OP Day 3-Part 1-Heike At Last!

Last night after I finished yesterday’s post, as usual, I went for a little walk. The trail beyond my campsite went down to the beach. 

Nice little covered bridge. 

The beach. Tide was out...I think. 

Having run out of things to do, I retired to my tent at about 7:45. 

I set my alarm for 6:00, thinking that would give me plenty of time to be ready by 8:30. I needed all that time! I rolled out of the campground at exactly 8:30! Geez, 2 1/2 hours seems like a long time to get everything packed up! Oh, there was a guy named Tyler camped on one of the other H/B spots when I got up. We did chat for a bit, so that slowed me down. Anyway, I left on time. 

I took my time as I wanted to meet up with Heike at the park in Sequim. Just when I got to this sign, Heike called me. 

She was almost back to the trail, and mentioned the park. I told her where I was, then continued riding. Still stopping to take photos. 

One of the trestles. 

The obligatory bicycle bike rack with bicycle photo. 

As I came into the park, I kept my eyes peeled for Heike. Pretty soon, by the soccer fields, I could see a person with a jogging stroller and a dog. I could could see red pants, and knew instantly it was Heike! It was so great to see her after meeting four years ago. We hugged, and I met Butch, Heike’s three month old blue heeler that she adopted in Mexico. 

Baby Butch

Butch’s chariot (and Heike’s gear too. 

Me and Heike!

Well, we sat on a bench and talked for four hours! Really, we could have talks for days! We caught up on the people we had met in Mexico...Lael, Harry (oh that was an interesting story), and Sarah. We talked about how Heike came to adopt Butch (rescued, really), and the idea for this walk across the US from Sea to Sea. She asked me which way I thought she should go based on a couple of options. Staying north would be maybe more scenic, but more difficult once late Fall arrived. I gave her my best ideas for Washington, and ultimately I think she’ll make kind of a diagonal route. She plans to do Palouse to Cascades, and if the timing works out, I’m hoping to meet up with her again there. 

At 12:30, we realized we’d better say our goodbyes. She still had to get some miles done, and I still had about 54 miles to go. We took a bunch of photos, hugged again, and went our opposite ways on the Olympic Discovery Trail. I’m so glad it worked out!