This last weekend was the final Honey Badger ride of 2024. 25 or so of us gravel fans got together at Juanita Lake to campout, drink coffee by the lake, swap stories around the fire, and then ride the hidden gem that is the Juanita Lake route.

The weather couldn’t have been better. It was cool at night, but not below freezing like last year. I think many of us were prepared to layer up for the first descent down to Butte Valley, but we were all pleasantly surprised to barely even need arm warmers for those first three miles.

The vibe and pace were awesome. Folks regrouped at intersections, at the top of climbs, and they waited on the downhills to make certain everyone made it down safely. This year was a new addition of the “Super Secret Cutoff” back down to Juanita Lake. It avoided a three plus mile climb back to the campsite by traversing through an active logging operation and then dropping down a road bed that was last used in the Carter administration. While the top part was loose and steep, the bottom half was smooth and flowy before depositing you right at the dam. Much respect to everyone who braved it. The consensus was that it was an adventure and despite being better suited to a mountain bike, was better than slogging up three plus mile of a climb back to camp.

Since the group site was reserved for Sunday night, no one had to rush to pack up before the ride and could enjoy their morning, next to the serenity of the lake while drinking their coffee in peace. Only a couple of us stayed Sunday night so the site was extra quiet and peaceful for one last rest before the return to work, life, and civilization.

I managed to do some scouting for a slightly modified route that would cut the first big climb (if you were there, you know what I’m talking about!) in about half and offer up a bit more rolling terrain through a couple of different environments. All I need to do is get my butt back down there to check it out myself or convince someone else to scout it for me. If you’re interested, let me know!