55 miles

We climbed Washington Pass today. It was a long and gradual climb. We went up for pretty much 30 straight miles through snowy, rocky peaks, and rushing waterfalls—truly some of the most rugged, wild mountains I’ve ever seen. They remind me a little of what I’ve seen of the Sierras, but they are so much closer to the road, and in all directions, so each one looks totally different every time you look up.

Traffic was pretty light. There was some sun and some intense wind in exposed spots, but we caught tailwinds every now and then, which helped us maintain our ever-so-humbling 4 mph pace.

We kept running into Annie and her husband (the couple from the Chevron). They feel like teammates now. We also met a family who is biking to Maine, too, a couple and their son—Terry, Janet, and Ross. It was nice to share the struggle with them and pass encouragement back and forth on our way up the pass, and we sat with them in Mazama and ate tacos at a food truck we found there. They are heading to a hotel in Winthrop for the night. After they left, we asked the taco lady if she knew of a place we could camp. She recommended a patch of grass near the community center nearby.