The Pakalolo is just one of the many trails in the Black Diamond area (~20 miles or so SE of Seattle.) If you are travelling to Seattle for business or pleasure, its so easy to slip down to Black Diamond and enjoy some great riding.

Black Diamond Bikes rents bikes for the day; ask for Peter, he'll set you up with a bike and a trail map. The one I had was pretty solid, Specialized Stumpjumper, XTR, Talas, Avid Juicy discs - and well maintained. You'll want a stiffer fork setting for this trail becuase there are lots of ups and downs, but no real drops. It's extrememly twisty, more than just about any other that I have ridden. The trail not only twists a lot, but it also has lots of ups and downs at the beginning that will find you going up, over, down, left, back up and then right, in about 20-25 feet of trail. This is definitely one to ride if you want to practice your steering and line picking.

/>Remember that the climate here is nothing like Texas. It rains a lot and its always damp. It was a little creepy to see so much mud on the trail but one of the locals I ran into said that is very common for this region - things never dry out. I walked a few spots, staying on the rocks, but I was probably the only one to ever do that judging from the ruts. The ground can be deceivng in places because its fern and pine needles - sometimes a dismount sinks you in several inches of the stuff, so be careful with your ankles.

Black Diamond, Washington, South of Seattle

From Sea-Tac airport, take 405 North to 169 South towards Maple Valley. Black Diamond Bikes is right in the center of this small town, right on 169. The trailhead is about a half mile north of the shop, almost directly across from the "Welcome to Black Diamond" coal car that you see as you pull into town.

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Medium, but the techncal challenge is in steering and navigating over logs. A few steep climbs.

About 8 miles

Heavy vegitation. Trail surface is dirt and probably always damp. There are lots of large redwood stumps (maybe 10' in diameter and some as high as 10' or 20'. Look for mud, you'll find a lot.

You can pick up a great paper map at Black Diamond Bikes. One of the locals, Jim Hendricks, did a great job on them, so be sure to pick one up. Couldn't find one online.

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Heavy. Don't expect to see sunlight much, but in this climate, sun and shade are rarely an issue.

There are 37 miles of trails in close proximity to Black Diamond, so you have plenty of other options.

None.

Since you are in Seattle, there are approximately 3,426,725 different microbrews to choose from.

Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club

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Copyright 2011, John Fruehe