Day 2: Marblemount to Leader Lake

Today, the duo started around Gorge lake, a result of the creation of the Gorge Dam. After dropping them at their starting location, I zipped up the winding road up the cascades to a quaint little trailhead. I took about an hour to hike/jog around the trails. I found a great overlook of another lake, Diablo Lake, with the cascades in the background. 

After the first checkpoint, I drove up to Washington pass, the highest pass of the entire ride. The view reminded me of the rockies in Colorado with the snow covered tops painting the otherwise entirely blue sky.

The descent was super quick and scenic. We ended up eating lunch at in Mazama, a small mountain town with an abundance of mountain bikes and ski shops. It reminded me a bit of Woody creek, minus the canyon on either side.

As the bikers continued on it was decided we would camp for the night. It was approximately 7pm when they completed their second pass of the day over Loup Loup mountain. Soon after, we found a camp site on a Leader Lake. Will and I cooked up a mean stew consisting of ground beef, grilled veggies, potatoes and pasta.  The night sky was clear and the moon reflected off the lake, creating an eerie glow inside my tent.

Just a side note, after 2 days down, the bikers have over 200 miles under their belts. This was totally unexpected! I thought I might see a century a week and certainly not one in the first week with all the climbing.  In addition, they did two passes in one day. I'm quite impressed.