Well, the fellow that was napping on the picnic table never reappeared, so I had a quiet evening and made a potato, onion and carrot soup.  It drizzled a bit during the night, so I put the rain fly over the tent, the first time since the Cascade Mountains.

People were trout fishing in the river and one fellow said he caught a bunch.  If I remember correctly, the notice with regulations on this particular river mentioned cutthroat and steelhead.

Last night there were all kinds of creatures making strange noises right outside the tent.  Got up a couple of times to see if I could identity anything with my light, but failed.  Reminded me of the time I camped at Pennekamp in the keys and I had about 30 raccoons making a ruckus in the tree that was right above my tent.

Today, I covered 64 more miles and am at Chief Thomas campground, less than 10 miles west of Clarkston, WA.   That makes 486 total miles.   In today’s sixty four miles, there were 2 long climbs and 2 long descents and virtually no flat.  I had a tail wind most of the way, but that first long climb was really hard, primarily because it never seemed to end.

So far, many of the people I’ve met bike-packing seem to be carrying heavier loads than I.  You really can’t imagine hauling a load up those long grades until you’ve done it.  It’s a different experience from racing up a hill on a lightweight road bike or sprinting up a steep pitch in the woods on a mountain bike.

Everyday, I’m thinking about what I might want to send home in order to lighten the load.  So far, just a few things are on the list.  Those booties I decided to bring after that rainy commute home.  Maybe my multi-tool could go, now that I purchased a Swiss Army knife.  I needed the Swiss Army knife because I wanted a can opener and a more practical knife for cooking than what I had.  The multi tool has a pliers and a scissors which may come in handy.  Maybe I’ll keep it for a while.  I bought a length of line on that first days visit to REI and at first I had doubts, but now it’s coming in handy for hanging wet stuff out to dry.  I have a musette that was handy on the flight out, but of no use, since.

Like me, most people are using front and rear panniers, with most of the load in the rear.  Seems to be the most practical way to load up a touring bike for the road.

Bought a bunch of fresh picked asparagus at a road side stand.  I was hoping for fruit, but there are not a lot of open road side stands on this stretch of road. When raw, asparagus tastes a bit like celery, which I love.  I’ll cook some up with carrots and my last bit of summer sausage for dinner.  I also saw this welcome cyclist sign, though I don’t think I saw another person bike packing all day.

The second hill was shorter and steeper, but I was refreshed from lunch, so I did better.  I could see a thunder storm brewing most of the afternoon, and finally got rained on about 10 minutes outside the campground on the final descent. 

 I’m writing this in a picnic shelter, while the storm blows over. Someone just saw me in the shelter and asked me if I needed a ride.  This is pretty common when people see bike-packers out in foul weather.

Waiting for the thunderstorm to pass before setting up camp. No cell service here so I will have to post this in the morning.