The Logging Road Cyclist can state, without fear of protesting too much, that he has not OCD. Not to say that TLRC doesn’t run a tight ship. Far from it! No clattering derailleurs, rubbing fenders or spectrally creaking frames for him; furthermore, summits once tried must be reached, loops explored must be closed.
Lately, the big radio tower atop Table Mountain has been sneering at TLRC. Visible from most anywhere, it is the symbol of Summit for that peak. TLRC has been close a couple of times. On the first trip, he made the grueling climb up from Drift Cr., only to wander gormlessly around the quarries, lacking any sense of where the tower might be. About a year ago, this time armed with a route to the tower gleaned from the Google Earth, he didn’t get that far, but, citing feebleness and a late start only got to within a half mile or so of the quarries (cf. Table Mtn).
Thus it was that today, in order to enjoy the unseasonably balmy weather and also to take a break from the Valstz Triangle salt mine, TLRC aimed himself once again at the tower atop Table Mtn.
It was a truly beautiful day. No tights. The air went from chilly to spring-like warmth and back again. Ice in the shadows, summertime out of them. Big doings since TLRC’s last trip here. A new logging setup pulling out what was left of the trees at the top of Grant Cr. A lot of new, heavy (4″-minus) rock all around, mostly on new landings, indicating that Savage Cr. is next.
In good order TLRC got to the base of the big climb, had a rest and a snack and hauled himself up. No stops, in spite of the gorgeous views up the Coast Range, over to the Cascades and down to the surf at Newport. A little side trip to view the quarries and pick up a sample of the nepheline syenite (a blue-tinged, whitish rock used on all the roads around there), and then a jaunt up the obscure road to the summit.
The tower is really big. It doesn’t stand out so much from a distance for nothing:
Table Mtn. Tower.
The views from here are, well, arboreal, and while it’s a nice forest, if you want a real view, stop lower down.
Looking NW from base of tower, Table Mtn. Summit.
Doing this ride again made TLRC realize how much he enjoys it. It’s a grind at 27 miles and nearly 6000′ of climbing, and there are a lot of clear cuts that would make great posters for environmentalists making a point about what not to do. On the other hand, the views, great descents and climbs, feeling of remoteness and pockets of surprising beauty make this a wonderful ride.