It was a day of contrasts. Rain to sun to rain to sun to clouds, desert to forest to desert to mountains. The road over Washington Pass was absolutely beautiful. Rainy, with temperatures probably in the 40s (fahrenheit). The snow was still down to the road, and the roads leading into the trailheads near the top of the pass (in North Cascades National Park - http://www.nps.gov/noca/) were still snowed in.
I saw five cyclists today heading west to east. I guess I was really headed across backwards (or the other East to West folks on the Northern Tier Route are still closer to the east coast). The last couple I was were near Diablo. A man and a woman - she really looked like she was struggling, and it was already after noon. Maybe there were only going as far as Ross Lake. They had a long way to go from where I saw them to get to the top of the pass - probably about 30 miles. I still have no regrets about my decision. It was very wet and cold up there.
I thought I could make it all the way to Rainier today, but at 6:00 I realized it was too much. I probably would have been able to drive all of the way if I hadn't stop often today to take pictures, but it is my vacation after all! I was going to circle around to the east of the park, then see if I could find a campsite or hotel room. But a local told me he wasn't sure that the road on that side of the park was open yet. So I headed back to the west. I stopped in Puyallup, and I'm staying at the Holiday Inn Express. I'll head into the park tomorrow. It's supposed to be a nice day. I certainly hope so.
