Day Sixty-Four: Our Final Pass--Camping in the Cascades

This morning I awoke and repeated my climbing ritual of writing motivation on my thighs and forearms:

You've made it this far...why stop now? & Seattle is over the mountain!

I wasn't nearly as anxious as I was the morning of Powder Pass. This morning I was much more excited, ready to take on the climb, see the Cascades, and get ever closer to Seattle. It took us longer than we intended to get out and going this morning. But, this was well warranted due to the AMAZING home cooked breakfast that friends of the Grange prepared for us this morning. It was so good we got the recipe. After a delicious meal like that, we could take on any mountain.

& Take it on we did:

A little motivation from the van...

Climbing over the first pass of the day: Washington Pass, elevation 5477 ft.

As close as we could get to Washington Pass peak.

Conquering the second pass: Rainy Pass, elevation 4855 ft.

Another day spent with my climbing buddy Jose. We conquered the Cascades on our own terms--stopping at outlooks, looking back and appreciating all that we had accomplished. In fact, it was going so well that we couldn't believe that Rainy Pass was the final peak of the trip--we wanted something more.

But, the day wasn't over. After lunch we continued onward, through the cascades and down into the campsite, passing breathtaking views as we went:

The river that ran through the back of our campsite.

Before long, we were settled in, bathing in the river (ice cold), setting up our tents, and cooking over the flames of a fire pit. We entertained each other, surrounded by the beauty of the Northern Cascades. Our amazing campground host even paid for our campsites in honor of her mother who suffered from breast cancer (just another testimonial to the truth: the generosity of this world is nearly as abundant as its beauty).

My desire for city-life aside, I am going to enjoy my last night camping with the team. Tomorrow we descend towards Seattle, and get even closer to the finish line.

Over the Mountain,

James