Category: Idaho

Day 8 – Lolo Pass


Today was another amazing day of cycling and scenery, with precious little in the way of services or settlements. I was worried about having enough food and especially water to bridge the gap between a simple store in a holiday park in tiny Lowell, 23 miles in, and Lochsa Lodge, the next available food, a hotel 65 miles and several thousand feet further uphill on another scorching hot day. But in fact it was OK and I carried way more water than I needed. Better safe than sorry.


A few things definitely helped. First, I was out early and it was cool. Second, today was in mountains with tall pine trees everywhere, including by the roadside, so there was much more shade to enjoy. Third, if I’m honest, I surprised myself with how strongly I rode. And I kept myself very well hydrated all day. In fact I haven’t peed so much in a while. Which, let’s face it, is a good sign.

Going down…

I’m pretty exhausted now though so this will be a brief entry that I may come back and update tomorrow.

In brief, until about 4 miles from the top of the pass, I followed first the Clearwater River and then it’s substantial tributary the Lochsa River, all the way today. The road was much quieter than yesterday and it was wide and good for cycling. The gradient was forgiving and at times I honestly found it hard to know if I was going uphill or downhill. I just kept pushing on the pedals and the bike responded, extra weight or not. The river higher up was much more rocky and shallow, but still wide with regular areas of white water. And that is how it was most of the day!


The last few miles up to the pass and then down for 10 miles on the Montana side were considerably steeper and I was very glad to reach the top as the heat began to bite. I crawled up the last part of Idaho and flew down my first section of road in Montana as far as Lolo Hot Springs, where I got both dinner and a soak in the natural hot water after the sun had fallen behind the mountains. It wasn’t the most salubrious of establishments, which surprised me, but it was OK and did the job for me. Good beer as well!

Tomorrow should be mostly downhill to Missoula. I’m not setting my sights any further than that. I’ve lost an hour today and changed to Mountain time. That feels like a milestone.

Day 7 – The Clearwater River

Clearwater River and Route 12

Today was another absolute scorcher, peaking at about 42C; but I managed to avoid the worst of the heat by making a much earlier start (when it was only in the 20s) and not having quite such a long day of cycling (74 miles). It worked. Before 2pm I was within 5 miles of my destination, an Airbnb cabin all by itself, and ready for lunch and a spot of shopping for tomorrow. It was just getting really hot, but I hadn’t suffered to much, helped in part by the terrain.

Today’s ride was an unbroken and lovely journey up the banks of the Clearwater River, following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, and for much of the time I was on the south side of the valley with high hills immediately to my right. This provided the kind of shade I have not enjoyed any of at all for several days. There was also a little breeze wafting off the broad river and the combined effect, plus the time of day, made things almost comfortable.

Resting at a shady rest area

It was a good thing, too, because stopping options were few and far apart. My first after leaving Lewiston came after 44 miles in the town of Orofina, where I enjoyed my customary breakfast cup of tea, and an egg and sausage muffin in a very friendly diner. The local policeman, gun in holster, was at an adjacent table, so I behaved myself.

Lunch stop

Another 21 miles down the very pretty valley was the small town and lunch stop of Kamiah (pronounced Kam-ee-eye), another small, historic (for Idaho) town with a quiet Main Street off route 12 that was so broad the shops had A-frames out in the centre of the road. I was just defeated by the pile of French toast the old fashioned bakery served me up, but only just.

Kamiah

There was one moment of alarm when a truck suffered a tyre blowout just after it passed me a few miles before Kamiah. It sounded like a gun going off, and shredded rubber scattered into the road; but curiously, after slowing down, the truck continued on its way. I guess it had enough other wheels.

My constant companion

Since arriving in my cabin home the the rest of the afternoon and evening, I have not been outside. It’s just too hot out there. So my plan is to prepare and eat the simple meal I cobbled together at the supermarket (drawing on my Pacific Crest Trail experience), leaving enough heat-resistant supplies for the 110 miles I have to cycle tomorrow through what is essentially wilderness. There is one more small town, 2 miles away, that claims to have a cafe that opens at 6am. Then I’m on my own. I can only see a couple of possible options in the next 90 miles, and they are 65 miles apart. So I have copious amounts of water in the fridge and the freezer and I will probably need all of it, as well as lots of fruit and nuts, and some Cliff bars. It will be all about getting there in as cool a way as possible. And there, when I arrive, will be an hour later in Montana, which follows Mountain Time. As if I didn’t have enough hours of work ahead of me, they steal one as well!

And so to bed. I need all the rest I can get for this.