I rode from the Preston WA area out past Cle Elum with a school trip in high school in the 90s. The Snoqualmie tunnel was a trip, especially with 90s era incand

I rode from the Preston WA area out past Cle Elum with a school trip in high school in the 90s. The Snoqualmie tunnel was a trip, especially with 90s era incandescent flashlights, where you can only see the walls of the tunnel if you stare straight ahead and use your peripheral vision. Coincidentally, I took COVID WFH as an opportunity to spend a week in Idaho. While there, I rode both the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes (30mi out and back for me), as well as the Hiawatha Trail which is another rail-to-trail (probably not on this proposed route, though?) which includes a 1.6 mi tunnel that's not even straight, so you can't see the light at the end. It's amazing to me how each mode of travel has its own cadence. I've cycled along paths I've driven, and seen far more on the bike than in the car. And then I've run or walked the same path, and still seen more. It never feels like you're 'wasting time' when you're going slower. I will probably never through-hike the AT or PCT, but I've motorcycled from California to Alaska, and will probably make it a point to take a sabbatical some day in the future to bike tour cross country with my wife when this trail is near completion. We've never done any bikepacking, but can you think of a better reason to start?