Day 37, Kamiah to Clarkston, WA: Another mega day

Saturday July 4, 2020, 85 miles (137 km) - Total so far: 2,023 miles (3,256 km)

There was a time on this trip, not that long ago when I could not imagine doing more than 60 miles in one day. Wind and terrain were against me. This is now the 4th day in a row I've exceeded what I thought impossible.

Let's start with wild camping. It was great just to STOP riding. I didn't care. Yes, it was hard pushing my bike up that steep gravel path, but the view and seclusion made it worth it. I cleaned up and relaxed reading while eating a candy bar and finishing my hot tea. This a.m., early, I packed out, again rolling the bike down. At the bottom in the turn off a car pulled in. Ah oh I thought some guy is going to hop out and pee right in front of me. But he didn't see me, he pushed back his hair and looked around, then ran up the embankment to the road with a hunting knife. I noticed a deer beside the roadway. The man kicked it and then bent over it with his knife. That's about as much as I watched before hopping on my bike and riding away.

I was actually much closer to Kamiah than I thought. I rolled in and bought a breakfast sandwich. That thing lasted me until Lewiston. In Orofino I got a mommy jogger to call Grace for me. It had been quite a few days without contact. At a restaurant I ordered a tea and cinnamon bun. I couldn't finish it. My appetite has become suppressed with all the overexertion.

At a rest area on 12, I hung out for 45 min. hoping for a ride, to skip the traffic and miles to Lewiston. No dice, I kept going.

The landscape here is dramatic. Not your typical mountains, but overwhelming in scope. The hills, maybe mts, are rounded, wind-terraced, craggy in places, nearly treeless. It is dry and hot. Sort of scrubby on the hillsides.

I got some internet from a MacDonalds in Clarkston. Where I touched base with a few folks, hoping connectivity improves and I could do more at my campsite. I had a feeling with it being a holiday weekend that chances were slim for a spot at Chief Timothy State Park. Hahaha, new state, new rules. Masks enforced, no showers at park. I paid $20 for overflow camping, which is great--except I really wanted a shower after 3 days without one. I might have to wait till Oregon.