Trekker Anna tells us about the Pacific Northwest Trek's jam-packed last couple days together --
On Friday, July 11, we woke up to the sad realization that we would only have three more days of biking together, and the even more devastating idea that the coming night would be our last one of camping (sob!). To take our minds away from these dreary thoughts, we decided to explore the old fort on the campground where we were staying in Port Townsend. So we broke down Tent City, packed up our gear, and headed off to the bunkers.
We first explored an area near the beach, wandering into dim rooms and imagining how the huge cannon-like weapons must have looked. We made our way over to the lighthouse, then to Artillery Hill. We soon discovered the pitch-black tunnels in the bunkers there, and, guided only by Monique's phone flashlight, crept through them into even darker rooms. After Russell and Dan decided to act like young boys (yelling and jumping out at every dark term), Sarafina and Sunny ventured back to comfortable daylight with screams and roars no longer echoing through the tunnels.
The biking was very nice, with hills that would previously have been frustrating now only slowing us down a little -- until we hit The Hill. Now, you must understand, The Hill was like no other hill we had encountered. Monique's guesstimation was that it was a 12% grade, meaning that it looked like a wall of tar. It was impossible to build up momentum, the day was hot, and we had already taken a 3-mile detour. Only Monique, David, and I made it up without stopping.
Shortly after The Hill, we discovered that the closest food store was an extra 6 miles from the campsite. So we had our second gas station meal of the trip, eaten in camp after setting up another Tent City in our final campsite. We ate a dessert of canned peaches and oreos on the beach, and Russell improved his shell-skipping skills. We found a playground and made each other dizzy on spinning rides, climbed on a pirate ship, and got stuck on slides before bedding down for our last night of camping.
Saturday, June 12: Our last day of biking! With the one and only Dan as the one and only point, we had what may have been our easiest day, with only 20 miles on the road. We finished our last ferry ride by dancing to Pharrell's "Happy" (playing in our heads) and being cheered on by strangers before returning to the Green Tortoise Hostel in Seattle.
We unloaded our gear, showered, and rode over to the Pinball Museum, happening on a Chinese Dragon Festival right outside. The boys and Monique stayed inside the dim, air-conditioned room to play, while the other girls ventured outside to get bubble tea and explore the festival. Then the effects of biking hit, and Sunny and Sarafina had their first bouts of dehydration. So instead of biking an extra 5 miles to dinner, we returned to the hostel for Pedialyte (termed "expedialyte" by Sunny), and then bussed over to West Seattle for a seafood dinner, encountering another festival right outside the restaurant. Back at the hostel, we threw in our laundry and went to bed, leaving it to our two wonderful leaders to separate the cold-water-wash-only and then to pick up the rest. We all fell asleep immediately.
Today, we woke up to our last full day together: Sunny's birthday! Once everyone was up, we broke down and boxed our bikes, then turned to the TV to watch the World Cup Final. Shortly thereafter, we had our tarot cards read and then went on a walking tour of Seattle's Underground City, built after a fire in order to help with the sewage system in the city. As it turns out, a whole 33-square-block area of Seattle is actually built over a pre-existing first level of the city, destroyed in the fire and rebuilt in time for the Gold Rush.
We returned to the hostel and explored more of Pike Place Market, then reassembled for Free Taco Night at the Green Tortoise, followed by a birthday celebration.
Although we are all looking forward to sleeping in beds and being clean (after our nightly highs, lows, and props of course), we are all upset to think that this will be our last night together, and that in the morning we'll each depart for different destinations and the rest of our summers.
