Anacortes to Rasar State Park
44 miles
I woke up early with anticipation. I made coffee using the leftover denatured alcohol stove to quickly heat the water instead of a fire. We showered, broke camp and rode our fully loaded bikes down the steep hill toward the starting point of the Northern tier. For a good omen, we decided to dip our back tire into the ocean once last time, but instead of using the paved boat ramp, Matt thought that the shot would be better over the deep sand and slippery rocks. After a struggle of getting the bikes close to the water without falling over, we both did a quick dip and slowly rolled our coated tires back to the road. Perhaps the ocean wasn’t ready to say goodbye as well. For a brief moment before getting on the bike to start the first mile I had a tiny panic attack full of tears, anxiety and fear. The bike seemed too heavy, much more so then during training and gazing toward the distance of the snow covered peaks of the Northern Cascades I felt unsure that I’d be able to do this. Like normal during a stressful thought I began reorganizing my pack and frantically throwing out items, like a half bottle of wine I was hoping to finish that evening, my Tom’s deodorant, an olive garden gift card that still had a few bucks on it, travel size shampoo and conditioner bottle, lotion and my good Sam’s membership card. Even though the total of that weighed less than two pounds, I felt satisfied that I had lessened the load enough to gain the confidence to get on the bike and start the tough climb out of Washington Park.
After winding hills and slow descents, over bridges and past farm houses, we officially left the coast and headed due East toward the mountains. After a quick break at the Sedro Wooley Market, we started the slow incline towards the Cascades and our intended campsite at Rasar State Park.
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