Both my daughter and wife were not feeling well today. We had planned to drive to the Pacific Ocean along Washington’s shoreline, but the idea of a 4-hour round trip in the car wasn’t appealing to them. This gave me a window of opportunity to take Red Ryder - my Honda CT125 Trail Rider - into the nearby Capitol State Forest. Managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, it’s both a recreational forest and a logging forest. There are miles of dirt and gravel roads, as well as some single track trails, but the single tracks don’t open until May 1.

I had a great time riding the forest roads, enjoying the deep green of the Pacific Northwest pine and fir forest. My only regret was that I was unable to camp overnight. The established campgrounds don’t open until May 1 as well, but during my ride I did manage to spot what I thought were a few dispersed sites. Dispersed camping, however, appears to be against the rules.

The view of Mt. Rainier from some of the locations is stunning. Mt. Rainier towers over the Olympia region, even though it’s over 2.5 hours away by car. Driving around the city itself you can catch glimpses of it here and there, and each time you do it elicits a gasp. It is staggeringly majestic in appearance, and at this time of year it remains almost completely snow-covered. When I first saw it I was caught by surprise. I hadn’t expected to get a view, but when I did, it was great. The day was clear, so that made the view that much more spectacular.

I came across a couple taking a walk in the woods who apparently were slightly lost. I say “taking a walk” because they had no hiking gear at all except for one water bottle between them. I showed them where they were on my phone using GaiaGPS, and they seemed sure they knew the way back now. I wasn’t so sure they did, but off they went. They were the kind of people you hear about getting rescued in the woods due to lack of gear. Please take the 10 essentials anytime you go out hiking.

Here’s why - I dropped the bike today. I took a terrible approach to an uphill gravel pile in an attempt to get another look at Mt. Rainier. The bike went sideways and into a ditch. Had I not been carrying emergency gear there’s no telling when I might have been spotted. Fortunately the cell service is good because there are several cell towers in the forest. But I didn’t need any of it. No injuries sustained. I managed to pick the bike up (which is exactly why I own this bike), but it was hard to start once I got it upright. Getting it to a level spot was also a challenge (gravity is a bitch). I did manage to start it, but I also decided to coast downhill from whence I came, which was a paved valley road. At the bottom, the bike started and ran fine. I wanted to continue riding, but I checked the time, and decided heading home was the better option. I have 7 days of driving ahead of me starting Monday, so no sense in pushing my luck.

All in all, a great ride. I’m so happy I bought this little bike with me on this trip. It’s the perfect tool for me to get out and have little adventures on two wheels. And I know I can’t kill this little thing. After all, it’s a Honda.