There are two types of far-flung expeditions: those that are hypothetically possible but guaranteed to be masochistic suffer-fests, and those that are slightly more plausible and still incredibly demanding, but potentially fun.

Fun, in this case, is subjective. Fortunately, as I hung up the phone with Aric Duncan last October, I was confident his proposition fell into the latter category. An ambitious bikepacking adventure was on the table: 75 miles, 26,000 feet of climbing and seven peaks, all in five days. Aric’s proposed route traversed nearly the entire width of Washington’s Cascade Range, from Blewett Pass to Kachess Lake. This swath of land sits between Interstate 90 and Highway 2 and, while it’s undoubtedly remote, it’s impressively littered with trails. A tingle of excitement set in as I scoured the route online. One thing was certain—we were about to enjoy some of Washington’s less traveled singletrack.

Another common attribute of such grandiose missions is the short notice. Aric called me on Thursday and wanted to leave the following Tuesday. But, despite my five-day notice, Aric and his longtime buddy Michael Fischer had dreamt of this ride for most of their lives. Growing up near Ellensburg, Washington, glorious views of the Cascades continually served as visual reminders to them of what lay just beyond their back doors. As mountain bikers, the desire to go a little further and climb a little higher—sometimes just to see what’s over the next ridge—fuels their sense of adventure.

Aric is a freerider who’s at home on anything from slopestyle kickers to Utah ridgelines to backyard Cascadian loamers. Michael, a humble shredder with a moto background, is passionate about technical singletrack and can often be found ripping alongside Aric, equally as hard. Knowing the pair’s willingness to put in long days on the bike, and the incredible region we’d be venturing into, I was committed before Aric even laid out all the logistics.