In Tacoma, hurry up and wait

I turned today into another longish day. The record breaking heat that had been predicted did not develop as I climbed to higher elevations. It ended up being a nice day, weather-wise. 

I did stumble out of Walla Walla just before 8:30 this morning after a less than good night sleep. My room was at the end of the hall, furthest from the front desk and against the outside wall. Right outside my room was the exit door.

I did not realize when I checked into the room that the IBDS (International Botherhood of Door Slammers) was having a convention at the same motel. Beginning about 3 a.m. the exit door would slam shut about every 15-30 minutes as Union members went off to work somewhere that is open at 3 a.m. 😟

So when I raised the kickstand my brain was still in idle and I neglected to start Strava. By the way, last night I slammed Strava saying I had lost all my data from Day 1. Somehow it eventually reappeared and I was able to post it to FaceBook.

My route this morning was an express route. Though not an Interstate highway by virtue of the intersections I crossed, it was a divided highway none the less and made for quick transit time to the northwest from Walla Walla. When eventually US 24 west turned to the west to become US12 west, it likewise turned into a regular highway with one lane in each direction. My desired destination was the White Pass Scenic Byway, named after a well known touchdown pass that Danny White of the Dallas Cowboys threw in Super Bowl XXCPR.

As I began to climb I was once again riding in the Cascade Mountains, just south of where I had traversed last year when I was awestruck by the unexpected beauty of the lofty peaks that lined the highway (the picture I used on my first entry for this blog was taken in the Cascades)!

I started alongside Oak Creek, then picked up the Tieton River, eventually winding up and up, until I was skirting the north shore of Rimrock Lake.

 On the west end of the lake was an incredibly stunning waterfall. 

I stopped to take a few pictures and met an elderly couple that had driven out from New Hampshire to study the geology of the North Cascade Mountains. They too were impressed with the amount of water coming over the falls due to record breaking snowfall this past winter.

Somewhere just beyond the falls I crossed White Pass. Somewhere in this area, I was later told, I also crossed the Pacific Crest Trail, a roughly 2600 mile hiking trail that goes from Mexico to Canada. I would have guessed it was about twenty miles further west between the mountain communities of Motrin and Advil.

The reason I had chosen this route was that it was said to offer views of Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. It did, sort of, and awhile ago.

It is difficult to miss Mt. Rainier as you round a bend in the highway at a point about thirty miles away. Difficult, but not impossible. I chose to take a picture with my IPad instead of my telephone, which was on the on-board charging system at the time. I got the picture but apparently I have lens issues because this is what I ended up with:

Not a real good quality shot of the 14,409 foot behemoth.

I stopped for lunch in Packwood at the only burger joint I saw. The female owner did not seem to know much about the area. I suspect that she hasn't been there long. I asked her several questions about Mt. St. Helens and she could not answer any of them, instead opting to direct me to the ranger station in Randle, just a few miles to the west. 

The Rangers were more helpful as far as answers go, but the answers were not what I wanted to hear. Since Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, losing the upper 1300 feet of its silhouette, it no longer can be seen from Highway 12. Making matters even worse, for me, the roads leading south from the highway to Spirit Lake (which offers spectacular views of the mountain) have not opened yet (expected opening date is July 4th).

I inquired also about Mt. Adams (elevation 12,281 feet) and received very specific directions as to where it could be viewed. I did not take a picture but we can use this one with a little imagination:

It is, again, Mt. Rainier. Now imagine a forested peak in the foreground, the top of which is approximately where the tall tree on the left is, sloping downward to the right, to a point directly below the peak in the center of the picture and obscuring the left 1/3 of the peak. Now picture the mirror image of the forested peak, sloping from the upper right corner down to the same point below the peak, obscuring the right 1/3 of the peak. Now take the cloud cover above the peak, double it in size and density, then pull that cloud down to the point where the two forested peaks in the foreground meet. We're almost done. Now turn your head to the left and look down at your shoulder. You see the fabric seam of your shirt? You see it as it disappears in your peripheral vision as it gets closer to you? Now insert that in the bottom of the picture you've created. You now can clearly see exactly what Mt. Adams looks like at 60 mph as you head west and glance back over your shoulder at the one precise point where Mt. Adams is visible from the highway! Your welcome!

I continued west on Highway 12 until I reached Motrin and took 7 north (but not more than 14 in a 24 hour period). This highway took me very slowly past the access road to the entrance of Mt. Rainier park. I say "very slowly" because it was at this point where I caught up with several vehicles that were stuck behind two guys in pick-ups that were pulling boats at 30 mph, never leaving room between them for cars to pass, never pulling over for any of the 35 cars that eventually accumulated behind them, and progressing at this glacial pace for the next 30 miles, all the way in to Tacoma. At one point the lead traffic jammer made it through a light that his buddy stopped for. At last, we all thought, we can pass one, then the other with room to pull in between them!

Wrong! His buddy stopped in the middle of the highway just ahead and waited for the light to change so his compadre could follow him again! Argh!

I'm sitting in my motel room half way between Tacoma and Puyallop (which is the world's leader in manufacturing toddler's underwear), waiting for the Wi-Fi signal to upload my pictures. Some things never do change!

The weather tomorrow is forecast to be rain. I have a short jaunt (120 miles or so) to Bellingham, where I will be boarding the ferry Friday afternoon. I envision a late start to avoid rush hour in Seattle and timed as to allow dry running. Wish me luck!