The first night back in my tent was really warm going to sleep, but I ended up really chilly overnight. My nose got really stuffy from the dry air and the nearby smoke from the forest fires nearby or in Canada as the smoke is blowing into Washington. It certainly adds some haze to the scenery. I hardly slept, not out of anxiety, but because there were lots of sounds to listen to; babies, sirens, chirping, someone throwing up.
Since the weather forecast was for hot weather again (near 100°F), everyone woke up early and I was up at 5:30am. I packed up, made oatmeal and hot cocoa for breakfast and left camp by 7am. Most cyclists rode into Winthrop, which felt like an old Western or mining town, to have breakfast at a local bakery. We started peddling by 8am and I had a nice ride with Chelsea, a cyclist who had joined the trip part-way through. She was really smiley and pleasant to talk to. The mountain views were really beautiful and we were blessed with the sun being behind the mountain ridge as we had a long day ahead with a big mountain climb. We took a rolling backroad off the main Rt 20 to get to our first rest stop in Mazama at the Country Store. We also got 2nd breakfast and snacks. I also had my first donut peach and wowee, what a delicious fruit that is!!! We hung out for about an hour at the country store, talking to locals about the trip and gave out stickers.
Both excitedly and reluctantly, we headed up the mountain, but it was starting to get hot out. It was 23 miles to the summit of Washington Pass and Rainy Pass, 5,477 ft at the pass. We played leap frog, it seemed, with a number of riders with the 4K for Cancer cycling group, but otherwise I kept to the shoulder on this 2-lane pass over the Cascades. I got a flat tire on the middle of the long climb, with about 10 miles to go to the top still, and there was no shade to change it. Luckily, Reed saved the day with his good tire pump. Mine isn't as good as I'd hoped it'd be, unfortunately. The water in my bottles was hot and I was already feeling scorched, not even halfway through the day. Luckily for me, but unfortunately for the route leaders, the van was over heating on the long climb and I was able to refill my water bottles with cool water, which only stayed cool for 10 minutes, but it was still a God-send.
Upon finally reaching the top, the views from the two summits of the passes were beautiful. It was spectacular looking back at the road we had climbed and being to see mountain and after mountain. At Rainy Pass, we stopped and walked into a park where there was a lake with a waterfall. The water was frigid and the rocks were slippery, so I just ventured to the waterline, knowing I’m not the most graceful person and this was still the first day of the trip. After an hour at this lake, we headed down the road as it was still another 30 miles to camp at Diablo Lake. While mostly downhill, strong headwinds prevailed and we all felt gipped on the awesome descent. I rode mostly by myself, as I took an extended bathroom break leaving the lake. So, I played catch-up to the group while enjoying the descents. I finally caught a few folks, but by then I felt as though either heat exhaustion or altitude sickness was starting to set in. Even the headwind was giving me a headache. I just wanted to close my eyes and take a nap. I also felt lightheaded and a bit nauseas. I met up with Emily, Brian and Yong at an overpass and let them know how I was feeling. We rode to another overpass, looking way down on Diablo Lake and we knew we were minutes from the finish. We rode down a very steep and fun descent together into camp. I think I hit 44mph that day!!
Once at camp, instead of eating dinner right away, I decided I needed to cool off and jumped into the glacial lake with 2 other riders. I actually struggled to get out because I was numbing up so fast, and perhaps the shock also caused such a dramatic reaction. However, the water was a beautiful teal and did refresh me!
For dinner, I boiled mac ‘n cheese and stirred in canned tuna. Our campsites are way up a hill that the van and trailer couldn't make it to, so we unpacked our tents and sleeping bags and hauled them up the steep hill. It was like being in Fern Gully; so heavily wooded and green, very lush.
Though I felt exhausted from the heat today and had my moments of struggle, it's been really nice reconnecting with the riders and hearing all their great stories. They're ready to go home, but I'm still excited to just be getting started again. It was a really tough first day back, but so rewarding!
