Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 Ultrapedestrian Wilderness Challenge - Graves Creek Loop


63 miles
14,800 Gain
3 days 3 passes
All Approximate
Suunto Ambit3

Glenn Rogers 53YO M
Mathew Rogers 22YO M
Kevin Rogers 14YO M
Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling
Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling

My son Mathew gifted me a backcountry trip with him for Christmas 2017.  This trip was my calling that chit.  Mathew together with my second son Kevin was going to go on an epic adventure.  We had talked about traversing the Bailey Range but there were a few drawbacks.  First it would take more that 3 days with the Elwha road closed and my wife would need to shuttle us.  And I was not sure if it would be too hard for the boys.  We had also considered a loop up on Copper Ridge but that was not an ultrapedestrian challenge and seemed too short for 3 days.  Graves Creek  was a Varner route and area that I had wanted to do and while it might be too long and hard for the boys it was worth the try.

Kevin and I had been hiking throughout the year culminating with a week long hike in Yellowstone with our scout troop which we both thought was very easy.  After that hike we decided to go back and hike across the park. We will do it in fall 2019 or 2020 if anybody would like to join us.  At 14yo he is getting old enough to do epic and hard adventures at my pace.
A trip like this gets us out in great places together without any distractions.  It allows my boys to realize their true abilities to rise to a challange and do cool shit that their friend could only dream of.  And they are doing it with their dad.  It also allows me to have long uninterrupted talks with the boys about life.  I love these trips because of the great time spent together.  This is man building time,  3 days, 3 passes and epic suffering.


I chose to go counter clockwise.  I expected the most rugged part to be this first ridge and we were not disappointed.  The plan was to camp along Six Ridge and again at Marmot Lake just short of O’Neil Pass. We tried to pack fairly light;  bringing a brooks range tarp with Tyvek for the bottom, just enough food with no excess and clothes enough to have them all on at the coldest point.  The actual brands of gear are not remarkable as they are not expensive or ultralight.  We were out for a long fun three day hike ultrapedestrian style.

Day 1 14.5 miles, 5,500ft climb, 5:40 moving time
Hiking up Graves Creek was fast and beautiful, deep in the overgrowth of the old trail.  We lunched early just before we started the climb up to Six Ridge.  Once we started the climb things slowed down considerably.  

We made the ridge and proceeded to follow the sparce and overgrown trail.  This wasn’t too difficult really.  We had good maps and as the trail would come and go we were able to track it at significant features along the ridge.  I would describe this trail as ancient.  Built in the 30s by the CCC the old trail blazes are still visible if you know where to look.  It does not receive much love now but that is its beauty.  It is not a WTC highway despoiled by untold thousands of hikers.  We had this place to ourselves. 
About halfway along the ridge to our campsite at Kevin began to struggle.  The off camber bushwacking took its toll.  We lightened his pack and pushed on.  Our Campsite at Belview was created in the early 40s as a lookout for incoming enemy aircraft.  There is nothing left now but a flat place to camp and a nice stream.  We arrived in the late afternoon with just enough time to set up our tarp and make a good meal.  It was nice to camp up high.  We could see the ridges to the south with lingering smoke from forest fires hanging in the air.















































Day 2 21.5 miles, 6,200ft climb, 9:40 moving time
We woke in the crisp morning air had breakfast and broke camp.  This morning along the ridge was incredible as we had views alternating to the north and south.  Still and old trail but in better condition than the west side of the ridge.  Along the way insulators were still in place in the trees where hard mem had strung miles of cable to the lookout. This must have been 5 to 6 miles of cable carried up this hill, hung, and replaced when knocked out of service by falling trees.  The boys were fresh and we set a fast pace.  We started again with me leading the way.  I am not sure why they didn’t want to be in the front but I was happy to set the pace.

We got down to the Skok and refilled out water and had a snack.  After seeing nobody since the start of our hike, we saw a person immediately when we got on the skok river trail.  I told the boys that we were now on a WTA freeway and our solitude was over.  Given that this trail was relatively flat and plush, I told the boys that we needed to move quickly while the going was good to bank some time for the two big climbs that were coming up.  As we started up to first divide Kevin started to poop out.  I put him on tow and started telling stories.  There was lots of time to talk on this climb.  So I did all the talking.  Not too much of a tow but keeping him close keeps him in the game.  Once we made the pass we took out all the food.  Mathew looked broken and we had a good rest.  We had passed a gal going up the hill and she passed by us telling us she was going to Marmot Lake as well.

I got the boys moving again down into the Duckabush.  They were revived and we dropped in pretty quickly.  I wished we had some time to stop of look at the old shelter.  One of the tragedies of the conservation movement is their relentless push to let things go back to nature.  At one time there were hundreds of shelters scatted throughout the Olympics.  Now there are only a handful.  This is the result of neglect, lack of funding and relentless lawsuits to stop any kind of repairs of man made structures.  The Enchanted Valley Chalet was almost lost to this mentality.

The final push of the day would be about 1,700ft up to Marmot Lake.  I knew this would be hard on the boys and I had to drive them to keep moving so we could make camp before dark.  I dropped some pain on them and let them have a peek into their pain cave.  The lake was awesome and a beautiful place to camp.  At first we had it to ourselves then our hiking gal came into camp and found a place for herself.  The boys were spent.  We made a hot feast and settled in under our tarp.

































Day 3 27 miles, 3,100ft climb, 9:00 moving time
The final day which was the longest but the easiest.  As I was making breakfast Kevin went to use the composting toilet at the other end of the meadow.  He came rushing back around the bend telling me that he didn’t get to finish his poop.  I told him that was unfortunate and asked him why.  He said a bear came up behind him and he had to finish and get out of there in a hurry.  The hike started as an easy up and over O’Neil pass.  As today would be mostly downhill but long, the boys were in good spirits.  As we started traversing down to the Quinault drainage Kevin was dragging an bit.  I had a heart to heart with him explaining that we had a long but easy descent out the Quinault.  We could spend hours trudging  or we could focus and get it done.  One mile per hour is very powerful when it is the difference between 2 and 3 MPH.  He rose to the challenge. 


This part of the trip was packed with other hikers.  While the valley was beautiful the solitude was lost.  We stopped at the Chalet for lunch and I was surprised at how close it still is to the river.  We rested our feet and ate the last of our food.  As we rested we mapped out a plan.  This trail is a beautiful gentle down to the car and if we are focused we could make quick work of it.  We agreed to move as fast as possible and only stop once every 2 hours for a 5 minutes break.




I had been in the front for the entire trip and I had been carrying the kitchen.  The boys just did not want to get in the front.  Once we crossed the Quinault the last time at Pony Bridge and knew we were within a mile or two of the finish, it was like the horses smelled the barn.  They set off up the last hill and dropped me like an bad cold.  I am not sure when they realized they dropped me but at some point they stopped and let me catch up.  But they did not offer to carry the kitchen the last bit.  We rolled into the packed trailhead.

We were out about three days.  It have a picture of my watch but it didn’t turn out very well.  I am grateful for the time alone with my boys.  I am grateful for Ras and Kathy inspiring us and all the helpful info from the group.  I know in many years after I am gone my boys will tell their kids and grandkids stories of our adventures.



Monday, December 01, 2014

Mother Mountain/Northern Loop October 11/12 2014

The Mother mountain/Northern Loop figure 8 was a part of Ultrapedestrian RAS Wilderness adventure Blogging Challenge.  This Blog is the final requirement.  This year he had three challenges.  The other was a hike down the coast which I didn't have time to do and the other was a hike around the I-90 corridor and Alpine Lakes Wilderness which was too long and i am not real interested in terraine around I-90.

This challenge was created by Kathy and utilizes part of the wonderland trail, Mother Mountain loop and Northern loop which are located on the Norht side of Mt. Rainier,  Participants are allow to start wherever they choose and go in any direction they choose but must do a figure 8, start/finish in same location, all under human power.

The Start
We drove up Friday night and slept in the back of the family SUV in the Mowich Lake Parking area.  I had considered starting at Carbon River and riding my bike up to Ipsut Creek as a starting point or starting from Sunrise.  However, the added distance and complexity this late in the season ruled those options out.

We brought some pizza with us and a few beers for the evening meal. We saved some for when we got back.  I told my 18yr old son what to bring.  I brought him along to keep me company.  I figured he could keep up with a 49 year old man.  Pretty simple list

Stuff I had for both of us

2 Kelty light year 3d 25degree bags (not really good to 25)
2 thermarest prolite full length inflatable pads
1 tent – not sure what kind.  It weighs about 4 pounds and is called a 2.5 man
Pocket rocket, some fuel and a pan
2 adventures racing large packs – old and beat up 1 saloman raid and one Gregory advent pro
Vasque light hiking shoes (think they are breeze)
First aid kit
GPS
Suunto T6

Stuff I told my son to bring and I brought for me

Fleece hat
Base shirt
Heavy fleece top
Good rain coat
Gloves
Tights
And shorts
Good socks


Food we brought:
Subway sandwiches
Mountain house meals
Fruit cups
Pop Tarts
Swedish fish
Coffee/tea
Fresh fruit
Instant oatmeal
Tuna and tortillas
Cocoa
Other misc. snacks

My plan was to fast hike, sleep at night, and eat well.  Sorry Ras no dried beans for me.  I could hike straight through but I want to take everything is as I hike.  The figure 8 was clockwise mother/counterclockwise northern loops.

We got off at about 8AM on Saturday.  I am really not a morning person.  It would have been better if we got off a bit earlier.  I saw my son was wearing a lightweight long sleeve base layer and I told him that I hoped that wasn’t his heavy fleece.  It was, but it was too late to go back. 

Ipsut Pass
We wouldn’t see anybody this day.  It was a nice hike up to Ipsut Pass; BTW it is spelled wrong on the map, and down to the Carbon River.  Last time I was at the Carbon, we drove up to the end of the road and made an unsuccessful attempt at Rainier via the Winthrop glacier.  The goal for today was to reach Lake James Camp about 30 miles which would leave up about 15 for the following day.

The weather was nice and we began the first climb of the day up to Mystic Lake.  As we reached the high point on the way to the lake, the weather closed in and it began to blow and rain.  I told him it was time to put on our rain coats.  He busted out a dragonfly like ultralight windbreaker.  Once again I asked hopefully that this wasn’t his good rain coat.  It was and this is where crap started going sideways.  We got down to the mystic lake ranger station porch where it was dry and ate our lunch.  We did not have any good options that included:

Stay put and pitch our tent
Carbon Glacier Terminus
Go back
Continue on as planned
Head for Sunrise

Mathew was soaked.  I put a plastic garbage bag on him and we pushed on.  Sunrise was the closest out and if we continued, we could decide to bail when we got to the trail junction.  The weather was building as we headed for the highest point on our route.  Meanwhile there were tornadoes in the lowlands that day.

The Calm before the storm coming into Mystic Lake
Up and over Skyscraper pass and into Berkley Park.  Heavy sideways snow with 40-50 mph steady winds.  I was good in my arc’teryx heavy fleece and raincoat but Mathew was not in a good way.  We reached the bail out to Sunrise at about 3-4PM.  It would have been 3-4 miles of more exposed hiking to I do not know what.  I did not know if there would be shelter or even anybody there or a phone.  Since I have never been there before, I was afraid that we could end up there with no shelter or way to get a ride and left exposed on a ridge.  Does anybody know, is there a lodge there?

I decided to head down into Berkeley camp.  It was significantly lower and in a treed valley where there was shelter from the wind and elements.  We pushed down fast.  Without the climbing, it was not possible for Mathew to stay warm.

We arrived at the camp and we quickly worked to set up our tent in the blowing wind.  This was a chore and caused is to relocate a few times.  Once the tent was up, I had Mathew strip his wet clothes and get in the tent in a dry sleeping bag.  We were done for the day.  There was going to be no way to dry his clothes.  I wringed them out as best I could and put them under the rain fly.  His clothes would not dry and if the weather didn’t get better, we might be here a while.  Mathew shivered and I boiled hot water for drinks and food and for a water bottle in his sleeping bag.

Now it was howling and raining sideways.  I was uncomfortable but since I had good gear, I could cook, get water, and get set up for the night.  Most of you know that when we go out together we talk about gear and what we are bringing.  We have a common understanding and do not need to check each other’s gear.  I have been out on adventures with my son and generally thought him responsible and therefore didn’t do a pack check.  This was a mistake in hindsight.

The wind and rain pounded most of the night.  I could hear large rock fall all night long.  I have never heard that much rock fall before.  As we were in a narrow steep canyon, it was a bit unnerving.  The next morning we woke up to clear cold skies.

Day 2 Grand Park
Wet clothes awaited Mathew as punishment for his poor gear choices.  We ate and packed as quickly as we could and got going.  The only way to stay warm would be to start working.  We worked our way down the valley and out onto Grand Park.  This was very nice and now that it was sunny we took time to enjoy the views.

We were now in the heart of the Northern loop, down to the Winthrop/West fork White and up to windy gap.  This was all very nice but I could tell that my son was starting to lag.  Beautiful sub alpine hike up to Windy Pass and down and out toward Yellowstone Cliffs were we saw some mountain goats.  We got back down to the carbon and stopped for lunch.  I could tell the he was getting tired but we had to push on if we were going to finish before dark. 

Going up to Windy Pass
On our way up to Seattle and Spray Parks, I would get into my heavy breathing rhythm.  This is kinda my AR trekking pass where I am pushing just at my heavy breathing limit.  Everytime I did, Mathew would ask for a rest.  I need to listen to my breathing and when it became labored, I backed off.  This climb was just another Si in my mind.

The Parks opened up in front of us.  Beautiful sub-alpine hiking.  Unfortunately, the weather was moving in again and it was getting late.  We needed to push hard into the fading light.  Unfortunately since we were not planning on hiking at night, I left my good light at home.  We rolled into Mowich about 8:30PM to eat leftover pizza and beer.

Crossing back over the Carbon River
Stats
Day 1
Time 8:20
Mileage 22.5 about
Climb 6600

Day 2
Time 10:43
Mileage 22.5 about
Climb 7300



Totals
The Finish
Trail Time 19:03 (time different than GPS because I fire it up before we leave camp)
Start to finish time about 36hrs
Mileage 44.3 about
Climb 13,900

Pictures can be found Here and I will add some to this post later

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

2013 Wilderness Challenge – Devil’s Dome Loop Day 2

During the first day I mostly imagined hiking fast and making great time on day two. As I started and headed out I realized that this backcountry was the reason for the previous day’s work. It was incredibly beautiful and isolated. I quickly decided that I was going to take my time, savior the incredible beauty and not worry about my pace.

Camp in the Morning
My plan was to hang in my bag and make/eat breakfast from my tent. Nature called me out of the tent and I wasn’t going back in. It had frozen hard the night before and still below freezing when I rolled out of the tent at 7AM. The previous night’s fire had dried my firewood and the morning’s fire started quick and was hot. I cooked by the fire and intermittently packed my gear and watched the sunrise over the eastern peaks. I like camping high in the mountains.

Jack Mtn
I am not sure when I rolled out of camp. I think it was about 8AM. The land was mine. There was nobody for miles around. I was surprised that I hadn’t seen much wildlife and only surmised that they had moved down. Later reports would confirm that I was wrong. Today’s trek was a large circ around the Devil’s Creek drainage and Jack mtn. As I moved South and West across minor drainages I looked back at where I had been the previous day: Devil’s Pass, Devils Dome and then I got a great view of the Picket range. Don Brooks and I had been there a few years back. We had done a circ of the northern Pickets and our last night was sleeping up on the high ridge of Luna Peak. I remember sleeping under the stars and watching a forest fire burn to the East. Near where I was today.

Talless field switchbacks up to the highpoint of the day and lunch
Up and down beautiful country with high alpine meadows and sweet fresh water drainages. When I climbed to the high point of the day up and over a large talles field I stopped for lunch. I took in the whole valley and looked across at Jerry Lakes. What a great remote bushwhack that would be; maybe another day. Lunch was great. I was glad I packed a lot of food. I took my boots off and savored the day’s sun.

From here I hiked down into Devil’s Park and decided that this area would be the week long Boy Scout hike I would lead in 2015. This place is incredible and I would recommend it to anybody reading this. There were campsites scattered throughout and I was thankful that Ras brought me here.

L to R Picketts, Devil's Dome, Hosmean Peaks (double hump that looks like a part of a woman)
One last small uphill to McMillan Park, which was another beautiful spot with many campsites scattered around. Still, I was getting close to the trailhead and this place was slowly losing its wilderness feel. It was truly downhill from here. I was looking forward to the gravity assist. Unfortunately, my legs were not cooperating. What should have been a fun easy jog down turned out to be a painful slog down on sore feet and untrained legs. This section was incredibly like Mt. Si (3,500 feet in 4 miles) and I thought that runners going clockwise would have a great run down to their finish.

As I finally rolled into Canyon creek, I began to notice the marks of man again. First there was a large pit which was about 10ft across and 20ft deep. I tried to understand this. Is it a cave or is there a reason that somebody would dig this hole. Further along I continued to see what looked like road beds but they ran in parallel with deep trenches between them. The hike down Ruby creek was an enjoyable river hike that reminded me of the Lewis River trail. The undulation helped my aching legs

Beautiful Alpine Meadows
As I rolled back toward the East Bank trailhead, I noticed another pit with signs next to it. This is where I learned the history of the area. Many years ago there were thousands of miners here searching for gold. The main town is now below the surface of Ross Lake. The lower road I started on was the way up to the gold fields of Ruby Creek. The holes are all that is left of miner’s claims. The parallel roads and related trenches are the diversion channels that were used to divert water from the creek bed and flush out the gold. These channels were dug by hand by thousands more Chinese laborers. This reminded me of the old stone walls I would find in the woods back east. A man’s life is spent and he is long gone. Some men’s life’s endeavors leave tracks on the Earth which are slowly erased by the passage of time.

Devils' Park Shelter
I think my total time out was 29hrs and 15minutes
I think my total time hiking was about 17:25 (At least that is what my GPS says.
Not sure of the exact mileage because my gps lost satellites in the valleys
Not sure of the elevation change because my watch batteries are dead.


Final shot - GPS a bit short because of drop satellites
But these stats are not important for me. I was not racing for time. I was taking advantage or a great opportunity to share an experience over time. It has been great to read all the other stories and experiences. For me the categories that I compete in include:

Best campsite, Devil’s Pass next to brown sign
Most campfires, 2
Most weight carried over Devil’s Dome, a lot
Longest time out, 29:15

more pics HERE.

Monday, October 07, 2013

2013 Wilderness Challenge – Devil’s Dome Loop Day 1

Ras came up with this great idea, to specify a course, in this case the Devil’s Dome Loop, and then have an open period when anybody could do the loop any how they wanted in any direction. He invited all to do it in whatever form they preferred; ultra-light trail running, fast packing, backpacking or any other means by foot. This fit me really well as I am not in running shape and definitely not in 45 mile running shape but I still want to get out in the backcountry. So I decided to fastback/backpack in two days with an overnight whereas most other participants did it in one day.
Getting ready to start
My life is super busy and my first intention was to do the trek on August 29-30 which was less than a week after returning from an 8 day bike trip. But my wife had had enough of me being gone and I postponed it until September to give her some time to recuperate from her solo watching of the kids. As it turned out, September 18-19 was the only open days I could squeeze in the trip and have my daughter watch the little boys.

After talking to Roger Micheal, I chose to do the loop clockwise for a couple of reasons. First there is about 13 miles along the East bank trail. This trail just winds its way north along the east side of Ross Lake. I have paddled the lake many times and been on parts of this trail. It is not real exciting and I just wanted to bang it out quick with fresh legs on the first day and save the mostly downhill remote section to enjoy on the second day. Finally, with the campsite that Roger suggested, it would be a few miles over half way by going clockwise and it would leave an easy mostly downhill hike for the second day. The campsite selected was Devil’s Pass which had a nearby spring.


Panther Creek coming into Ruby Creek
I had hoped to hike with a friend but I couldn’t get any schedules to fit so it was going to be a solo trip. This led me to bring a little more gear than just my minimal fast packing kit. And since I was carrying a little extra weight, a little heavier good food would be in order as well. My plan was to leave my house at 4AM and hit the trail at 8 but that wasn’t to be. Life kept me busy late the night before and I was only able to leave the house a 7AM and hit the trail at 11:45. This proved a bit problematic later on. I left from the Eastbank trailhead. The rules stipulated that you could start anywhere in the loop as long as you finished in the same spot. The first few miles were easy and mostly downhill to the Eastbank trail on an old road bed. I was a bit surprised to be on a road bed but would learn the history later on.

Bridge Over Devil's Creek
I made the turn onto the Eastbank trail put my head down and pushed fast. Along the way I ran into a group from WWU heading back in. They were a bit surprised to learn that at 2 in the afternoon my destination was Devil’s Pass. I quickly passed many of the campsites I have paddle in the past; Roland Creek, Little Jerusalem Island, May Creek, and Rainbow point fell to my pace. I carried very little water. It was raining and there was lots of fresh water around. I didn’t treat my water with anything during the whole trip. At about 4PM I reached the devils pass trail. I had a nice meal before heading up the trail and leaving the lake. The trail was nice and easy going until I got to the wilderness boundary.

This was a hard climb. Climbing out of the valley I could see the weather filtering through the drainages that fed Ross Lake and the upper Skagit drainage. I was soaking wet. The trail tread has collapsed and the brush has not been trimmed in a long time. This is the result of being a wilderness trail. In a few years it will be gone. Little use, no maintenance, just a scratch on the earth. My sons’ will probably never be able to hike this trail. This is the ultimate goal of those who propose wilderness: A land without humans. This will be an unfortunate loss.
My heavy pack and extra girth around my middle weighed on me as I climbed up to and over Devils Dome. The day was long and I reached the top at 7PM. I carried very little water up the hill wanting to conserve weight. However, there was no water down on the east side of the dome heading down to the pass. Around 7:30 I found an incredible campsite high on a ridge but with no water I had to push on. At this point my headlamp was on, along with every piece of clothing I had.

Stormy skies all week
I arrived at my camp on devil’s Pass at 8:45PM. I was wishing that I was there three hours earlier as planned but now I was cold, wet, hungry, and thirsty. On the hike in I went through my priorities, water, stove/food, fire, shelter. I hiked the short bit to the spring and filled my bottle and bladder. When I arrived back I fired up my whisper light and started cooking dinner. As it cooked I gathered firewood. Everything was wet from the day’s rain. The wind was blowing the clouds sideways through the pass collecting every drop of moisture that passed like a sieve. I gathered as much dry wood as possible and lit the fire with my fire starter nursing it to life. I piled on as much wood as I could find building up a large bonfire that served to heat and dry both me and the surrounding firewood.

Devil's Dome
The hot meal was good and warmed my bones. As I set up my tent, the clouds cleared and the temperature dropped. My bonfire raged and I went to bed happy that I packed heavy and wasn’t in a bivy sac. Coyotes lulled me to sleep.

more Pics HERE.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Day 8 August 23th West of Port Angeles

Logging Trucks
Wow it was the last day and we felt it. SR104 is a small double lane secondary highway. This means that it has steeps, no shoulders, and lots of logging trucks. While it is great to see loggers working on state lands, it is a bit scary having logging trucks bearing down on us constantly and nowhere to go. A number of times we just put it in the ditch and sometimes we couldn’t. In all cases the trucks were courteous and just doing their jobs the best they could. I waved as much as possible in hopes that they would radio our position to other truckers. I am afraid that my goofy Seattle sign I put on the back of my trailer may have made me stood out in a bad way.
Elwah river

Just over 60 miles to go

Cool old general store along the way
As we continued on, we went up and down from the Straight up into the hills and back. Our legs were not conditioned for this. Further progress meant fewer logging trucks. We lunched in a park in East Clallam Bay and as we left the rain began to fall. It only got harder the further West we rode. As we approached Neah Bay, locals stopped to talk to us. There was a festival going on and it was too bad we couldn’t stay for it. We rode through and onlookers congratulated us for making it. But we were not done yet.
Not much room here to get out of the way

Lunch in east clallum bay
We pushed on for the last few miles west on Cape Flattery road. As the rain and wind were driving in our face, it was getting close to 4, our appointed pick up time and there was no sign of our ride. We pushed onto the beach, took some pictures in the rain and looked for shelter. This was very anticlimactic. I am used to finishing the race with at least somebody to cheer you on but there was nothing but a cold driving rain.
Nice riding along the water

And the rain begins

entering the Res
We found a bus shelter on the side of the road and huddled inside near hypothermic. We put on every piece of clothing we had and fired up the stove. After a while we had to make a choice, set up the tent and get in our sleeping bags or try to make it back to Neah Bay where there were hotels, shelter and fire. Before we could make this choice our ride arrived at 5:45. I wasn’t in a very good mood and kind of tainted the atmosphere. The ride was over. We had done what we set out to accomplish. It seemed that every day there was a problem to overcome which seemed insurmountable but we worked through it.
End of the line

Found a friend to take a pic
Stats for the day72 miles 555 for trip
2,900ft ascent/3400ft descent
9hr 21min total time
more pic HERE