Day 12: Nobody Said Climbing a Mountain Would Be Easy

Today we ate a huge complimentary breakfast, taking as much as we could. Because today we climbed a mountain - an over 2,800 foot elevation ascent. But first, we had to run errands - the next  week or so we're going to be hitting a lot of wilderness, so we wanted to be prepared. And of course, those errands added on another 6 miles. Into headwind. And uphill. We sure know how to pick our detours.

By the time we reached Conway, which was at the lowest point before our climb, it was already noon. And the roads were packed with vacationing families and crazy loud motorcycles. We stopped for lunch and were a bit apprehensive about climbing Mount Kancamagus with all that traffic. But we pressed on, and luckily our backroad route granted us a solid 11 miles of relatively peaceful riding.

(White Mountain National Forest is gorgeous)

Right before we joined the main highway, we came to a really beautiful covered bridge. We had to walk the bike through it, since a sign told us to. We also stopped at a National Forest campground to fill up our waters, which was really fortunate for us to come across. About half the climb along the main highway was pretty smooth, and it was a continuously beautiful ride. We even got some hilarious thumbs ups and whoops from motorized passers by.

(The covered bridge!)

Then, it began to get rough. The sun was starting to drop and the grade started to increase. It became colder, rougher roads, and more difficult traffic to navigate. And still we pressed on. At one point, we ground our way up in the lowest gear possible past a scenic overlook, with a whole parking lot of people left staring as we slowly passed by. We took some breaks, but got right back on the bike - no walking this time. It took hours, but finally we made it to the top - two people, a bike, and a 40+ lb trailer bringing up the rear.

(Scenic view from the top)

(So tired)

(So freakin happy)

Exhausted and slap-happy, we took a bunch of pictures by the sign marking the pass. And then, the descent. It was probably a whole 12 miles or so back down and it was gettin late, so we decide to stop at the first National Forest camp site that was marked on our map (6 miles from the pass). And here we got a real treat - a full grown female moose crossed the highway right in front of us. We slid to a halt on the shoulder and startled her (she didn't see us until I gasped) and in our excitement we got only a snapshot of her butt.

(Moose caboose as she walks away from us!!)

And then, we had to raise the bear bag full of our food in the dark, since the sun had set. Ahh, camping.