Northern Cascades

Yesterday was our final day of mountain climbing. We woke up to very cold weather, shivering in our sleeping bags. Finally we all managed to get our bags packed and breakfast eaten. I took off with Diane, Kate, Kelsey, and Ellen.

The Washington Pass is about 12 miles of climbing through beautiful rocky peaks still covered with snow in some places. We took our sweet time, stopping often to enjoy the scenery and rest our legs. Upon reaching the top we walked out on an incredible scenic overlook that looks down on the road we climbed up. It was neat to see from above.

From there we had a 3 mile descent before hitting our second climb, Rainy Pass. From the direction we were coming the second climb was only 1.5 miles. I wouldn't even consider it a pass, though I wouldn't want to climb it from the other way. We took off from that pass down a 20 mile descent to lunch. It was unbelievable. We descended along amazing rocky cliffs and a mountain creek. There were waterfalls falling down the cliffs and beautiful mountains in the distance.

After lunch the descent continued and brought us to a teal river...it was gorgeous. As we came out of the mountains the road became much more wooded and hardwoods began to appear. The trees almost covered the road completely from sun...it was a like a tree tunnel. At times it felt like and smelled like Ohio.

A couple miles from our campsite we stoppped at Cascadian Farms for a snack. The company was founded in the valley here. I had a Ginger ale and a whole pint of blueberries. It was so refreshing. Once at camp I headed down to the river for a freezing cold, but great bath.

It feels so good to have the mountains conquered and behind us. Washington challenged everybody and we are all happy to be descending into Vancouver.