DAY 17

On day 17 we woke up in our campsite by the river and began our ascent into the heart of the Cascades. It was real scenic. 

That picture is from the begininning of our climb, at about 2000 feet. Here is a bug I saw. 

This climb was probably the most difficult riding I have ever done. It combined the hottest heat of our ride, the longest distance without water, and the highest climb either of us had ever done. Its a good thing that mike and I are so tuff. Here's the view from the top of Washington pass. 

A couple of times during the climb we had to collect water from waterfalls and streams. We used Mike's fancy filter to drink it. 

The other side of the mountain was a desert. It was real strange. We rode into Winthrop, a weird western-themed town that looked like Disneyland's Westernland. 

After around 85 miles we called it quits and camped in a nice old couple's backyard