As stated in some of my previous reports, Darrington is my happy place. But today, I really wanted an Alpine Baldy run because the views in the Skykomish area are so wonderful. However, since Alpine Baldy is getting pretty overgrown and no reports have said otherwise, I decided to take the gravel bike in the same area, but for a long ride. I parked at the Heybrook Ridge Park in Index, and went up the Index Galena Road to Jack Pass and then down Beckler River Road to Highway 2 and returning to the car on Highway 2. Fricken awesome descent on the dirt road and then pavement along the Beckler River and of course Highway 2. If you do this ride for the descent, I recommend descending the Beckler River Road from Jack Pass because the Index Galena side from Jack Pass has several switchbacks which you'll have to slow down on.

It was a wonderful day. Temperature was a cool 60° and a cloudy sky and I started at 6:30am so traffic was minimal which kept the dust on the road down to a small quantity to deal with every once in a while for the occasional early morning hiker heading to the trailheads.

The trailforks ride log and pictures are here.

Words of Caution:

Gravel starts around the road junction to the Blanca Lake trailhead and ends almost 5-7 miles south of Jack Pass.

Highway 2 is busy! Shoulder is marginal, good in spots.

At Eagle Falls visibility is low and the Bridge over the railroad HAS NO SHOULDER ROOM for your bike and two cars. I had to wait for 25 cars (did that at the left turn warning sign) until I found a safe gap in traffic. Then it was a sprinting climb to the higher side.

The Money Creek Tunnel is another place where you should find a gap in traffic before going through.

Remember, Many of these drivers are Vaping with higher concentration oils or with other oils. You can smell them as they drive by. Cell phone use makes it a double whammy.

Update 8/1/2025:  The first mile and a half of the Baldy trail has been brushed well.