A New Country

     I had never left Canada before in my entire life, so crossing the border into the USA now was the first time that I had been in a new country. Crossing into the US now also felt a bit weird due to the fact that it felt like our countries' relationship was deteriorating. While I was crossing Canada, I heard numerous people tell me about how they would refuse to go to the US anytime soon. Also I'd been told that there had started be some weird cases of how foreign people had been being treated lately in the US as well, including Canadians.

While there were some causes for concern now, combined with me being in a new place for the first time to get me worked up, I still wanted to try to keep my focus on adventuring and exploring. While I haven't had these experiences myself yet, I've heard from so many other peoples experiences about how great a place and its people can be no matter how bad of a reputation that country may have. And I want to travel to many of these places as well, this can even easily be seen from the rough map I drew a couple years ago (background of the site and in my About Me page), that has me passing through a lot of different countries with a lot of different reputations. The US now was no different than many of these other places that I wanted to experience some day. While some of the people may be different, I was sure there were still lots of good people that I could meet while travelling there. There was also what I would be able to see to get me plenty excited. I had two main things I wanted to see while in the US. The first would be on the coastal route I had planned, being the great redwood trees. The other thing which would be further along was the Grand Canyon. Add in the fact that I planned to travel along the Pacific Coast on a well known and travelled bike route, which I had been looking forward to, got me even more excited. On top of that, Jared in Montreal had recommended me to checkout the Hoh Rainforest in Washington if I was in that area, so I had another thing that I would soon make it to, to look forward to. So I was heading to the US with mixed emotions but for the most part was ready for the adventure.

In the USA now

Before I could start any of that though, I first had to make it across the border. When I was pulling up towards crossing, a guard waved me over and told me to head into a building to get checked out. In there, a nice guy asked me some questions like what I was doing, my plans and stuff of that sort. I had heard beforehand about a couple things about the border, including not being allowed to bring produce across. Since I knew this, I brought up the fact I had a couple things still on me I hadn't eaten yet. He said technically I couldn't have them but it would be fine. I'm thinking maybe because I brought this up on my own, he took me as an honest person and didn't bother asking a few things I thought he may. There were no questions on drugs or weapons (which I didn't have unless you consider bear spray a weapon). Not only that but no one really looked at my bike at all. My panniers could've been full of nothing but guns and heroin and I would've made it across the border that day.

Now that I was across the border, I was officially started on a new country and it was pretty easy to tell too. While you come across some Canada flags in Canada, there were US flags all over the place here. Not only that, but there were also Trump signs to be seen as well. Most were 2024 signs that just weren't taken down, but I even saw a 2028 Trump sign at one point (which doesn't even make sense since he's not allowed to run in 2028). There was one other thing that I didn't figure out right away but it wouldn't take me too long to figure out. I was surprised how long it was taking me to get to places based on the distances that signs were saying about how far away towns were. Soon I figured out that was because distances now were in miles and not kilometers, which was especially strange.

One of many

I also didn't realize that they called highways interstates, so ended up travelling on one to start out when I would've rather been on quieter roads. I'd get to Ferndale before stopping for the day. The newness/weirdness wasn't quite done yet though. Most of the businesses and stores were different than I was used to seeing and I wasn't even sure where to go for groceries. When I did find a grocery store, everything inside was also different, whether it was brands I wasn't used to or just different packaging that had me not recognizing things. One final thing was also obviously that money was now in USD, which considering the prices, now meant that everything was more expensive than in Canada. I did end up celebrating the fact that I was in the US now by eating out in Ferndale. I spent the evening in a park and just felt so weird knowing everyone around me now was American. Ever since crossing the border earlier in the day, everything just felt so off but I knew it was just because everything was new and I'd get used to the differences here in time.

Well this is a new one

I'd get back on quieter roads and got back to enjoying things again. Farm land along a river with little traffic was great and then I even managed to navigate through a city quickly for once when I made it through Bellingham. After Bellingham, I was in awe with what I was getting to ride through, as I was getting a sneak peak at what the Hoh Rainforest would look like. Trees covered in long draping mosses hung over the hilly road, with beaches down below on the shore. It wasn't long lasted as I was soon back to flat farmland, where I'd meet a father-son duo (Dave? and Ryan), who had just started their journey riding from Surrey to San Francisco. I'd get onto an island and cross it onto another one before stopping. Unfortunately, the whole time I was on the islands it was very foggy. The reason being it was unfortunate was because there was a naval air station on one of them, which I would regularly hear the jets zooming on by, but I couldn't see any of them.

Forested road south of Bellingham

The next day was another nice one as I rode on quieter roads and had some nice views too. As good as the going was though, I did feel somewhat off and I think it was still that being outside Canada just felt weird. I knew it would but was hoping that I'd get over this feeling faster, especially since when I started the trip, I had planned on going into who knows how many countries. When I reached the ferry, luckily it was running when I got there, as I had heard that they had cancelled a couple trips earlier in the day due to the fog and I didn't think the fog had really cleared that much yet. While on the ferry, I got talking with a couple locals who were out cycling for the day and they would end up giving me a couple energy bars. The fog cleared on the ferry ride and there wasn't any in Port Townsend when the ferry finished crossing the strait. Once there, I hopped on a trail not sure where I planned to get to for the day. A little after I made it past the town, I ran into a man (Misha) on a bike on the trail. He was very interested in me as he had done lots of travelling by bike himself. He mentioned a whole bunch of spots he thought I could camp for the night before he ended up offering to let me camp at his place. I happily took up his offer and followed him back to his place.

I don't think I've quite ever been to a place like Misha's before. The place was off the grid and full of random stuff that was mostly junk. Misha lived in an old bus and another guy, Jason, also lived there but he lived in a mini cabin that wasn't much bigger than a shed. When we got there, Misha showed me his bus before taking back off into town and leaving me alone. Jason would show up in the evening and he like Misha, was well versed in cycling. He would tell me about how he's done lots of different ultra cycling marathons and still was doing them too. He would also tell me how Misha had gone across the US before, while he's done the Great Divide multiple times, so they were both quite aware of how I was travelling. The other interesting thing he would tell me was about how his neighbors here grew/produced meth (or something else like that, I don't remember exactly what it was). We'd talk for a couple hours before Misha showed back up later in the night and all went to bed afterwards.

Misha and Jason's place

I'd spend most of the morning talking with Misha while he gave me breakfast before leaving. After a while I made it to the start of the Olympic Discovery Trail which I'd be on for a while. It was very nice in that the trail itself was very good and when it did transition to riding on roads, the roads were ones with hardly any vehicles on them. While on the trail, I'd encounter Shalon from New York, who was on the 2nd day of his trip going from Seattle to San Francisco. We'd ride together for a bit before splitting up in Sequim. The rest of the day was mostly calm and peaceful riding along the trail until I made it to the edge of Port Angeles where I'd stop or the day. I stopped along the shore in a really nice spot. I had a nice view (when the fog wasn't taking over) out over the Salish Sea where I could see Canada again as Vancouver Island was on the other side. I could watch the ferry making its crossing if I wanted to from there. In the other direction over the water, I had a view of Mt. Baker towering over the rest of the landscape.

Canada over the Salish Sea

When I woke up the next morning, my stomach wasn't feeling very well. It wouldn't get to feel much better until sometime in the afternoon, so I ended up deciding to just take a rest day. On top of that this was probably the worst day mentally that I'd had in a while now. My mind just wasn't getting to a better place since I started the US and at this point I was hoping that maybe either the route ahead or seeing the Hoh Rainforest may be what I need to get feeling better again.

I waited out the rain the next morning before getting back onto the trail. The trail continued to be great as it started out paved again before switching to single track through forest. This part was very scenic and a lot of fun to ride to start out. After a while though, there started to be some very sharp switchbacks that were very difficult for me to manage with my loaded bike. I would've loved to keep riding it if I had a bare bike, but after a while I decided to get off the trail and skip a section as it looked like there were more of these switchbacks ahead. I wouldn't regret that decision though, as after a short ride on the highway, I was back on a quiet forested road that slightly reminded me of rainforest again. This brought me back to the trail again where there were a lot of people at this part of the trail. The reason would be that there was a railway tunnel not far from the trailhead, that seemed was a tourist attraction. While the tunnel was nice, I find it hard to enjoy things like that when it's loaded full of tourists. The trail quieted again after that and a bit later I'd stop and setup camp for the night.

View from trail

Single track trail

It was halfway through September now and the weather was starting to feel like it the next morning. I found the morning cold and even felt the need to wear my gloves, which not counting the mountains, was the first time since the spring that I'd done that. I finished the final part of the trail before the end of the morning and had to ride on the highway most of the time from here on out. Luckily for me, the western side of Washington is quieter than the rest of the state, so even though the highways didn't always have the best shoulders here, there usually wasn't enough traffic to make it much of a bother. I'd only get to Forks before stopping for the day. The NFL had now started and I'm a massive Rams fan for anyone who isn't aware of this. There was no way for me to watch the games live while travelling, but I could still find and watch their games the next day, which is what I spent my afternoon doing.

I felt lazy yet again the next day and didn't leave town until the afternoon and really even then I only did so, so I could say I got somewhere else in the day. I'd only go as far as the Bogachiel River where I found a great spot along the shore to camp. With it being September now, the water was also starting to get quite a bit cooler as I found myself getting quite cold while getting washed up in the river. It was a nice spot though and it helped get me in the mood to want to ride again the next morning. It also helped considering what I'd be seeing the next day as well.

Camping by the river

After a nice morning by the river, I got back on the highway for a bit before I made it to the turnoff for the Hoh Rainforest. It was still a ways to get to the rainforest, but the drive in was definitely part of what made this worth visiting. I got to ride along the turquoise Hoh River the whole way and was surrounded by trees covered in thick moss as well. When I made it to the Hoh Rainforest, unfortunately it like so many other really nice places was full of tourists, but that still didn't stop me from being able to enjoy it. I explored a couple of trails while I was there and it really did feel like I was in a rainforest. On the way in and a couple other spots in Washington, I had seen trees covered in moss, but it was a whole other level now. Some branches on the trees had moss hanging off of them that must have been about a meter long. Everything was so green in there too, the trees too as their trunks were all coated in olive coloured moss. Some of the trees in there were very large as well, both in height and in having wide trunks. I left there very happy I had listened to Jared's advice to check out the Hoh Rainforest if I had the chance. I'd go most of the way back out before finding somewhere to camp, where I got to camp among the mossy trees.

Hoh Rainforest

Hoh Rainforest

Hoh Rainforest

Hoh Rainforest

It was back on the mostly shoulderless highway again the next day. Later on that morning, I reached what felt like another milestone when I made it to Ruby Beach. While I had already reached and touched the Pacific Ocean, I had only done so with straits and bays. Now I had finally reached what felt like the proper Pacific, as I could finally look out at endless ocean. I went down to the beach and took it in as the rough, uninterrupted waves crashed onto the shore. While my time in the US didn't start how I would've hoped, it was finally feeling like I was starting to settle back in again.

Finally, the Pacific

Distance Biked: 539.2km

Total Distance Biked: 9837.8km