And turned onto a logging road which we hoped was “Camas Creek Road” that would take us over a high ridge line to Hwy 97. This was the toughest section of the day. Very steep, rutted and filled with ‘moon dust’ which was nearly impossible to get traction in. We pushed our bikes more than we rode them for over 3 miles.

Tough climb! Several miles of pushing the bike. Impossible to get traction on the dust by NBend, on Flickr

We gained alot of altitude by NBend, on Flickr

We ended up having to retrace our steps after all this work by NBend, on Flickr

The route dead ended at a logging operation. We were hot, tired and running out of water and daylight so we cut our losses and rode back into Cashmere

Bob safely down from Camas Creek Rd by NBend, on Flickr

After replenishing again at the brewery :-) we followed some quiet backroads lined by orchards, avoiding Hwy 2 as much as possible

Mark
Mark after a full day in the saddle by NBend, on Flickr

Bob
Bob on Stine Hill Road by NBend, on Flickr

The view from Stine Hill Rd by NBend, on Flickr

After gutting it up Deadman Hill, we crossed the Hwy
Gutting it out on Deadman Hill by NBend, on Flickr

And retraced the road we had taken in the morning to Leavenworth. We soft pedaled the last few miles and reflected on the day.

A full day in the saddle by NBend, on Flickr

We ate dinner outside on the patio at the Icicle River Brewery. It was a warm evening, the food was good, the beer even better, live music and a pleasant conversation with some visitors from Minnesota that shared our table left an indelible memory for me of our day.

I am still buzzing from it today! Can’t wait for Cino Heroica in September. In the meantime, I’ll get by with some adventures that are similar to it like this :-)