Wednesday 18 August 2010

Day 90 Wenatchee to Tumwater campground















Tuesday 17th August
Daily mileage 37miles Average Speed 11mph Ride Time 3hr22min
Total Mileage 3748

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast topped off with scrambled eggs made by Aubryn to her own special recipe and they were delicious! We left by about 10am just before Andrea’s friends were arriving for her 13th birthday party. Happy belated birthday Andrea! We found the bike path again which ran for 8 miles through to the end of town safely.

We found Highway 2 and headed west toward Stevens Pass through the Cascade mountains to the coast. We went straight through Cashmere and arrived in Leavenworth after 26 miles which is a Bavarian village that had a lot of character. The road was quite rolling and went from baron to lush green forestry. It was boiling hot and we had the slight wind behind us. We stopped at a supermarket for refreshments then began climbing gradually through the valley following the Wenatchee River after a short stop at the Ranger Station. Before long we came across the Alps fudge shop and for a second we though we had taken a wrong turn! The fudge was delicious!
Shortly after leaving the town we spotted a perfect swimming area in the river and could not resist a dip. The water was freezing but we jumped straight in to cool off and felt our core temperature plummet. We continued cycling with wet clothes which helped to keep us cool for a bit longer. There are a shortage of campgrounds on the pass and we desperately wanted to camp next to the river that disappeared from the road after 10miles from the town. At the split there was a campground but after chatting to the camp hosts we were advised not to pay the $17 but to cross the bridge over the river and wild camp for free.

So off we went and fought our way through the bush to a lovely sand bar. Stomping our feet on the way through to chase off any rattlesnakes we carried the bikes over a fallen tree to the sand and were straight in the water again. We had a picnic on our secluded beach with the bear spray in one hand as I felt particularly uneasy which is crazy as I am sure I would have felt fine sitting on the same river edge but on the campground side. It is quite irrational but I cant help but feel fear anyway which Kris finds tough to get his head around. We set up tent in a sheltered area hidden from the main road and watched a couple of movies until Kris was snoring and I lay awake for which felt like the majority of the night feeling annoyed that I couldn’t sleep!

No comments:

Post a Comment