Wednesday, June 23 - Day 10 - 79.8 Miles - 704.2 Total Miles

We woke this morning to fog that was much too thick to ride in, so we hung out for a while. This allowed the support crew to sleep in a little and us guys a chance to crawl back into our tents for a little morning reading. It took quite a while for the fog to burn off and we were getting a little antsy knowing that we had 80 miles to ride that finished with what looked like a big climb at the end.


We were finally able to get out on the road at 10:00 Mountain Time and were met with a good 40 miles or so of downhills. That really allowed us to make up some time as we were able to fly on this stretch. As we made our way down into the valley to Riggins on Route 95, we came upon the Salmon River. This stretch was a mad house. People were packed shoulder to shoulder fishing for salmon. Everyone was trying to sell the salmon....smoked, fresh,....you name it, it was being sold. The other big positive during this part of the day was the fact that we switched back to Pacific Time....so we gained an hour back. It was as if we did not get that late start this morning.


About 30 miles later we were able to get off of 95 and on to Old 95. This is where the fun began. On this stretch of car-less road, we climbed and climbed and climbed up, out of the valley. We climbed 2600 feet in the matter of about 10 miles. It was hot. It was steep. It was fun. Switchback after switchback gave us a cool look into the valley that we were leaving. Luckily, Kim and the kids found us before we got to the top because we were going through water pretty quickly.


After the climb, we got onto another low traveled road for our descent into Grangeville. We are staying here at a hotel for the evening. We have kept lodging costs way down the last few days...so, we get rewarded with four walls. Tomorrow evening will be a different story. We are heading into a stretch of country with absolutely no services for around 70 miles. Our plan is to stay in another campground somewhere along the route. Needless to say, there will be no cell coverage or WIFI. Hopefully in a couple days we will back into communication territory. Maybe at that time, Kim can do another entry. It turns out that people like her writing better than mine. I just don't get it.

Gotta go for now. We are going to eat some salmon.


Idaho Doesn't Need Fences For Their Livestock


Our Climb Out of the Valley

Our Salmon Dinner in Grangeville, Idaho