Evolution, Unemployment Line, and Atomic Dog Descent

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Features Drops/Jumps · Views

The signature south-side Galbraith ride offering a wealth of fun from top to bottom. This route ties together the entirety of Evolution (also known as Evo), Unemployment Line, and Atomic Dog. With nearly two-and-a-half miles of doubles, tables, drops, and ladders you're going to have an awesome descent. Everything is either rollable or has ride arounds, so this is a winner for riders of many skill levels. If you only have time for one lap while you're in Bellingham, this is it.

To change things up, riders could swap out Evolution and ride down Scorpion for a more advanced ride. Also, many people eliminate the top portion of this ride and begin at Check Point Delta at the start of Unemployment Line. This is a shorter and easier option.

To switch things up even further, Cheech & Chong's Wild Ride is a nice substitute for A-Dog. Simply keep riding past the entrance of A-Dog and follow the logging road. Take the right back onto the Tower Road and climb for a few hundred feet to the Blue Rock. From there, take the left. Cheech & Chong's Wild Ride will be the first trail on the left, next to the kiosk at Checkpoint Charlie.

From the Samish Way Parking Lot, you'll head east across Samish Way unto Galbraith Lane for 0.25 miles. Keep heading straight onto the pipeline road (ignore any misleading private property signs) until you reach the bottom of Last Call. A new section of doubletrack intertwines with the singletrack of Last Call. Stick with the doubletrack and follow it across a large wooden bridge. Eventually the doubletrack will bring you to kiosk at Checkpoint Alpha.

From the kiosk head up the road and keep right at both the Blue Rock and Red Rock, and then a left at the Yellow Rock after Unemployment Line. Finally take the next left for the final steep climb to the summit and prepare for the fun descent. The Three Pigs (Brick, Stick, and Straw) are good alternatives for a portion of the road but are a little more challenging and take a bit longer to climb. Look for the entrance for the Pigs across from the kiosk at Checkpoint Alpha if you'd prefer to spend as much time on trail as possible.

Evolution (or Evo) dishes up a sophisticated blend of jumps, ladders, and drops during the half mile between the summit and RD 3000. Evo kicks things off with a series of doubles before winding towards a long log ride. The next section offers a couple of small trail-drops and table tops before arriving at a duo of abrupt ladder drops (ride arounds are present).

An off-camber sandstone slab represents the last of the rougher riding giving way into a series of doubles before arriving back at the road. Head left to connect with Unemployment Line.

This trail features doubles, booters, and tables showcasing the dedication and passion that went into making Unemployment Line. Like any quintessential flow trail, Unemployment Line is very scalable to different rider abilities.

For new and introductory riders it provides a smooth flowy descent with few obstacles - the majority of obstacles are rollable, but a general rule of thumb is if it doesn't look rollable, it probably isn't. The intermediate and advanced rider can push for speed and doubles while tying together sequences of jumps. The bottom third of Unemployment features massive berms, rhythm sections and two gaps. Both gaps are optional, but heads up because they come at you in the turns.

The 'slayer drop' (qualifying feature) at the start of the trail is the only wood feature on Unemployment Line.

At the bottom, follow the logging road to the right and look for Atomic Dog (A-Dog) to branch off to the left. Atomic Dog is an intermediate singletrack with more technical parts (roots, rocks, and tighter turns) mixed in with the smoother sections. Notable highlights of Atomic Dog include two gully step-downs and a wall-ride along a rock boulder all of which have ride-around options.

The end of A-Dog feeds onto the bottom of Tower Road. Turn right and then look for Lower Gate and Switch Connector heading left through the clearcut. Once you're back on Gate and Switch proper, follow it back to the Pipeline Road and Galbraith Lane to make it back to the parking area.