Day 92: Washington, Passed

We had a slightly slower than anticipated morning today as we had coffee and chatted with the camp hosts for a while. Also, neither of us were moving particularly fast after the long day yesterday. We hit the road at 8:30 and started climbing. We had a bit over 6 miles and almost 2,000’ of climbing ahead. It was hard, but the views were epic, the shoulder good, and the traffic not too bad.

At the top, there’s a lookout area that we were told had toilets and water. That didn’t really pan out, but it did have more nice views (with associated more climbing) and made a nice place for a snack. We double checked the well house on our way back to the road and found a leaky pipe we were able to refill our water from. Definitely one of the more creative water stops this trip.

Washington Pass is quickly followed by Rainy Pass. We descended for a few miles and then climbed up for another couple. The Pacific Crest Trail crossed our route at Rainy Pass. There was another touring cyclist hanging out there as well - a nice New Zealander headed from Seattle to Chicago. We chatted routes and bikes for a few then continued down. The traffic is much heavier on this side of the mountains and seemed to get busier as we got further down. There’s also road construction happening along this stretch, which didn’t make for a stress free descent. Towards the end of the ride to our campground, the roads got particularly gravely and it was just plain unpleasant. MJ was able to get us a lift from a guy with a pickup truck, Mike, for the last few miles. We should be near the end of that work zone now, so hopefully tomorrow’s riding is better.

The campground we’re at tonight is quite nice. It’s nestled right on the shore of Diablo Lake, which is a bright blue-green from the glacial flows. Lots of the sites abut the water. We’re not quite that lucky, but there’s a dedicated bicyclist site in a well located spot and it’s even free. After lunch, MJ headed for the beach and I went to the closer-by river to rinse off some of the road grime. The water was… refreshing 🥶. I then set up my tent and read until the ranger program on wolves at four.

Fun wolf facts:

• Wolves were once believed to be eradicated from the continental US, but have migrated back from Canada and are now a protected species
• Wolves once lived on two thirds of the US (very flexible habitat-wise)
• A pack contains one alpha female and one alpha male. The pups usually help raise another litter after their own then leave the pack to start their own

After the wolf talk, it was off for a short hike. I head up the Thunder Creek trail, following the water up a couple miles. At one point, I crossed a bridge across the river. The bright water formed a few small rapids underneath and it was mesmerizing to watch. The forest here is much denser and lusher than on the other side of the mountains. There are more deciduous trees, mosses, and ferns. Also, the trees are huge!

I got back to the campsite at about the same time as MJ and we cooked up some chicken and rice for dinner. I then made a cup of tea to finally kill the little fuel canister that could (had it since Michigan?) and we played a couple more hands of spades. The bugs were coming out, so time for reading/bed.

Tomorrow, we’ll spend the morning here doing some more exploring and then have a short-ish day out of the park.