Day 82: AMAZING! ASTOUNDING! INCREDIBLE! (2 Days ‘til Anacortes)

Friday: (2 days 'til End of Northern Tier)

If anyone ever asks me what the most beautiful part of this country is, I can now say without the slightest hesitation that it’s the Northern Cascades. Today really was the highlight of the trip. I wish I had taken a few more pictures in the last half of the day, but I was racing with the sun.

I wake up, shower, eat breakfast, pack up my gear and load it in Beth’s car. I load my bike into Rob’s Truck, and get a ride back to Hwy 20 in Mazama. Say goodbye to The Dicksons. I notice that I lost my rear-view mirror whilst Mountain Biking. Damn. I can’t remember how I ever rode without one of these things.

I get started up the road and it’s a relatively easy climb. The clouds are really thick and it’s impossible to see the tops of the mountains, but every mile I climb, it gets a lot more scenic. After 13 miles of the 18 mile climb up to Washington Pass, it occurs to me that this is going to be a lot easier than I had been anticipating. Maybe this was due to not carrying gear? Either way, I find myself with plenty of time to take pictures. The view from Washington Pass is AMAZING! ASTOUNDING! INCREDIBLE!

There is a decent amount of snow on the ground up here, and it’s raining just a little bit. Very cold. I descend down the other side, which drops 1000 feet, and then I have to climb again up to Rainy pass. A very easy climb. It goes quickly. Uneventful. I get to Rainy Pass with some extra time before Beth arrives with the gear. I take some pictures and relax for a while.

When Beth arrives, she brings me a badly needed hot lunch. I eat as fast as I can, so as not to take up her entire afternoon. I feel like a broken record thanking her for the hospitality, but how else is someone supposed to know when I actually mean it, and am not just being polite?

I start down the FINAL MOUNTAIN of the Northern Tier and I get the bike up to 41.5mph! This is where the surprise comes: I’ve gotten used to climbing a mountain, descending the mountain and pretty much rolling right into the town where I will be staying. The descent from Rainy Pass is fantastic, but tempers out sooner than I had expected. The rest of the day has alternates between moderate climbing, and steep descents, but all along a series of rivers and lakes that create some of the most amazing views I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately the coolest scenery tends to come at me when I am in the middle of a 35mph downhill run, and there is no way I am stopping to take a picture. The sun comes out later in the day, right before Ross Dam, and I am speechless. Hands down, the best cycling of this entire trip.

The day goes on, and I’m running short on daylight, so I revise my plans. I decide to camp in Newhalem instead of riding all the way out to Marblemount. Well… I get to Newhalem and the general store is closed. I’m not packing any food, so I figure I better move to Marblemount after all. It’s pretty flat from Newhalem, so it goes by quickly. The last 15 miles to Marblemount is pretty removed from the mountainous scenery from earlier in the day, but it’s nice nonetheless. There are a lot of bugs out, its too dark to wear sunglasses, so about every 5 minutes I get a bug flying into my eye. It’s annoying. Some of them are large and hurt a lot.

I load up on junk food in Marblemount and go to the cheapest motel in town, which is actually 3.5 miles outside of town. By the time I get to the motel, it is completely dark. This motel has a 10am check out time. What’s that about? I get no phone reception or Wifi, so I waste time the old fashioned way and just watch TV. It’s like I’m in a third world country, right? …Like an animal!

To expand upon what I wrote yesterday, I can’t believe the trip is so close to being finished. I know that I have a HUGE Pacific Coast I am planning to ride down, but in my head THIS has always been THE TRIP, and my finish line was ALWAYS Anacortes. So, it still really feels like I’m approaching the end of this crazy adventure. I’ll be glad to have successfully accomplished such a large undertaking, but I’m hesitant to let this end. The idea of going back to sitting behind a desk for 6 – 8 hours a day just scares the shit out of me.

But don’t get me wrong, it’s not simply out of fear that I am mourning the end of this trip. It’s been an incredible privilege to meet all these warm hearted and amazing people. Even the jerks and the crazies out there provide me with interesting stories to tell my amazing hosts over dinner. I’m really going to miss this amazing routine of fatigue, awe, junk food, and loneliness. Also… I will miss not having to wonder if I am really using each day as best I can. This trip has been one of the wisest decisions I’ve ever made. I am filled with gratitude.

OK… That being said…

Let’s finish this thing, and see how far I can get down the Pacific Coast before I get fed up and decide to just rent a car to take me to Los Angeles.

Tomorrow: Cycle to Sedro-Wooley and stay with Stephanie

Sunday: Cycle to Anacortes and finish the Northern Tier!