TransAm Day #53 Riggins, ID - Council, ID
TransAm Day #53
July 19, 2018
Riggins, ID - Council, ID
62 Miles
Ride Time 5:37 Hours
Tour Total Miles 3786
Last night was the most beautiful camping experience yet. I slept on a beach alongside the Salmon River at Shorts Bar Recreation Site, outside of Riggins. I was surrounded by the steep valleys of the fork between the Salmon and Little Salmon Rivers. I had set up my tent up in the wind and used large rocks as weights to hold the corners down. The wind finally settled down, and I did my best to keep the sand out of my tent. Scott, Eileen and I sat under the stars drinking beer and eating pretzels. The big dipper was up above, and I could see the Milky Way. It was one of the most spectacular places I’ve been on this trip.
Eileen and Scott were still in their tent when I left this morning. The beach was heating up quickly. Rather than backtrack into town for breakfast, I gambled that I could find something further down the road, and set off south on US Highway 95.
At Pollock I met an 87 year-old retired man on a quad cycle with an electric assist. He told me that highway 95 was the only paved road in the Idaho panhandle between Montana and Oregon. I learned about Seven Devils Canyon, just a few miles to the west. It is the deepest Canyon in the United States. At 7,400 feet deep it is deeper than the Grand Canyon. The man had worked as an engineer in Southern California. He returned home to Idaho to tinker, build boats and cars.
My map listed a food stop fourteen miles south of Riggins. There was a sign on the highway that confirmed this. But at 10am when I pulled in, the store and cafe were both closed. It was going to be a long uphill with no breakfast. The next town, New Meadows, wasn’t for another twenty miles, on top of a ridge after a long climb.
I’ve been passed by dozens of logging trucks the past few days. The shoulder is littered with tree bark. The trucks bring giant logs to the mill, and then return to the forest empty. Ten miles into my climb, I saw a roadside OPEN banner in the distance. Up a very steep gravel driveway was a small fruit stand, Mountain Roots Orchard, where I had huckleberry lemonade and two blueberry tarts. The woman had studied art in Seattle, and had returned to her home here in Idaho. Her partner was from India.
There had just been a wreck on the highway ahead, and traffic was backing up quickly. I selfishly pedaled to the front of the back-up, and straight though the mayhem. It was pretty upsetting. A trailer home had flipped on top of another vehicle. The car pulling the trailer was upside down. There were children with blood on their arms sitting in lawn chairs on the side of the road. Motorists were assisting, and it appeared that everybody was OK. Nonetheless it was unsettling. I’ve heard that a lot of vacationers rent campers and motorhomes and have no experience driving them. Yesterday I saw a motorist who was pulling a camper dangerously pass another motorist. That poor family in the flipped trailer today- their trip just came to an abrupt end. I hope they’re all ok.
Climbing the Little Salmon River Valley up towards the ridge I began to see pine trees again, and dense foliage. In New Meadows I stopped at the Intersection Cafe for a pulled-pork sandwich. I couldn’t get my WiFi to work, and there wasn’t any service. After lunch, when I came outside it was broiling.
On top of the ridge there were grass fields, wildflowers, and evergreen trees. I made my way to the Wiser River (pronounced weezer) which I would now be following downstream. I stayed on US 95 and didn’t take the Weiser River Bike Trail, because it was gravel. I crossed the forty fifth parallel. I’m halfway between the North Pole and the equator, and I’m tempted to go all the way south.
I stopped at the Huckleberry Bakery Cafe for some huckleberry lemonade and huckleberry cheesecake. I was told that it was all downhill to Counsel and that it would be ten degrees hotter there. Council was given its name from the numerous Native American Tribal Councils that once took place here.
I went to the laundrymat, which was closed. There were no public showers in town. I rode to the Ace Saloon in an old historic building. The cigarette smoke scared me away, so I went across the street to Wilson’s Lodge. I talked with locals until Scott and Eileen showed up. We went to the RV park for laundry and showers and then had pizza at Shy Simon’s. I've lost a pair of underwear, and I’m upset.
Steve is a hundred miles from Astoria, and Brian just finished his tour in Seattle.
Comments
Post a Comment