Across Washington State Part 2

Last week, readers enjoyed Part 1 of “Across Washington State,” describing a 501-mile biking and running trek across the state of Washington. The ‘Green,’ zero-emission trip by Chris Ennis and Conaer Simpson took 25 days, and an average of 20 miles per day, east to west. The story continues this week. Chris, a long-distance marathon runner, and Connor, a GreenCupboards intern and a longtime bicyclist, found a greater appreciation of nature, made some great discoveries and had a memorable journey. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here. (The second piece is also written by Conaer.) Chris’ mom had written and sent out a kind of chain letter to all of her friends and co-workers asking for help finding places for Chris and I to stay in the towns we passed through. So, along the way, that meant we met a lot of interesting people with a lot of different backgrounds and stories to tell. We stayed with one couple who taught us how to play horseshoes. Chris and I, being city kids, did not know how to play the game prior. After dinner, the husband took us to try and find a rattlesnake. We did not find one, but he gave me a rattlesnake’s rattle to keep. He explained to me that you could tell the size of a rattlesnake by counting the buttons on the rattle. The buttons are the individual shafts on the end of a snake’s tail. During a lot of the trip there was not much to look at, so we began to observe the road kill. Eastern Washington was full of rats and mice, with the occasional deer. But when we went over Blewett Pass, we saw a lot of dead birds. They were not like any birds I had seen around home; they were all beautifully colored greens, blues, and reds. It was a shame to see them dead. The smell of the forest after nothing but dirt and wheat fields was absolute ecstasy; it was odd the things we began to appreciate, like the view from the top of the second pass we went over, White Pass. I have never been one to stop for the scenic view, but what we saw was indescribable beauty. After White Pass, we saw tons of slugs; Chris began to count them as he passed and counted over 30 in the course of a mile. By the time we were over White Pass, July 10, we had our system down to a science. We no longer fought; we would wake up, eat, pack, ride, eat, ride, nap, eat, sleep. When our funds began to run short at the end of the trip, we found out a way to eat dinner and breakfast for just $3. We would go to the store in the afternoon and buy a half gallon of milk and a bag of cereal. That would be our dinner and breakfast. July 16 it was all worth it, for that final stretch. Tears came to my eyes as the shoreline came into view. I dropped the bike and began to run with Chris across the beach into the water. I began to scream that we had made it, and Chris had a look of shock upon his face. People gave us odd looks as I poured champagne over him, and he poured it over me. The trip may be over, but the memories will remain with us forever. The distance was 501 miles. For 25 days I rode my bike, while Chris ran 501 miles across the State of Washington, through the fields and forests, the mountains and canyons. We had completed our journey, our adventure. At 17 years old, we did something that set us apart from our classmates and peers, and I am proud of Chris and myself for finishing.