Mongo is the Guru of Galbraith — the inspiration behind GalbraithMt.com — and had wanted to see Duthie’s progress. We at BikeIntelligencer tend to think of Duthie as a miniature Galbraith, offering both cross-country fare and tasty freeride bits. So we were charged to hear Mongo’s enthusiasm for what’s coming together at Duthie.

Plenty of wood for the bog ...

It’s quite a testament to the public-private partnership of King County and the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. And there’s more to come. We saw a lot of activity and dirt in motion.

After touring Duthie we headed over to Grand Ridge to stretch our legs a bit. Talk about potential — Mongo was jabbering on and on about how much territory the ridge has to offer. With terrain like that, you could spray the hillside with trails and have some great loops to boot. We can’t wait.

... and plenty of rubble.

We cruised down to the legendary Bog, only to find piles of rubble and skinned timber stacked right at the base of the slope. Obviously the trail custodians are poised to finally do something about the ugliest section of trail this side of Wales. The Bog itself is actually drier than I’ve ever seen it. It’s still not really rideable — too much gooey stuff, and you can’t keep enough momentum to stay on the pedals — but you can at least hoof it through the entire way.

We scampered across, then began the long climb to the ridge line. Eventually we came to the Canyon Creek Bridge — which by coincidence will be dedicated today in an official King County Parks-Washington Trails Association event. We put together a crude iPhone video and commentary in observance of the dedication, scheduled to begin at noon.

From there it was up, up, up, the trail in tacky, prime condition. As many times as we’ve done Grand Ridge, it never seems ordinary. The fall colors, more open skies (due to dropped leaves from deciduous trees) and trail care have put Grand Ridge in a rare zone. The weekend rains may jeopardize it all, but one of Grand Ridge’s distinct virtues is its fast recovery time from moisture.

All in all, a great interlude for us and wondrous intro for Mongo to the special joys of Issaquah-area mountain biking. The season may be drawing to a close, but this stuff should remain open and rideable through much of the winter. Enjoy!

Women of Dirt rider Leana Gerrard smiles through the mud at Duthie Hill Park Grand Opening.

The 120-acre Duthie Hill Park has more than five miles of trails comprising everything from beginners’ “boot camp” routes and features to full-on jumps, catwalks, drops and stunts of mini–Whistler proportions. About 300 riders, officials and mtbers were on hand to hear speakers praise the partnership between the county and Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance that got the park to happen starting in 2004.

Engraved tiles helped raise funds for Duthie.

Despite its mud-splattered inauguration, Duthie Hill stayed in better than might be expected shape as riders of every size and skill toured the trails — a testament to trail construction, routing and drainage. A few days of warmer and drier weather will restore them back to primo tackiness.

King County Executive Dow Constantine cuts the ribbon.

There’s more to come, with a Phase 2 about to kick in, but for now Duthie Hill stands as a model of public-private cooperation in the ongoing efforts to increase mountain bike access to public lands.

*[We're hedging a bit here because Colonnade also is referred to as a mountain bike park, but is actually more of a stunt park.]