After pulling out of a race recently, I had a lot of energy to spare so what better adventure than checking out Cascade Trail! Before my FKT attempt, I hadn't been on the trail -- and it was 200% lovely. Beautiful farmland, riparian habitat, gravel and dirt paths, tons of birds everywhere. My partner met me at road crossings a few times for a mobile aid station and a friend caught up to me on a bike and paced me for the last 6 miles. Despite one accidental and failed reroute around a very rutted section of the trail close to Concrete, it was an awesome adventure! Come beat my time, friends!
Trail conditions were mostly dirt and gravel with some bigger rockier sections, one creek over the trail that was pretty easy to navigate and stay dry, one bridge that has shifted off its original supports by flooding but is still stable for crossing, and two spots that require hopping onto the nearby road or highway 20 to navigate around a swamp and a stream. Most of the route is well enough separated from the highway that the ambient road noise is not very noticeable.