
I left Gold Bar pretty early because it was my first day climbing up the mountain and it started off well enough. Cloudy and cold but no rain. This day wasn't so so bad going up the mt. because it was a pretty gradual climb. It started to rain around noon and I stopped to get some coffee and a little coffee shop and while leaving I was stopped by a woman and her daughter who pulled off the road in front me to find out what I was doing, and she was kind enough to give me a donation.
Not long after that another vehicle stopped, and this time I didn't really care for who came out of the truck. He stopped right after a sharp corner and very slowly got out of his truck and it felt like it took him forever to get off to the side of the road. He stopped and leaned against the hood and waved and yelled at me to come over (as if I had much of a choice). He said: "Come here! I need to talk to you!" So I asked what we needed to talk about and he processed to tell me about all the cougars in the area, and how they had been killing dogs, and one was found stalking kids at the elementary school. Three had been killed so far and he was very concerned for my safety and pretty much tried to demand I put my cart in the back of his truck and he would take me up to Skyomish. Ummmm..... NO.....
I politely told him I come from cougar country and I knew that with my cart, a courage would have no interest in me and I would be fine. He got a little irritated and continued to tell me to get my stuff in his truck and he would take me wherever I needed to go. After a few minutes of exchanging words, I finally told him it was time for his go and he needed to leave me be and he flung his arms up and said: "Fine! I hope I don't find you dead on the side of road!" and got back in his truck. The conversation never got heated or anything, just weird. I never saw him again, and I told the Ranger station when I got there and gave them him license plate and description of his truck.
I still didn't know where I was sleeping that night and finally came up to a camp ground called Money Creek which I was told over the phone was closed until Thursday,and it was Wednesday. I went in anyway to take a look around and found the campsite hosts. They were so nice! They adopted me for the night and feed me chili and wine. It was wonderful to be in their warm RV for awhile and have some good conversation and I had a great nights sleep out in my tent. Which I needed because tomorrow would be my big day up to Stevens Pass, 3,345 feet up and 22.3 miles into the mountain.
Not long after that another vehicle stopped, and this time I didn't really care for who came out of the truck. He stopped right after a sharp corner and very slowly got out of his truck and it felt like it took him forever to get off to the side of the road. He stopped and leaned against the hood and waved and yelled at me to come over (as if I had much of a choice). He said: "Come here! I need to talk to you!" So I asked what we needed to talk about and he processed to tell me about all the cougars in the area, and how they had been killing dogs, and one was found stalking kids at the elementary school. Three had been killed so far and he was very concerned for my safety and pretty much tried to demand I put my cart in the back of his truck and he would take me up to Skyomish. Ummmm..... NO.....
I politely told him I come from cougar country and I knew that with my cart, a courage would have no interest in me and I would be fine. He got a little irritated and continued to tell me to get my stuff in his truck and he would take me wherever I needed to go. After a few minutes of exchanging words, I finally told him it was time for his go and he needed to leave me be and he flung his arms up and said: "Fine! I hope I don't find you dead on the side of road!" and got back in his truck. The conversation never got heated or anything, just weird. I never saw him again, and I told the Ranger station when I got there and gave them him license plate and description of his truck.
I still didn't know where I was sleeping that night and finally came up to a camp ground called Money Creek which I was told over the phone was closed until Thursday,and it was Wednesday. I went in anyway to take a look around and found the campsite hosts. They were so nice! They adopted me for the night and feed me chili and wine. It was wonderful to be in their warm RV for awhile and have some good conversation and I had a great nights sleep out in my tent. Which I needed because tomorrow would be my big day up to Stevens Pass, 3,345 feet up and 22.3 miles into the mountain.