Bellingham to Forks
Mattfound a dirt inter-urban trail that led us through the forest parallel thehighway all the way to the coast. They don't call them Skagit flat lands fornothing. Yes we had a headwind, but boy the boggy wetland-ridden coast wasbeautiful.
Westopped in a very small town named Edison, population 105, for the best salmontacos the world has yet to offer us. Whatever you do, whoever you are, stop inEdison, Washington!
Thenwe crossed a burley bridge to get onto Fidalgo Island which charmed us with itsRed Cedar trees and lookouts onto the San Juan Islands. We met one of Fidalgo'sfinest- who named each of the islands for us, and who conveniently also happensto live in a pickup truck at that exact vista.
DeceptionPass is incredible and should not be skipped over. It bridges Fidalgo andWhidbey Islands. We then took a ferry over to Port Townsend and met severalother bike tourists as we waited.
Oncein Port Townsend we booked it from the ferry terminal to the only campsitearound - up some steep hills and no-bike-lane roads only to arrive at thecampsite and be turned away! We lingered for a few seconds and sure enough, afellow biker offered up part of his tiny hiker- biker site for us and the otherbikers to set up camp at. We packed it in like sardines, and fell asleep to thesound of each other's breath through our tents and the crazy calls of themighty Barred Owl who perched in the maple trees above us.
FromPort Townsend we headed just west of Port Angeles, where a friend of ours ishomesteading. She took us to see the mouth of the Elwha River- which onlyrecently had its dam removed for Environmental reasons. Bald eagles flew amongthe tips of the fir trees above the mighty river. At her house we got to playwith hairy piglets, a puppy, llamas, ducks, and walk along a salmon run creekon a handmade path. Dreamy.
Weheaded to Lake Crescent for a short day full of single track on the north shoreof the lake and stunning Caribbean blue waters. Definitely recommended.
FromLake Crescent we headed To Forks, where the film Twilight was filmed and wherethey average 145 inches of rainfall a year. We're glad we went - and probablywon't be back! Onwards we go... Towards the Oregon border!
Gear List
- FROM: Bonny Doon, CA
- DOB: 1999-11-30
- OCCUPATION: Adventurers
- Genesis Moment and Inspiration for your Trip? We have biked the entire Pacific Coast already, and it may seem odd that we are doing it again. Along the last journey we met a screen printer and fellow bike tourist named Justin who had ridden the Pacific Coast route over five times. When we first heard this we thought he was crazy – there is so much out there to explore! But he went on to explain, and ultimately convince us – that not only is the ride experience different every time due to weather, new companions, older selves, etc; but traveling known roads you can come back to the places that really impacted you, and try the alternate routes you had to pass over last time. The ride just gets better and better because your relationship to the trail is what frees you to explore more deeply. When you know that there is a taqueria and clean water only ten miles away you are more likely to actually stop and jump in the roadside lake that otherwise remains unexplored….
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Have you Traveled by bike in the past?
Matt and I live in a Tiny Home deep in the mountains above the town where we work and our daily commute requires a year round touring set up. At every moment we have to have everything we need for the day – heavy bags full of produce, a down jacket, bike shoes and sandals, water for the day and a lunch, the list goes on. We have a daily relationship with loaded bike travel!
Matt has been bike touring since he was 17, and set off on a very aggressive pedal across the country on ACA’s Sierra Cascade Route and Northern Tier Route attempting 5,000 miles in two months. After making it all the way to the ACA headquarters in Missoula, Montana and earning his ice cream he was hit by an SUV just east of Missoula and heli-evacuated to the nearest hospital. That accident, which snapped his leg in half and exploded his bicycle is what “saved his life,” as he says. Through the long recovery process he learned to slow down and his relationship to bicycle touring, which had formerly been focused on mileage and destination, is now more focused on the slow and simple pleasures of the road.
Kate has been biking to different ice cream parlors all over California her whole life but didn’t start her first multi-day bike travel until she met Matt. They have been on two bike tours together, one big, one small. On the first one, she had a small heart failure in the mountains of Big Sur and had to bike eight miles of steep uphill to get to cell service. She learned that she has a mild heart condition, and biking is good for it. That “adventure” has been a similar inspiration in her relationship to biking and using her body as a means of excursion – a long journey in patience and thankfulness for the incredible feats that a body can perform!
- What is your goal for the route? Sunshine, lakes, ice cream, back country, rain forest, hot springs, tacos, aged cheeses, and so much laughter.
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? A more intimate understanding of and connection to the Pacific Coast. An opportunity to reconnect to the folks we have met along the way – a real rarity of this type of travel! A relationship to the brands that we use and care about – knowing the people who are making what we are using. We want to live each day 100% fully.
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What’s in my bag? List four things that you could not live without (take a photo of each on a neutral background)
Little journals Kate made, Book of poems by Mary Oliver,Our friend’s homemade Organic sunscreen, Rechargeable boom box for pumping James Brown on the climbs
