After the early morning sprinkler wake up call, had a good morning ride, including an exciting swooping 5 mile descent.
Cycled with Linda for a while – a retired nurse, who was going the opposite direction but decided to keep me company for a while – she was out for a training run on her tri bike and gave me a run for her money – despite her slowing down I was struggling to keep up and converse at the same time.
I arrived in Idaho (my 3rd state) quicker than I expected and came through Lewiston – Lewiston was busy but had a good cycle path, which was where I was when I had to fix puncture number 2 – back wheel this time which is always more of a nuisance.
Initially Idaho is like Washington – yellow and green and no reprieve from the sun – mid afternoon I needed a rest – I spotted a tree at the entrance to someones drive – no one seemed to be at home and there were no private signs so I fell asleep under their tree for a while – hope they don’t mind.
The further East you go the prettier Idaho becomes – I was following the Clearwater River, and it lives it up to it’s name. The road is gently undulating as you pass through hills on either side – and there are trees, loads of trees – and what does this mean – SHADE – big hurrah for shade. Not many but there are slightly more places to stop – campsites where you can top up on water and I found a cafe selling huckleberry ice cream – delicious – I’m told that huckleberry is a mini version of the blueberry but only grows at higher elevations and they have not been able to cultivate it. That night was spent at the pretty Pink House Hole campground – once upon a time there was a pink house there.
Another early start the next morning took me to Kooskia, initially – a good size town with a good cafe that served pancake, bacon and eggs – just what the doctor ordered – I’m needing to eat more and eat healthier – harder than I thought to get food and I’ve been relying on petrol stations with wee mini grocers so not a great choice of food.
Another long day to my destination of Wilderness Gateway campground and I wasn’t that impressed – the “host” wasn’t unfriendly but not very helpful – it was geared up for big RV’s to park on and very little grass to pitch a tent – it was $14 a night – not a huge amount but it’s the same amount whether you are one wee sweaty cyclist with a tiny tent or 6 people in an RV – any way I found what seemed to be the best pitch and as I was setting up another couple of cyclist turned up with there 2 dogs and we all camped together, split the cost and had a good blether – so happy days in the end – I also got to watch the chipmunks in the trees.
Just before getting to the campsite I spotted this snake – think it’s a garter snake.
Next morning was the ascent of Lolo Pass – one of those hills you never feel that you are gaining height but get there eventually. Good information centre at the top – sad to read that a fire fighter was killed in the forrest fires that are happening just now – information about the local history, including the Nez Perce Indians who forced to leave their homelands. Sat in the sun a while watching the Columbian ground squirrels.
I was looking forward to the 40 mile or so downhill ride to Missoula but was sadly disappointed – a few super fast miles followed by lots of downhill pedalling into a hot head wind – I finally made it to my destination for the next 2 nights – Bruce’s house – a “warmshowers” host – basically couch surfing for cyclists – Bruce’s house is open doors and there are cyclists coming and going all the time – great place to stay and had my first shower in 3 days and first use of a washing machine in a fortnight.
Day off yesterday to rest and scrub up!
Had hoped to head North to Glacier from here but combination of being behind schedule and advised against it because of the forrest fires I am now heading East to Yogi Bear country – yabadabadoo!
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