Dans Big Adventure - Canada and Beyond (and below?)

WWR Day 7 Wallace ID to 50000 Silver $ Bar in Haugen MT Wednesday July 31, 2019 Distance 53.6 Start elevation 2750 End elevation 3150 High point  4940 Low point 2750 Climbing ~3700' Ride time 6:?? Total time about 8 hours Days bike camping: 5 Contiguous days riding : 2 Another day, another 2000' climb over a pass. Today it is Moon Pass straight out of Wallace, on my way to the Path of the Hiawatha rails to trail trail. Today it is a mellow grade all the way to the top, so not so much self doubt and ego bursting breaks needed. I get a good 11 miles of down hill to the lower trailhead of the Hiawatha. The valley I ride through has ancient snags from the big burn in 1910. A number are of huge girth, befitting the old growth cedars I saw a few days ago. To Riding the route down is a popular activity with bike rentals and shuttles, with families and oldster alike doing the ride. Indeed Glenda is doing it   and I see here in the shuttle at the lower tra...

WWR Day 6 Berlin Flats CG, ID to Wallace ID Tuesday July 30, 2019 Distance 33.8? Start elevation 3800 End elevation 2750 High point 4300 Low point 2400 Climbing ~2000 Ride time 3:56 Total time about 5 hours Days bike camping: 4 Contiguous days riding : 1 Another sunny morning eventually reached my camp spot. I am up prepping in the cool shade, trying to get out earlier than my norm as there is a big climb on the back half of my day. One of the Dutch riders stopped over offering coffee shared with them by the only car camper. I head out ND gain the main road, which is paved and following the creek down down down for 6 or 7 miles. Faster cruising, cool in the shade but beautiful. Eventually reach the Coeur D'Alene River it self, which is another 6 to 7 miles our beatifuleellow trees downhill.cruisong to Pricuard. There are lots of homes and cabins on the river, and apparently a popular fishing area as it is signed for catch and release only. From Prichard...

WWR Day 5 Noxom Two Rivers RV  to Berlin Flats CG, ID Monday July 29, 2019 Distance 47.4 Start elevation 2250 End elevation 2800 High point 5220 Low point Climbing ~3550' Ride time 6:28 Total time about 8:25 Days bike camping: 4 Contiguous days riding : 1 Was planning a shorter day to Marten Creek CG on Noxom Res somewhere around 20 miles, but arrived about noon shortly after Glenda and decide to continue after a fine veggie burger lunch with my sweetie. Another gorgeous weather day, blue bird skies in the low 80's. I was 15 miles from Idaho, all climbing totalling nearly 3000'! Cranking up very good roads and mellow grade for 1st 10 miles. Viewpoints are few as the forest is heavy. For the last 5 miles the grade is steeper and rockier, slowing down the pace. Lots of chances to check my odometer , but damn it is moving really slow. Need numerous breaks to get the sweat out of my eyes. I am counting down the half miles to the summit. I reach th...

WWR Day 4 Troy to Noxom Two Rivers RV Sat July 27, 2019 Distance 45.7 Start elevation 1880 End elevation 2250 High point 2450 Low point 1880 Climbing maybe 1000' Ride time 4:4 Total time about 5:35 Days bike camping: 3 Contiguous days riding : 1 We said good bye to the Kootenai River RV park and their freindly hosts and continued south. Avoiding US Hwy 2 by taking the back road a few miles to Troy proper,  I crossover an old one lane Bridger, with it own resident eagles in nest.  Crossing town I get side tracked by the ever present trains, but continue on on a nice bike path around town. But no escaping US 2, which I follow for a couple miles before catching the peace of Lake Creek Road back road. Very pleasant country following the mellow valley up through cabins, homes and homesteads. Eventually route leave the valley to a higher bench where it is drier, dominated by lodgepole with less firs and cedars. The road is still paved and heading for a bi...

Thurs July 25, 2019 Distance 32.3 Start elevation 3620 End elevation 1880 High point 3700 Low point 1800 Climbing 900'??? Ride time 3.26 Total time about 4:00 Days bike camping: 3 Contiguous days riding : 5 Slept in a bit as I knew the high point was only an easy mile or two away, and that I would be following the Yaak River part of the way back into trip. Also it was pretty cold for mid July, the campsite was in the mountain shadow and a heavy dew had settled on to all. The lake slowly get sunlit as a do my morning bustle. I finally get rolling about 10:30. The top is reached after an easy mile, and after a mile or so of easy rolling I start 12 miles of fast smooth two track. Down down he goes, hope no grizzlies grazing below! I check my speed around bends and noisy creeks, and carry on my private solo auditions, hoping to find no audience.  At the bottom I reach the East River Road along the Yaak, and do a few fast miles on the cedar lowland rollers be for...

 Tobacco River CG to Loon Lake CG Weds July 24, 2019 Distance 46 Start elevation 2470 End elevation 3620' High point 4400' Low point 2520 Climbing about 3000 Ride time 6:15 Total time 7:20 Days bike camping: 3 Contiguous days riding : 4 Today was my first full tast of the Wild West Route, riding up into the Purcell Mountains. Had been wondering how it would go, how challenging the terrain? How steep? Rocky? Can I make it between spots to camp? I knew I had a long climb today, but no easy way to judge the distance or the vertical, unlike the Great Divide route. The day starts with a pavement detour, to avoid some early back roads climbing to save energy for the big climb later in the day. I had been back there last year anyway checking out Pinkham Falls. Well the Hwy 37  " shortcut" was suppose to be a warmup but a damn strong wind was blowing up the lake, making it some of the most challenging net downhill 10 miles  of pavement . I get t...

Kikomun PP to Tobacco Rriver CG Tues July 23, 2019 Distance 44  Cross border at 30.5 miles Start elevation End elevation High point Low point Climbing about 700'??? Ride time 4:22 Total time 5:30 Days bike camping: 2 Contiguous days riding : 3 Well today I reached the good ol' US of A after 5+ weeks and about 320 miles of riding in Canada. I have now completed the original Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and then some.Now time to get plugging on the 2700 mile Wild West Route. An interesting warning sign as I approached the USA border. Where we camping in Kikomun PP they have a number Lakes, and an active painted turtle community they are protecting. Apparently not confined to the park, they must be around Baynes Lake too. It was all road today, the majority paved, some 9 miles on hwy. No convenient map for the WWR, GPS coordinates files and I am depending on my Garmin GPS. Worked well, as I practiced in Canada. Though tough to judge distances I...