After leaving the news crew in Cle Elum yesterday (sept. 12th) I kept east for some 39 miles along the Iron Horse Trail past Ellensburg and the little town of Kittitas. It was late but I found a place to stop for supplies en route.
Having come over the pass the day before (sept 11th), the land abruptly changed from dripping conifers surrounded by lush ferns and waterfalls to dry pines surrounded by sand, scrub brush, and carefully measured canals.
Gone are the logging trucks and the fisheries; replaced by irrigated hay fields and beef pastures, beyond which stretch the dry brown hills.
The salt tang of the ocean is far behind now. The air now has a scent like distant cedar smoke mixed with the strong incense smell of wild sage. I'm in another world. I drink three times the water but don't seem to sweat. I have to use balm to keep my lips from chapping.
Where before there were toads, huge slugs, eagles, and otters along my paths, now there are wild turkey, rabbit, and deer which move differently than the ones back home (they tend to bounce a lot here). I surprised two skunks last night (without getting sprayed) and an owl whom I only know was an owl by the silence of its flight.
What a place this is, to be so different so suddenly.
I had to backtrack 12 miles to Ellensburg today due to a closed bridge and a trail permit you can only acquire here. No worries though, as this allowed me to take my bike in for a tune-up (currently in progress). There aren't many bike shops ahead for a while.
More posts (and pictures) to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment