[Bike]
The Bike Touring Pages of
Chris X. Edwards

Summer 1997 - Yukon to California
Journals - 31 July 1997

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Day 21

31 July 1997 ( very sunny; nice; mileage = 47.1; Potlatch State Park, Washington) -- X - I woke up in the middle of the night (between 12 and 2 AM) to the sound of a dog barking. It continued for HOURS. It finally stopped barking after I got dressed and went outside and threw some rocks at it. I was going to simply use the dog-throat-remove-tool on the new Swiss Army knives, but they were packed, etc. As soon as I had laid down again (~4:30 AM), a rooster crowed and continued this for 1/2 hour. This lack of sleep was combined with a severe need to empty the personal waste reservoir. The toilets at the campground had a very liquidy muck that undulated and seethed with mosquitoes. The contact portion of the facility was also quite foul. I was very relieved once we got going and I found some woods that didn't mind some extra compost material. We rode on to Quilcene and bought some milk and ate at another county campground. This one was empty and not very well cared for. So, onward we rode with stops for bug in my eye (fairly common and my shades are broken) and chain lubing. We had our 5,000th mile and had a picture. We then had lunch at a privately-sponsored "rest area." It was a shellfish company, so we weren't tempted. We pressed on after lunch, stopping in Hoodsport for an unexpected ATM. We got to this site and found the hiker-biker sites. They're kind of lame, but they're only $5 and they're far from the RVs. I went and had a good 50-cent shower and when I returned, April had the tent up and was talking to 2 cyclists from San Diego. She thought they seemed lame. I reminded her that they're out here for 10 days; we are PROFESSIONALS. April took her shower while I finished scoffing at the mountain bike magazine I was given in Vancouver. We had a small dinner and now we are sitting outside relaxing. There are some mosquitoes here, but at least they don't plug your nostrils while inhaling. It's good to practice killing them or you can lose good form.
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Chris X. Edwards ~ October 2000