise and down to the car. This was about 60 miles with 5,000 feet of climbing. I tried to keep the pace reasonable, knowing I had a long day ahead of me. I took about 4:15 for this section.
After a nice half-hour break at the car for lunch with my shoes off, I donned another layer of sunscreen and headed up toward Chinook Pass. I felt pretty good on this, still trying to pace myself but with my heart rate about 20bpm higher than on the Paradise climb in the morning with the day heating up. After about 1:45 of climbing, I was at the top and it was decision time. If my legs had been smoked, I would have been able to coast back down to the car, but I decided I felt good enough to go for the full ride to Sunrise and back.
Sunrise from the Ranger’s Station was another 1:40 of climbing, but I made it without too much difficulty. Just a few cramp twinges here and there. I fueled back up at Sunrise and prepared for what I assumed would be a painful final climb up Cayuse Pass. Thankfully, I hit a second wind for this bit and actually had decent power for the final climb. From there, it was mostly coasting down to the car for a little over 128 miles with over 13,000 feet of climbing. A great day out and a nice test of my fitness.