D: 1-3 (The Three Beasts)
Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 12:58AM In the opening canto of Dante's Inferno, Dante is faced with three beasts who guard the passage to Heaven. They are, in essence, the inner struggles of the wanderer. Because he could not overcome those struggles he was turned off the right road and sent down through the nine circles of Hell before he could reach his destination. Hence his story...and hence mine. I structured "Packing Inferno" on the same struggle. I had my own struggles, my own beasts, and was not able to subdue them...and so I went to Iraq. I was not forced.
For me, the first leg of this trip has similar meaning. I must cross over three mountain passes...three beasts. The first was Steven's Pass, in the Cascades. The second and third are Lolo and MacDonald in the Rockies. And they are rather beastly.
Overcoming these three passes does not constitute victory, but it keeps me on the right road. I pedaled every inch of Stevens pass, I'm pleased to report. I fell as low as 3.3 miles per hour but I didn't walk.
Day 1 was relatively leisurely...about 43 miles to Monroe. Lots of support. (The hospitality in Seattle was amazing--thank you!)
Day 2 was a little harder. Started at 100ft Above Sea Level (ASL)...rode about 60 miles...ended up at just over 4100ft ASL. Ate a LOT of food. Drank a LOT of water. Lost a LOT of sweat. Panniers were weighing in at a little over 110 lbs. Had to re-think the pack job! Now they're a little lighter. The wingtips had to go. Orwell stayed. Camped out...the one part of this process I'm accustomed to.
Day 3..."the other side"...I've never biked so far without actually pedalling...got about ten miles, I think. Covered another 44 miles or so today. Passed through Leavenworth...they've got an interesting German thing going on there. They actually made it look like The Sound of Music. Weird. I asked the waitress, "What's a traditional German potato cake?" She wrinkled her face and said, "I don't know, I don't like German food." Tough town to live in.
In Wenatchee now with new friends, Peggy and Jerry et al. Western WA is kind of like New England on Steroids--everything looks similar but it's all HUGE. Eastern WA is hot and dry; the mountains are still huge but bare...reminds me a little of 29 Palms...though not quite that dry.
Spokane is next. I don't face the next two beasts until Idaho.
(D-4 is a down day. I'll post some pics soon.)
watoma!