PEARRYGIN LK. STATE PARK CAMP

DAY 4, Thurs, July 19, 2018
Winthrop Inn to Pearrygin Lake State Park.

Rest Day:
7km of rural road
Hot as hell again

We took our time leaving Winthrop Inn. I had coffee after coffee while watching the Tour De France. Stage 11 or 12, "Alpes D'huez", one of the classic favourites. Despite not knowing most riders, I still enjoy it. I love listening to the commentary from Phil Liggett and Bob Roll. I miss the days of Lance and Jan Ullrich.
    Anyway, I decided to check out Pearrygin Lake State Park. I wanted to get out of town as there was a big Blues Festival happening this weekend. A short ride through the old town and onto a rural road, and blammo! I was rolling into camp. I was very lucky to find a great site. It was crazy hot, so the 2 big trees on my pad were very appreciated.
    This campground was not how I had envisioned it. There were a lot of big 5th wheel trailers, speed boats and Jet Skiis? Anyway, our site was away from the bullshit which was great. We investigated a trail that circles the lake but cut it short after realizing that it would eat too much time. Decided to head back into town and play "The Tourist" as this was our rest day.
    Winthrop is a cool little town with an old western feel to it. The wooden sidewalks reminded me of Dawson City Yukon, Skagway Alaska too. I couldn't find a souveneir so I blew cash on a Mexican lunch on a patio.

Sketch of very short ride to camp and rest day

Quiet road to Pearrygin Lake

Pearrygin Lake

Home Base

The Office

Proof of purchase

Great site

Minimal

Cat outta the bag on the trail

Rex Derr Trail

Rex Derr Hobitt

Downtown Winthrop WA.

Tourist town

Not so "Rainny Pass"

DAY 3, Wed, July 18, 2018
Newhalem Camp - Winthrop Inn, Winthrop WA.

Stats:
Cat Eye:  Dist, 120 km, Avg spd, 16km/hr, Max spd, 61km/hr, Climbing 2200 Metres
Polar:      Time, 7:47 (Total w/breaks, 9 hrs. UGGG!) Cal, 4793, Hr, 125 bpm.

    I guess that I was worried about today's ride because despite ingesting copious beers last night,  I was up and about at 5:30. (Oh yeah, American beer, right, ha ha) For breakfast I had some oatmeal and coffee and was rolling by 7 am. I always take my time in the packing up process, unless a thunderstorm or a grizzly bear materializes.
    I was feeling much better than the last 2 days which was perfect timing considering I had over 100 km of no services and 2 mountain passes on yet another hot as hell day. Rolling through the Ross Lake gorge area was interesting. There were twists, turns, climbing, descending with little shoulder and turbulent winds. As soon as I left that area, the climbing began.
    I met 2 other riders along the way. First, there was Danny (I think). He was a super skinny dude riding a Bianchi and pulling a tidy load on a "Bob Trailer" He also had rear panniers which would make his load pretty heavy. He was dressed in light clothing from head to toe. I understand that blocking the suns radiation is healthy, but, it was frigging hot! Anyway, he said that he had over 6 weeks vacation which allowed him the time to ride to Mexico. His goal for the day was a campsite near Washington Pass. "Lone Fir" I think. The other rider I saw a bit later was decked out with a set of Ortleib Panniers all around, he was a poster boy for "Bicycle Touring R Us" I was stocking up on water at a rushing creek when he slowly rode by at about 100 metres away. He hit his bell "Ding, Ding" to get my attention. "You OK?" he said. "Ya, I'm good, how 'bout you?" I replied. "I'll make it!" he said. (Referring to all the climbing that awaited us).
   Once I had replenished my water bottles, it was time to climb. At a GVW, of 265lbs and over 5000ft of climbing, this Fat Bastard was ready for "Granny Gear" engagement. In preparation,  I was hauling about 4 litres of water. The ride up to "Rainy Pass" was crappy but wasn't anything new to me, but when I started to descend, I was like , "Noooo!!! Losing altitude was depressing as I knew that I had a bigger climb 6.5 km ahead. Rainy Pass is 4875 ft / 1486 m. and Washington Pass is 5477 ft / 1669 m. Climbing Wa. Pass was terrible. I ended up stopping several times, sometimes to refill bottles, sometimes for a break. In the recent past I have routinely made big climbs and much longer days without stopping. This is my first time giving in to the beast. Its sad, but a wake up call.
    The descent off Wa. Pass was crazy. I was nervous from crosswinds and pavement irregularities since there were no barriers to keep me and team HWC from going over the edge to our demise. I used Shirley's binders on the turns which is why our max speed was low at 61km/hr. Near the bottom I passed a woman heading up the hill. (it's steeper at this point than my more gradual climb at the other end) It was around 2pm, she would have a brutal climb ahead, I guess she would hit "Lone Fir" camp.
    Anyway, once I got off the mountain and was approaching the old town of Winthrop I was happy, but tired. The climbing followed by the turbulent descent and the intense heat of the desert like landscape was taking it's toll.
    It was awesome to roll into Winthrop. The town is sort of split in two by the Methow River. When arriving from the west, the town has a very old west style to it. The buildings and shops look to be maintained in order to hold their early 1900s charm. Also, the sidewalks are wooden. This is the touristy portion of the town. I found the "Winthrop Inn" on the other side of the river. Unfortunately, Shirley had to stay in the "workshop"  I wasn't happy about that. HWC was furious. Shirley said that she would be fine. What a trooper! The room was OK but I found the usual moronic Christian Bible along with 2 other Christ books. I was gonna call front desk to request a Satanic Bible but decided to get beer and pizza instead.
    Time to relax as my tough day was done. Tour De France on the box also! Woo Hoo!

Leaving Newhalem Camp, ready for battle! 

Ross Lake Gorge. 1st of 2 tunnels

No problemo. Other one was sketchy and dark which is why I have no pic. 

Ross LK.

Proof of Sasquatch

Diablo LK.

North Cascade Mountains N of Diablo LK

"Danny" (I think) was heading to Mexico

Stayed for a pick, then moved on. Got bigger fish to fry

CRAZY Drop-off here., long way down! Surprised there is no barrier. I guess that's why a cross is installed there. Maybe the Government needs 2 crosses before a barrier can be installed, or 22?

Climb up to Washington Pass. Water break. It was very hot. We were not having fun.

Bin on longer climbs before, but this one was crappy. Old and decrepit I guess.

Going down?!! ARRGGHH!! This was nerve racking as hell. Wind gusts and sketchy turns...(of course, I cant take pics on sketchy areas because I'm kinda busy.) HWC refuses to use my camera. Says that it is Satan!

Down into the Okanagan furnace. Little ways to go. May as well have been a million miles. We were hot and tired.

Finally!!

View from my room at the Winthrop Inn

Sketch of shop behind motel

Hot and Bothered

DAY 2, Tuesday July 17, 2018
Sedro-Woolley WA. Three Rivers Inn - Newhalem Campground

Stats:
Cat Eye:  Dist: 90km, Avg.19.6k/mhr, Max 50.1km/hr
Polar:      Time. 4:35, Cal. 2987, Avg hr, 127

    The conditions were great again. Flat roads and even a tail wind here and there. Of coarse the sun was out in full force again (92 F) which was a good pairing with my headache. Slow motion was the agenda until I hit the town "Concrete" where lunch break was the next task. (I had a Subway sandwich from Sedro-Wolley)
    There was an "old timer" pushing a running chariot on the side of the road. As I passed him slowly, I had frightened a small dog that was napping in said carriage. It went into a barking frenzy which in turn scared the crap outta Old Timer Farley Mckracken. In his wrinkled, shirtless body, "Farley" shrieked and flailed his limbs in all directions like the overly theatrical acting of William Shatner in Star Trek. Maybe a fight scene with a bunch of aliens. I felt bad but couldn't hold back a sinister smile and some chuckling. Highwaycat broke a claw in the hilariousness of it all.
    Rolling along for a while later, the heat was getting to me. Seemingly out of nowhere, I happened upon an oasis of sorts. A small, new looking pit stop offering ice cream, ciders and other stuff jam packed with humans. I wasn't sure what else was there as I was fixated on the fridge full of water bottles. I dialled up 6 cold ones and B-lined it to one of the several picnic tables. (the one furthest from the car people) Relieved to sit in the shade with my cold water, I stared blankly out into the bright green field. This tranquil moment didn't last long. A young couple with a baby invaded my table and began blabbing. Despite having my back to them, the guy kept talking to me. My jersey gave away the fact that I was Canadian which perhaps was a bullseye of sorts. I tried to be half receptive, but was really annoyed forcing a quick inhalation of 3 bottles and an exit stage left. I stowed the rest and hit the road. HWC wanted to chit chat but Shirley and I wanted outta there!
    Once in Newhalem, it was time to secure my campsite. There was a bit of searching but I eventually found my walk in site. It was a rustic clearing in the forest near the Skagit River. I was happy to see that each site had a bear proof food cache. There were a couple other campers, but were out of sight and sound. I went back into "town" (a couple bldgs including a general store). Got some beer and a few other things. Was able to secure free firewood and had a nice fire that night.
    This turned out to be an awesome stay! Tomorrow's gonna be a tough one, so I better hydrate with lots of American beer, ha ha.

Part of the fun

Skagit River. Huge awesome shoulder here

Me

Sketch of Farley Mckrackin

They really like concrete here

Hot and bothered

Nice sign. Spot the cat if you dare!

Hey. Ya, I have a sign fettish

Yay

Great site

Discussing tomorrow's ride. There was a lot of "Ok master, I'll do that"

"So many damn rules. Meowww!"

Beer. Forward slash. Cat.

Free firewood cut by knife and catitude

USA!, USA!, USA!...ehhh

DAY 1,  Mon. July 16, 2018
Castle Bishop, Sardis BC.-Sedro-Wolley WA.

Stats:
Cateye:  Dist. 100km, Avg spd. 20.1km/hr, max, 51.7km/hr, Time, 5hrs.
Polar:    3619 cal., Avg Hr. 135bpm, Temp 91 F.

The ride ahead would consist of easy rural roads and nice weather. The only issue was a bit of a hangover. Actually, I ended up feeling crappy for the entire day. I think it was more than a beer thing, plus it was hot as hell.
    Anyway, after navigating the nice rural Chilliwack roads, I found myself at the Sumas Border crossing. There was a bit of overly bossy behaviour from officer Billy Bob but thats par for the coarse eh?
    Anyway, the road ahead was great. The Americans do a dandy job on the blacktop landscape. I found a great spot to break in Nooksack WA. A nice little park with a gazebo and a drinking water source. There were wood stoves too! Crazy. A couple hours later, I had a close call. I suddenly ran out of shoulder as a semi was bearing down on me. I heard him approach fast and then slow down quickly as he couldn't pass me. I bailed to let him through. After he passed me, he honked "thank you" or "sorry about almost crushing you" type of honk.
We continued on route 9 to Sedro Woolley WA. and found home base at "Three Rivers Inn". Perfect location with the # 20 metres away...

Vedder River Chilliwack BC

Read the sign dumbass

Holy Moly. Americans will pave the way

Great break spot Nooksack WA. 

Home base Sedro Woolley WA

HWC approved biceps. I have "Poser immunity" seeing as my left arm has a torn bicep. Also, beer may be effecting my choices. Whatever, I'm on holiday.

The local tourism brochure. HWC was having none of it.

Going over tomorrow's game plan. It was a long night of planning in the "Situation Room" "Fake News" was not tolerated...