I went over to Marysville for the Cascade trail this weekend. The weather was perfect and the trail is amazing. Hours of fun and sweat.
I started with a 1pm shuttle on Saturday and I was the only one booked in. Trevor the friendly local driver was like a personal tour guide on the way up, pointing out all the important landmarks of the trail, crossings and possibilities to stop or bail in case of physical/mechanical difficulties. Trevor advised using the "Trigger Track" as an easier way to start the Cascade trail, to avoid climbing all the way to the summit for starters. I though to myself, the view from the summit must be nice and it would be a nice warm up. Boy was I wrong, and how was I more out of shape than I thought. I started riding around 1:45pm, with a fair amount of climb from the get go. I was carrying a little bit too much gear and a windbreaker, by the summit I was already well beyond warmed up. The trail going down was really nice albeit a bit wet and muddy. By the time I reached "Arnold's Gap" (less than 1/4 of the way down) I was already wondering if I'm going to finish it alive. A lot of ups and downs, more climbing than I expected, but the downhill bits are worth it. From "The Gate" to "Harry's Landing" it's almost only up, and it got the best of me. I was exhausted. I had only had eggs for breakfast 6 hours prior, and this may have been my biggest mistake. I had no juice left in the legs, and the best part of the trail was ahead of me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. I finished around 6:15pm at Lady Talbot Drive (effectively taking an early exit). So all in all 4h30m of a ride, and exhausted like I rarely have been.
My plan was to do a second ride on the Sunday and after my Saturday experience I was about to give up. After a good hearty camp dinner, and an equally nourishing camp breakfast, I felt life coming back to me and the weather was even better, this alone was reason enough to try it again. I had a snack just before taking the shuttle and was carrying lollies in my backpack this time. I wasn't going to let poor nutrition ruin the show a second time. Once again I booked the 1pm shuttle and up until 1 min to departure it looked like I was going to be all alone with Trevor again when 2 younger riders showed up just in time. Is started riding around 1:40pm, this time with "Trigger Track", and didn't exhaust myself from the get go. I arrived at "Harry's Landing" with no regrets, convinced that today was going to be the day. The trail didn't disappoint. The portion between "Harry's Landing" and the "Secret Garden" is amazing, my absolute favourite part is between the 1st and 2nd crossing of Sunds Rd. Perfect mix of berms, fast flow between trees, some jumps (that I didn't take) and a little bit of pedalling to make sure you keep yourself warm. The trail had dried up a bit since Saturday and was in perfect condition. I still arrived at Lady Talbot Drive around 5pm, and took the early exit again. My Apple Watch said ~2 hours of riding, but still 3h30min from start to Marysville. Worth every second. I saw the two riders who shuttled with on several occasions on the trail. Although they seemed more experienced and more fit than me, they went only marginally faster than me. So I really think you should expect to spend at the very least 3 hours on this trail for someone pretty fit and taking minimal stops.
Key points if you don't want to read it all:
- The trail is great, hours of fun, absolutely worth it
- On my second day, knowing a bit the trail, taking minimal stops (longest stop was 20 min to eat a sandwich) I still spent 3.5+ hours
- If you have spouses or kids waiting for you, with having to show up around 20 min before shuttle, plus 30 min of shuttle, that's a good 4.5 hours round trip from Marysville for people waiting for you
For campers:
- Anderson Mill is a great free campsite nearby with toilets
- Apparently the caravan park in town offers showers for a fee (haven't checked)