Day 6

We made it up yet another mountain!...Well, kind of...here's the story:
We began our ascent from a town called Tonasket. Almost immediately the incline shot straight up. Our packs were full in regards to water, but once we began the uphill climb in the 100 degree heat, we were unsure of whether or not it would actually last us to the next town. Our legs couldn't pedal for more than a half-mile before we'd have to hop off of our bikes and do some walking. Also, we've decided to rename that portion of the highway to "Snake Road". I'm not sure if it was the intensity of the heat that brought them out or what, but we saw at least 2 snakes every mile, some dead and some alive. Anyway, we made it 4 miles up and were absolutely wilted! I didn't know what we were going to do. We really wanted to reach our destination so that we could enjoy our rest day, but at that moment it looked like we were going to have to turn around and try again on Day 7. I finally said, "Jesus, you have to help us get up this mountain because we are exhausted". Literally, less than a minute after I uttered the words, a 65-year-old Vietnam War vet, named Denny, pulled over and offered us a ride! "Now, I NEVER do this," He said, "But you two look like decent enough people, so hurry up and get in." without any hesitation, we threw our bikes into the back of his pale-green 1971 Jeep and got in. Once we got settled into the dirt-covered backseat, we became aware of the opened 12-pack of Busch Light on the front seat next to him, but thankfully he was only working on his first one. I still had to hold my breath as he drove us through the curvy mountain road. He proceeded to inform us that we were riding with a "living legend" and that we were very lucky that he picked us up. He also let us know that the snakes we saw were Bull Snakes. Denny took us nine miles before dropping us off, then his parting words to us were, "You all be sure and remember me and my generosity as you continue on your journey." He was interesting, but we certainly do thank the Lord for moving Denny's heart to generosity toward us. I guess now we have to rename our trip to "Mark and Sarah's biking/hiking/hitch-hiking tour..."
The important thing is that we made it safely to our destination, Republic, WA. And tomorrow we can rest. We made it 281 miles in our first week, and if you add the 18-mile mishap from Day 2, and subtract the 9 miles given to us by Denny, the total comes to 290. We feel good about that.