Rode the Chuckanuts with Mark on a day that dawned gloriously clear after a miasmic day before.

We started out on Old Samish Parkway, rode the Interurban to Cleator, and then climbed to the top, where Double Black Diamond awaited. We found a little bit of snow at the top of DBD, and the exposed bedrock was surprisingly slippery where it was water slicked. Not a good sign as you're about to start down DBD!

But away we plunged with Mark in the lead. It was immediately apparent that the conditions were much sketchier than the last time we rode it. The heavy rains yesterday had thoroughly wet everything, and there was a fair amount of gooshy mud, even on the steep faces.

I found myself in fully locked-up skids several times on the first few steep sections. When Mark slowed ahead, I had to dump, whacking the tendons on the back of my knee pretty smartly. But again we plunged, and I followed Mark as he rode a gloriously elegant line up to the right around a off-camber rock, and then again up to the right around the tree at the top of the first steep face. He rode it, but I walked. We both rode the second face, which was really treacherous in places.

Approximately 1800 verts.