4 Down, 1 To Go

The crawling mountain pace is just about over. Wauconda, and its 4310 foot pass, came and went today. It had a gentle pace to it, steep for while, then flat for a while, repeat. The last 5km, as we are learning, are always murder.

We were fortunate enough to get off to a great start on the day. Yesterday, while approaching Tonasket, a guy pulled off the highway about 1km ahead of me. As I neared, he waved and called over, "Hey are you biking across the country?"

We chatted a minute, and before long he had offered a place to spend the night. Tonasket was our goal for the day, so it worked out perfectly. Within twenty minutes we were riding into the driveway of Mike and his mother Ivetta. Mike is a huge fan of touring, and unfortunately had his last tour of Latin America cut short by the horrible news that Ivetta's husband had passed prompting him to return to Tonasket. Since, they have been hosting touring cyclists along the Northern Tier route. They were two of the absolute most generous people we have ever met. Another steak dinner (!) along with great story telling, and a side trip over to feed the neighbours' horses made for an amazing day. I got to chip in and make some omelettes for breakfast after dusting off the rust that had developed from not setting foot near a kitchen for a bit.

We rode off shortly after to conquer pass number 4: Wauconda. The best part was the awesome cafe/store 5km from the top. The store is basically the town of Wauconda, containing a post office, a restaurant and a general store. We also met up with Dorothy and Karl along the climb, a father-daughter team on their way to Albany. We chatted over lunch before heading back on the road to conquer the last stretch of ascent before the ever popular downhill coast that always makes these climbs worthwhile in the end. After watching a fox scurry across the highway 50 feet in front of me, and a deer duck for cover off to the side, we strolled into the town of Republic, our destination for the day. We had arranged to stay with Dianne and Boyd, who have a house atop a hill with the most incredible view over the town and beyond. Yet another amazing home cooked meal had us feeling quite spoiled.

Tomorrow we will set out to conquer the big one: Sherman Pass. The highest pass in Washington, at 5575 feet. If all goes well we think we can make it all the way to Colville, which is home to a cyclist only campsite. It lies over 90km away.

But for now, sleep!