Day 91: A Pass and a Half

We went big today. We went over Loup Loup Pass in the morning, then up the Methow Valley and half way up Washington Pass (about 6,000’ of climbing). Our bodies are pooped, but it was worth it to have the shorter day tomorrow.

Into the Cascades

We got up early to beat the heat, though the mornings in the Okanogan Valley have still been pretty warm. None of the briskness we’ve gotten used to along the rest of the west. The climb started through a bunch of apple orchards and then once we got over the mini-pass half way up, the scenery turned forested. There were some tough sections to the climb, but we made it up and over Loup Loup Pass in pretty good time. The descent into the Methow Valley was a bit steep (an arm burner from all the braking), but with epic views over the Cascades.

Once we descended into the valley, it became pretty desert-y again, though less hot than Okanogan. As we headed toward Twisp, we came upon Blue Star Coffee, which seems to be a big deal in this area as many cafes and stores have advertised having it. We stopped in for a coffee and a baked good and a bit of rest. It definitely felt like Twisp had a more urban amenity vibe and the folks coming through felt more Seattle than cowboy.

We then headed on to Winthrop, a western themed town midway up the valley. It was way more western themed and way more touristy than I expected from the descriptions I’d heard. We parked our bikes at the beginning of town and poked around the shops for a bit. After we had walked the Main Street, we hung out at the bakery we’d parked by for more coffee and treats. A man at the table next store had done some cycling and his club got to ride through North Cascades Park back in the 1970’s just before they opened it to cars. That must have been magical.

Winthrop was the first place we could maybe stop today, but after looking at the maps, we wanted to go for it. Or at least get to Mazama. So on we went. There was a bike shop on our way out of town where we both took advantage of the floor pump to refill our tires and MJ got a better rear light (it kept dying which is not good). The rest of the ride to Mazama was rolling mostly up along the Methow River. We got on a side road for the last five miles into town, which was pretty, though probably hillier than the main route 🤷.

Mazama was a very cool little town, which is definitely a destination. The store there was downright fancy and had a cafe out back with lots of tables in the shade. I stocked up on groceries and we both got some snacks to enjoy immediately. We were feeling a bit tired, but wanted to make it as far up the pass as we could.

The road out of Mazama was a gentle up for a while. We went right past the first campground and then the road started climbing some more. The second campground was a few miles and quite a few hundred feet in elevation later. We paused and took a long look at the road to the campground and decided to keep going. We had another seven miles to go until the last campground and figured we could always pull over and camp if push came to shove (dispersed camping is legal on National Forest land).

The climb calmed down a bit after a mile, and the views opened up to stunning mountain peaks. We were both biking slowly and steadily and just staring in awe at the mountains around us.

We were very relieved to see the sign to the campground at last. We pulled in and grabbed a registration envelope and did a lap of the campground to find an empty site. All full 😬. The campground hosts weren’t home, so we both split up and started asking/looking around for other options. Thankfully the campground hosts returned pretty soon and said we could camp on a small cleared spot next to their site. When MJ returned, she’d found a neighbor to let her pitch her tent, so we both had spots for the night. We both got settled then cooked dinner at the campground host’s picnic table - deluxe Annie’s, so good.

Tomorrow, we finish Washington Pass and head into North Cascades National Park 🏔.