Day 30 – Rossland, BC to Sherman Pass Campground, WA
9/10/2026
Turns out Rossland, BC is pretty much at the top of the hill. No matter how you approach it, it’s hard to get there. But leaving there is easy! Today’s route covered 67 miles (all paved). We passed through US Customs just 10 km away from our campground.
The first 12 miles were all downhill. We hit speeds on our bikes we’ve not seen before (and are never really comfortable with).
Mark had one 5-mile split of 11 minutes and 22 seconds – that’s averaging over 26 mph. John drove the truck, while Rolf, Greg, & Mark cycled.
After our downhill rush we made our way across the valley riding next to the upper Columbia River.
And then began the climb. We were heading towards Sherman Pass, the highest highway pass in Washington State at 5,575 ft. Today’s climb was not as steep as the previous day’s climb, but it was much longer – about 22 miles. We plowed our way up, mile after mile at about 4-6 miles per hour. At about 4-5 miles from the finish at about 4 pm, John was waiting for us and Greg & Mark loaded our bikes up and rode in the truck to the campground. Our hero, Rolf, persevered and biked the last miles, making it to our campsite about ½ hour before supper. He noted that yesterday’s climb is now the second hardest climb he’s done.
Our campground was a US Forest Service campground with potable water available and a pit toilet. No showers, but most of us were tired enough to go to bed before 8 pm. It was also pretty chilly up there above 5,500 ft.
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