We are now a few days deep into Washington state; the Okanogan valley to be specific. The first couple of days out of Lynden were rather nice. Wide shoulders, lovely views, and a random farm serving ice cream.
We camped at Rasar State Park, then it was over to Newhalem the next day. Newhalem is the last chance to get provisions for about 100km, so we left with a good bit of weight aboard.
Emi's knee was causing her a little discomfort so we decided to simply bike to the next campground, just 15km away. A de facto rest day. We encountered a beautiful and free primitive campsite at Diablo Dam, which sat on Gorge Lake. We had met up with Wayne, a New Zealander who was going from Vancouver to Florida, earlier in the day and shared a site with him.
The next morning was bright and early. Hell Day, as we coined it upon first glancing the elevation profile. Two mountain passes... 4855 feet and then 5477 feet. It took us all day, but we got there. We hit mach 3 on the descent, making 30km in what felt like a minute and a half.
The next town, Mazama, came at just the right time. We found an outdoor restaurant/bar serving local beer and sausages... of which we devoured. They also let us pitch our tents on the grassy parking area adjacent to the restaurant. All in all, a difficult but immensely rewarding day.
Currently we are sitting at a cafe in Winthrop, enjoying free WiFi, good sandwiches, and a bike tune-up! I was unable to get one prior to leaving. A couple random squeaks and worn brake pads have been taken care of.
Tomorrow is the next pass... "Loup Loop" which sits at a relatively tame 4020 feet. A cakewalk compared to yesterday. We will see.
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