Section 1
There are 11 sections to the Northern Tier Route. Section 1 starts in Anacortes Washington and goes to Sandpojnt Idaho. Highlights of this section are the Cascade Mountain Range, the plains of northern Washington and the mountains of northern Idaho. The Anacortes ferry terminal is the western terminus. The first climb out of the terminus is over Washington Pass in the North Cascades. The Cascade Trail runs 22.5 miles between Sedro-Woolley and Concrete. I plan to ride that as an alternate. The descent from Washington Pass to Mazama is steep. I’ll be crossing a pass almost daily until reaching the Pend Oreille River valley. SR 20 can be busy with narrow shoulders. I’ll be avoiding SR 20 between Tonasket and Kettle Falls, taking the 102.5 mi. Curlew Alternate. This routing is 22.7 miles longer than the main route and has limited services.
