Back to the States and into WA 9/15 - 9/20

Our first order of business in Port Angeles was to shed some weight because we both had over packed so we rode to a park and started unpacking. An old guy by the name of Bucky stopped to talk with us. He lived in the mountains during the summers and came down for the colder months. Bucky used to teach evading and survival techniques and was a wealth of info for our journey. He stuck around for a while and shared stories and advise before he told us we were doing exactly what he thought we should be doing. Yet another helpful stranger along the way that reaffirmed our purpose.

We packed up about 20lbs between the two of us and sent it back home in a box from the post office. After that we made our way out of town and found a spot off the road to do some more stealth camping. From our tarps and some tent poles we fashioned a little shelter and cooked up some dinner using a campers stove. No raccoons or bears found us that night but we did hear something in the bush.


In the morning we headed out towards Lake Crescent in Olympic National forest. Around the North side of the forest we went. Damn that's a big park. Tons of furiously fast logging trucks and little to no shoulder to ride on. As we approached the lake Simeon had his first close encounter with a semi while going down a rather steep hill. The trailer came within four inches of his elbow and the wind wake pushed him into the guard rail which ended up burning a hole in the disc golf bag. All in all though he survived unscathed and we got some great pics of the lake.






















We made camp at Fairholm campground which happened to be patrolled by "Ranger Dick" he approached us with "Have you paid yet?". Camping is expensive in WA and he wanted $14. Josh only had $15 and apparently the ranger didn't carry cash so we lost a buck in the deal. They didn't even have showers, so we headed down to the lake for an ice cold bath and washed some of our clothes off by the dock. While all that was happening we returned to find a rather brave blue jay trying to eat Sim's banana chips and we chased him off. Never far away, the bird watched us forage for firewood and waited for scraps that never came.


The next morning we headed out again around the forest making our way thru Forks towards Hoh rain forest. Forks is a small town that became famous because of some vampire books called Twilight. They had signs on businesses welcoming vampires and a million drive up espresso shacks. Sim said they must have so many coffee places to help the "vampires" stay up all night.

After Forks we made our way towards the Hoh rain forest and camped halfway there at a free site where we ran into a hunter that said there weren't any bears around and complained cause the campground up the road was totally "fawked" and full of flat-landers. People from WA apparently believe everything is flat unless it has snow on a peak or a volcano because it became a recurring theme that they said something was flat, when there was actually one hell of an incline.

After deciding not to climb the 18 remaining miles to the Hoh rain forest and then back out again we made our way south. Kalaloch beach campsite is where we made camp for the night. We weren't the only ones though, a million RVs were also there. The beach was pretty cool. It had some huge logs that had washed up and were known for squashing swimmers. The camp was $14 and Simeon made a wise decision to buy some Ranier tallboys to relax. After dinner we tried to find a food locker but decided to just put the food bags at the edge of camp. Damn coons ate most of Sim's food and even ate his coveted MRE with penne pasta and chicken in spicy sauce along with all Josh's marshmallows, banana chips, and dried apricots. Little fuckers! The next morning we realized there was a food locker no more than 40yds away. We just walked the wrong direction. That's what we get for being lazy.


















We made our way across more rolling "flat" terrain and went through a reservation town names Queets where we met an old Native American man that told us about "two mile hill" which we would be biking soon enough. We chatted with him for a bit, gave him some change and a cig and went on our way with another well wishing stranger behind our journey. As we left he yelled Houy! Which meant - I'll see you later - there are no goodbyes to the natives.

After deciding against biking more horrid hills towards Hoh, we decided to make our way to Quinalt rain forest which was a little further South. We made camp about 7pm with only $7 cash between us and the sight was $17. We walked down to town in search of an ATM but everything was closed down beside a cafe and an upscale lodge with a Viper parked outside. Neither one would help us and the lodge smelled an awful like a nursing home. Stands to reason everybody in there had blue hair. We put our seven bucks in the envelope and made camp.

The next morning we went to check out the rain forest and found out last Dec. a gigantic windstorm had blown thru with 130mph winds and flattened old cedars and hemlocks that aged to 300-500yrs old. It was a sad and also amazing site to see. The forest was still beautiful even with a ton of trees down. Moss covered everything and fungus was among us.
























































After the rain forest, we rode into Aberdeen WA. This was our most productive day of riding yet. Olympic National forest signs dotted the route which made it seem that we were just going in circles but the map said different so we plugged along. Aberdeen was a strange city with some strange inhabitants. Just before town we met another tourer named Walter from Holland who was going North to Seattle. He told us that the town was a little strange and everyone seemed nice but the town seemed "full of inbreed".


Josh and Sim made it through town and about dusk a campsite still had not been found. Just outside of town there was a monster hill and we decided to do some more stealth camping next to a electric pole off the highway. After laying the tarp and setting up our sleeping bags, we looked at the clouds above and remarked that it looked clear enough. Well at about 2:30am we realized our folly as Josh woke up to a light sprinkling on his face. In a frantic hurry he grabbed the two remaining tarps and covered the bikes and the sleeping tarp. Sim is delirious just after waking up so, rather than helping, he burrito wrapped himself in the tarp and crossed his arms under his head to keep out of the puddle. After an hour or so of no sleep listing to the rain and Sim's snoring Josh tore off the tarp cursing the state of WA. He then proclaimed "what do you do when you wake up in a puddle at 3am? "You get on your bike and ride." So that's what we did.

Josh wringing out his sleeping bag.

There seemed to be a million hills that went on forever that morning. Our legs were exhausted because we barely had any rest and had eaten practically nothing the night before. It was slow going but there wasn't a whole lot of trucks to dodge so that was nice. After what seemed an eternity of wet, cold, and uphill biking; we finally rolled into Raymond WA at about 5:30am and found a great little cafe to warm up and eat. Raymond is a small logging town that you could blink and miss but the cafe was a beacon of recovery. Josh and Simeon were able to recharge their electronics and their bellies. Coffee was served by the pot and they ate huge portions of food. We stayed in the cafe for about five hours warming up and stuffing our faces.

Just as we were leaving Sim was outside speaking to a non denominational preacher who helped out the local Native Americans. Josh was inside striking up a friendship with a guy named Brian who was on the same journey. Brian had actually planned the trip twenty something years ago, but had encountered a terrible car wreck that shattered 27 bones and kept him in the hospital for over a year. His hip had healed wrong and he wanted to complete this trip before they replaced it in January. Josh and Sim gained a new member of their trip that day when Brian decided to bike with them. All three left Raymond in search of a KOA campsite in Bay Center that boasted hot showers and laundry.