7/12/12 - Marysville to Moose Creek

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After the day off we were up early to avoid the heat.  Jody dropped Sarah and I at Marysville where we had to regain 1000 feet over 2 miles while dodging mining trucks and washboards to get back to the "official" route.   Although the road was relatively good, it was steep enough that it warranted some pushing (and a little swearing).

After passing a couple of working mines we regained the route at continental divide crossing number 2 (6400 feet).  The next 10 miles or so were mostly downhill through hillsides that were littered with clear cuts, slash piles and the remains of old mines yet still managed to be beautiful in their own way.

After the downhill run the terrain opened up and we began an easy climb towards Priest Pass and the 3rd crossing of the continental divide. As we climbed, we passed a lone cowboy on the hillside above us driving a small heard of cows through the sagebrush.  After topping out at 5994 feet we enjoyed a steep 5 mile decent down to the highway.  

The last 4 miles involved a hot/miserable slog on a wide dusty washboard rode which was uneventful except that we saw our first moose crossing a stream one mile before arriving at our camp site at "Moose Creek Campground" (go figure).  Jody and Silas were waiting for us with ice water, snacks and the rest of our RV comforts.