Day 7. Republic, WA to Colville, WA, 62 miles

Another day, another mountain. Today I climbed Sherman Pass, which, at 5575 feet, is my highest point of the trip so far. (I thought that was Washington Pass, but it may simply have been more feet of climbing—I started today around 2000 feet, so it was “only” about 3600 feet to the pass.) I know now I can climb mountains, but turns out I’d still prefer not to, at least not five in four days. Not that the road cares one whit for my preferences, one of the lessons of bike tour.

It was an unceremonious greeting at the top: before I even crested I was warned about the downhill grade.

There was a group of Harley Davidson guys at the top taking a break and snapping photos; as I rolled up they were all looking at me, and I said “well shit, I made it,” and they busted out laughing. I offered to take a group photo, and they took mine, and we chatted a bit. I got the usual “do you carry a gun?” question, but when they heard I was from Chicago (mumbles of “oh, gangsters”), they stopped worrying because that means “she can handle anything.”

Then they left, and I suited up for the downhill. Going up and down mountains means changing your clothes a lot, I’ve learned. I layered and de-layered multiple times in the course of the day, from sweating in a tee and bike shorts to shivering in my hat, gloves, and two sets of toe warmers.

I’ve been hearing myriad birds and trying my best to record and ID them; it’s my goal to start matching up the Merlin IDs with sightings so I actually know what birds I’m seeing. Below are a few I’ve heard (and some I’ve seen).

Aside from many lovely views today, one of the coolest things I saw was this heritage site about Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, which had a boys’ camp in Colville National Forest from 1934-43. I hung out there for a while to warm up after the descent down Sherman Pass.

I stayed a few miles past Colville (a few hideously-graded, hilly miles that made me SO MAD) at a bikers-only spot, Bacon’s Bike Hostel. It was free and convenient, and the shower and bed were much appreciated, but the place smelled sour and I woke to the sound of critters in the wall. I did learn from the guest book that there are at least two sets of Northern Tier riders a day ahead of me, and I am apparently VERY lucky weather-wise: they have had consistent rain, as well as snow at 38 degrees on Sherman Pass.

Onward to the (temporarily, briefly) less mountainous lands, once I finish climbing out of the Colville area tomorrow.