Day 4: Anacortes to Hamilton

May 22, 2024

I feel like it was raining all night. When did a bird perch and then poop on my handlebars?

A couple of harbor seals in the bay next to Anacortes

Rural Skagit valley slowly giving way mountains as the Cascades get larger going east

My camp setup among the green of the temperate rainforest at Rasar State Park

Today I got onto the Adventure Cycling Association’s Northern Tier bike route. I enjoyed the route through the coastal area but that was meant to be a warm-up for the cross-country route. One highlight of the day was seeing a few harbor seals when going on a pathway through Anacortes. I wanted to warn them not to trust any people because they might try to touch their pups, but they probably already know.

One thing I’ve enjoyed today is getting to see the landscape change. You can see the hills from Anacortes and you slowly move toward them. And now I feel that I'm firmly within the foothills of the Cascades. I’m still in the Skagit Valley, so I haven't gotten that high yet. There's still agricultural land around, but you can feel you're getting into the mountains. The mountains are getting bigger and the valley is getting narrower. Peaks are getting closer.

Just generally, i felt good. I felt like I was moving along pretty well. Got a little tired at the end as I was trying to push through. I didn't take quite enough breaks, didn't hydrate as well as I could have so I could do better on that in the future. It was a good day overall.

When I reached the campground I ran into the campground host. I told him what I was doing, where I was going, and he recognized it right away as the northern tier route and said there's probably been five other folks that have come through so far this spring that are looking to do the same thing. That was fun that he recognized it and that he was encouraging of the dream.

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 154 miles (248 km)

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