Monday in Missoula

Day 18 - 51 Miles to Grangeville

I have to admit I was intimidated by this day when I looked at it on the map. Over 50 miles and over 5,700 feet of elevation gain. Not a lot of overnight options short of Grangeville and the climb is all in one place so no way to break it up. Thus, we got up early and got started. The good news is the first 20 miles were pretty much downhill going along the Salmon river so we made good time. We took a quick break in White Bird and then started a 12 mile climb, more than twice as long as any other climb we have done. The grade at the beginning was reasonable as old highway 95 wound up a bunch of switchbacks. After about 8 miles the switchbacks ended and the grade crept up to 6-8%. With that many miles already on my legs I felt those last few miles. But, the views were amazing and I was reminded that most good things in life come after hard work so I enjoyed the experience even though it was difficult. We had a little celebration at the top and then coasted into Grangeville. These last two days in and out if Hells Canyon have been some of the hardest and best so far. Has also been interesting to follow along the Little Salmon River for 100 miles. It started as a mountain stream, turned into a kayakers dream and after adding many creeks ended as a huge river. We will miss having it beside us as we exit the valley and head into Idaho farmland.

The Salmon River continued as our travel companion and kept getting bigger as we headed down canyon

We passed several caves and mine shaft entrances this morning

Looking back upriver, we started our descent from those mountains yesterday

Today's barn is "circa de el rio" :)

Coming out of Hells Canyon we follow the river to White Bird

We passed this historic drug store during our break in White Bird

Those brown lines criss crossing the face of the hill in the distance are the switchbacks in old highway 95 we will climb

Look closely you will see Erik on the switchback down below (he passed me before the top)

Happy to take a break in the climb to find some new wildflowers

Panorama from midway up our climb

You can see the road wind its way up in this view back up Hells Canyon

These views made the hard climb worth it

Finally the top

Found this Billy Goat Gruff at the top

As we drop down the other side we shift from rivers and forests to farmland. Peddling by these fields you could hear the perpetual humm of the bees. At one point we passed a huge collection of hives, so many 🐝.

Day 19 - 54 miles to Apgar Campground

We planned a lighter day to day but sometimes the camping doesn't cooperate. We are heading into a long remote section of Idaho. 90 miles with no towns or services on a winding mountain road. When hiking, we could stop almost anywhere and find a stealth camping spot. On the bikes, it is not as easy. We are traveling on roads with private property on both sides. We need to find approved places to camp. Today that meant going 54 miles to find an approved campground. Today was also a hogground day (which is a groundhog day going backwards). On Monday and Tuesday we traveled almost 100 miles down the Little Salmon River. We watched it get bigger as we descended. Today and tomorrow we do.the opposite with the Clearwater River. We are slowly biking up the valley (70 miles of continuous climb) and watching the river get smaller as we climb. It's that mirror effect we discussed earlier. Anyway, out if farmland and back into woods and rivers so I am happy. We are expecting rain for the next three days :(, so getting up early to hopefully pack dry.

A few milestones today. First, we passed 20% of our total milage (840 miles) as we ended the day with 880 miles peddled. We also had our worst grade today (13-15%) on Lamb's Grade near Stites. Luckily, we were going down and not up. Tested my brakes big time - going up would have killed me. Was disappointed the TAT had that high of grade, hope it was a rare exception. Lastly, a bug (as yet unidentified) flew into my shirt while descending yesterday. I felt it bite/sting me twice on my back. Squished it against my seat to stop it and thought nothing more about it. Then last night my back began to itch and I found two quarter sized welts. Not sure what it was but it definitely left a mark.

Took a picture of this old barn as we are pretty sure it won't be standing tomorrow

The fields checker board all the way to the horizon

After several miles of fields we dropped down a scary pitch called Lamb's Grade and are back by the river.

This picture from the bridge shows how swollen the rivers are from all the rain

We head into 99 miles of winding road with no services. It is the TAT version of the 100 Mile Wilderness (and the first 70 miles are all up hill)

The river is huge as we start our climb. It will get smaller and wilder as we head up the valley. We saw many kayakers on their way up the road and down the river.

People who live on the other side of the river use these little cable cars to get across

Loved the velociraptor on top of the house

Things got remote but stayed beautiful

Scene from our camp at Apgar Campground

Found several cool little wildflowers while walking around camp

This one is a Dogwood and it is special. It was the first wildflower I saw on the AT and it always remind me of Peggy ❤️

Day 20 - 58 Miles to Lochsa Lodge

Today was interesting. Rain was supposed to start at 6 AM so I set my alarm for 5:45 so we could pack dry. Then the rain started falling at 10 PM last night and never stopped. We packed wet and set off for a 58 mile day with the hopes of getting inside for the night. The route was a gentle uphill run. We climbed 4,000 feet over the 58 miles so 2% grade most of the way. The ride was awesome even if it was wet. Peddling up low grade in cool weather must be our jam because we knocked the miles out quick. One reason is that in the rain we arebtaking fewer pictures and are less likely to stop. In addition, the traffic was not as bad as we were lead to believe so that made the day better. We arrived at the lodge around 4 PM and booked the last cabin they had available (someone upstairs was looking out for us:)).

Right before reaching the Lodge we were passed by a TransAmerica Trail racer. There are about 20 of them racing the 4,200 mile trail. They left Monday and the leaders passed us last night. More passed us today and we had the chance to talk with them. They did in 5 days what we did in 20. Blows my mind and makes my legs hurt. When we arrived at the lodge there was a documentary crew present and they interviewed us. We are not in the race but we are biking the TransAmerica Trail so they asked us why and how our experience has been so far. We will have to track down the final documentary and see if any of our comments survive final edit. We had to pay the piper but are tucked into a cozy cabin with a wood burning stove. Things are drying out, though they will.just get wet again tomorrow. Forecast calls for solid rain through Monday/Tuesday. Don't know how people live in the Pacific Northwest, it rains all the time. Tuesday will be day 24 and if the forecast holds, we will have had 8 days of sun out of 24 days - 8 days? Given the weather, we plan to push through to Missoula tomorrow and take a rain day on Sunday.

Leaving camp, the rain already falling

And our beautiful woods are covered in cloud

Not a lotnof pictures on a rainy day but it ended well in this cozy cabin.

Day 21 - 58 miles to Missoula

Hard to believe 3 of 13 weeks are already in the books. Goes by so fast, need to remember to cherish every day; even the wet ones. The rain fell steadily all night and all morning and the weather report called for rain all day. Thus, we were in no hurry to get started. We did dry out our kit in the cabin (hung it from the rafters) so we packed it all tight so it wouldn't get wet again, had a late breakfast bag and headed into the wet. We had a 12 mile climb and then a long slow descent into Lolo and Missoula. The first few miles were cold as the rain fell pretty hard. Peddling up hill generated some warmth though I worried for the upcoming downhill. After about six miles the rain slowed and after eight it stopped completely. We hit a huge double milestone as we topped Lolo pass at 5,225 feet and crossed into Montana at the same time. The run down was wet from previous rain but we saw the sun peek out a few times. Overall a pretty good day from what started as a miserable one. You never know how things are going to turn out, especially with things out of your control, like the weather. Out here I am learning that keeping a good attitude (enduring well) leads to better experiences and better outcomes. Complaining about the weather doesn't change the weather, so look for the hidden blessings and push through.

This is how we keep our kitbdry on all these rainy days - everything in its own drysack.

A big section of the trail we are biking follows the route Lewis & Clark followed. Turns out it was raining here in 1806 as well.

We started passing snow near the top of the pass

Top of Lolo Pass, 5,225 Feet

Hard to read behind all those stickers, but the sign says Welcome to Montana. That smile is because we are at the top, it is not raining and we are entering our third state 😀

The rocks look a little different in Montana. If they were dry we would stop to climb them

Haven't seen this sign since hiking the AT in Maine

Coming off the pass it's out of the woods and back down into farm country

Not horses or llamas this time but nine Elk cows grazing in this field

While we descended the peaks get higher (over 9,000 feet to our right)

Just outside Lolo. From there, a 13 mile bike path ride to Missoula and our home for two days.

Day 22 - 0 miles, waiting on brake repairs in Missoula tomorrow

The rain pushed us so hard we actually got to Missoula a day early so got to take a zero waiting for the bike shop to open tomorrow morning. Good way to spend a Sunday, reading and in quiet contemplation. One thing I have been thinking about is the pros and cons of my trike (recumbent bike) vs the gravel bike my son is using.

Pros of the Trike:

Comfortable

Easier on back, butt and joints

Good downhill

Easy to pack/carry kit

Unique, conversation starter

I can eat and drink while movi g

Cons of the Trike:

Heavy so hard up hills

Not great in rain (the comfortable bucket seat opens you up to the rain and the tires spray up on you)

Three wheels not aligned so harder to find dry/smooth pavement

Wider - harder to transport and store

More dangerous - less stable at high speed and sticks out farther into the road

All things considered I am glad I went with the trike but it has its drawbacks. Given dry weather, reasonable grade and a bike path or wide shoulder its a no brainer.

Well, been a good day of rest. Repairs and back on the trail tomorrow.