Day 3: A special guest star

We got an early start from Arlington, determined to make some real miles today. Rockport or bust! Our bodies were the only obstacles. I was on day three of my headache. I've always suffered from headaches and this happened on my last trip too, so I knew I had it to look forward to. There was a scary moment during the night when I woke up when a stabbing pain in my right temple - the kind of pain that moves in and takes a name for itself - and I imagined spending the next day lying on the ground - but fortunately it faded back to a manageable ache after a few Tylenol and more sleep. For Mary's part, she was still feeling a few remnants of the Bad Burrito episode, as well as fielding some inconveniently timed issues of feminine hygiene (how do< you handle this on a bicycle trip?).

And so, we made slow but steady miles through the morning. After a lot of debate, we'd chosen SR 530 to Darrington, over route 9 to Sedro-Wooley with a possible detour over (gasp) I-5. There was some concern about traffic on 530 due to a Bluegrass Festival at the Darrington Amphitheater - but in the end we shared the road mostly with day tripping motorcyclists en route to the scenic North Cascades Highway. The road itself was fine - decent shoulders, fairly level with a few gentle climbs - and stunning views of mist capped mountains, still peaked with snow.

Speaking of motorcyclists, we had a special visit from my friend Larry, who caught up with us along the trail. Larry came bearing fruit and soft drinks, and I had to laugh when he hauled the watermelon out of his sidebag... Larry accompanied us on and off over the remaining miles to Darrington, and treated us to lunch at what was possibly Darrington's only restaurant.

Arlington to Darrington, 30 miles, with 20 more to go 'til Rockport. Incredibly, the road from Darrington to Rockport is 20 miles downhill along the Sauk River. It's a phenomenal piece of road with gorgeous views and nary a car in sight. But since we haven't climbed much since leaving Seattle, I'm not sure how the math works out, and I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. There's a piper to be paid somewhere.

And indeed, we have three mountain passes in our near future. I'm confident though. We're still struggling, but I can see our rhythm falling into place already. Another couple days and we'll be old hands.

For tonight, we're holed up at the Howard Miller Steelhead Park, a lovely little state park along the Skagit river.