Route: Hood River to Multnomah Falls, OR (by bike);
Multnomah Falls to Vancouver, WA (by car)
Pedaling out of Hood River, I knew we had officially left
behind the hot, arid terrain we’ve experienced over the past week when Saya
asked for extra long pants, a jacket and ear warmers. After some necessary but unpleasant miles
riding on the broad shoulder of I-84, we left the booming noise of the traffic and
rode on peaceful back roads. We took a
break from cycling to eat wild blackberries and pet some friendly goats. Sho looked for poisonous berries using his
book on edible and medicinal plants, and we savored the moist, earthy smell of a
dense fir tree forest as we cycled on the comfortable, paved trails through
Sheridan State Park. Sho and Saya were
particularly excited by the Cascade Fish Hatchery, where we watched young
salmon attempt to jump through an impressively difficult chute of flowing
water.
Today’s most unusual experience came shortly after leaving
the fishery, where the bike trail presented us with 60 steps up a set of
concrete stairs. We unloaded our
panniers, unhooked the trailer and carefully carried everything to the top of
the stairs before re-loading the bikes. I'm not complaining -- this was nothing compared to the typical portage Lewis & Clark faced. After returning to the truck tire-strewn shoulder of
I-84 for five miles, we spent the rest of today’s ride enjoying the Historic Columbia River
Highway until we reached the sparkling white waters of Multnomah Falls. There, we met Steve Getsinger who drove us to
his home in Vancouver, Washington.
My
good friend Brad Graff, who will host us in Portland, called this switch to a car “cheating,”
but I’d prefer to think of it as good manners.
We met Steve eleven days ago on the top of Lolo Pass (he took the photo
of us celebrating our successful crossing of the Rockies), and he invited us to
have dinner and spend the night at his home.
We accepted and estimated that we would arrive in Vancouver tonight. But because of Becky’s many flat tires
yesterday, we couldn’t make it all the way.
Rather than leave Steve and his wife Cath with a large Chinook salmon to
split between the two of them, I accepted his offer to pick us up.
Steve and Cath were excellent hosts, and the meal was
outrageously delicious. As we ate, Cath asked Sho to
share his happiest, saddest, scariest and funniest experiences on our
ride. Sho answered:
Happiest: making it over the Rocky Mountains
Saddest: learning that our cat Boo Boo had died
Scariest: when a truck passed very close to our bikes on the
descent from Lolo Pass
Funniest: that we call farts while cycling “turbo boosts”
I’ve mentioned several times in this blog that the best part
of our trip has been the kindness of strangers.
We had the pleasure of spending time with two more strangers today, and
they have already become friends.
Here are some pics:
On the road
My sister Becky's new boyfriend
Eating wild blackberries
Sheridan State Park
Baby salmon practicing
Portaging my bike up steps on the bike path
Family pic
Laying down to capture the perfect shot at Multnomah Falls
The remarkably beautiful Columbia River Gorge
Steve, Cath and Saya with our Chinook salmon dinner. Life is good.
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