Insights from Lisa Marie
Today I rode Norms original bike route! After having looked at the terrain he felt I90 was a better choice for the bike. That meant I got to do some off roading for the day😁. The route took me along the Route of the Olympian and the NOR-PAC Trail. Basically an old logging road through and up the canyon. The trail in places was great from flat gravel to two track with some rocky places. Then the extremes went from over all rocks as you are driving steep downgrades, and my favorite the red sand road with sheer drop off into the canyon. It was so fun and at no time did I feel unsafe! I hit one roadblock literally early on. Trail closure because of tree and rock barrier. The alternative they took you to get through was an entrance into the woods that even if my jeep could have made it through, I couldn’t see far enough into the woods to see the terrain. Having promised Norm I wouldn’t do anything to hurt myself or the car, though I so wanted to see where this went, I turned around. I was able to get farther down the trail at another entry point which also was an interesting challenge. There were very few entry points along the way which requires advanced planning. Now again for those who know me I first drove to the other end of that closure to see what happened and how much I missed😂. It was another dirt/tree/rock barrier. Obviously not passable even for bikers. So I proceeded forward….. The views were fabulous and for hours it was just me and the scenery around me. I hit another snag at the little town of Saltese, Montana where Norm and I were going to meet. Twice I crossed this dirt bridge looking at the route app trying to find the road I thought was going to take me into town. Darn again, the road was below me! No way to get down. That is not something the app tells you🙄. Fortunately I had service to call Norm and told him I would keep going to Lookout Pass our next meeting place. All morning I saw no bikes and only 2 people who were both runners. By the looks on their faces they didn’t normally see a car😉. The trail took me to the pass onto the ski resort area. Again strange looks from the staff who saw where I came from. More so when I asked questions as to make sure I went on off the resort property into the woods the right way!😂. Maybe it’s my age, or that I am a woman by myself, who knows😁. Norm and I met up, decided we were going all the way to our endpoint, Kellogg, Idaho before stopping to eat. I had missed the last 5 miles of the route ending in Mullan where it was back to normal roads. Of course I had time with Norm on the bike so yes I backtracked to the pass and back into the woods! That 5 miles ended up being the rockiest and went up into the upper part of the canyon. Then came the going downhill to the bottom. What a ride! Both jeep and I made it safely.
Norm’s Ride
After doing some scouting for today’s ride yesterday afternoon, I knew my best option was to head back up I-90. The route of the Olympian Road that we drove only for about a mile and a half, was enough for me to know that there was too much uncertainty for me to commit significant miles in the wilderness with little exit points. So today Lisa Marie and I reverse roles. She decided to be a 4 wheeler and see just how far she could get on my original bike route. Me, I headed right for the freeway and made my ride up to the top of Lookout pass. Like I said yesterday, I never really felt nervous because the shoulders were as wide as a car lane. With the early morning intermittent light traffic, I hugged the far right hand side and made my way. The road cut its way through the beautiful canyon and constantly crossed over the Coeur d’Alene river. Reaching the top of Lookout pass at 11 and then magically crossing into the Pacific Time Zone and stepping back one hour traveling only one foot forward. I had completely forgotten that I wasn’t in the Pacific time zone.
The backside of this pass was quick and steep and I had to stop several times just to make sure my brakes were cool. Five miles down the road I met up with Lisa Marie in Mullan at a park. We thought we might have lunch here but we decided to wait and eat later. Mullan and the whole region is really a large silver mining area. There are only a few remaining mines active, but the remnants are seen all over.
From this point I was able to jump on the Coeur d’Alene bike trail (it starts in Mullan) which ran through several towns, one of which was Wallace. This was a cool historic old town with plenty of hotels and more bars that didn’t match their population of only 900. This is clearly a tourist town. If you only viewed this town from the freeway you would just keep on driving. It was so neat slowly riding the bike through downtown . I stopped at a local bike shop and had them look at my brakes. They told me I definitely needed to get the front pads switched out soon. The bike shop was an old Buick Oldsmobile dealership, complete with a car elevator which was now used for bikes alone. The manager gave me a quick tour and a ride up the elevator. Upstairs he showed me a few parts remaining from the car dealership along with his huge inventory of bikes. Mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and river rafting, are some of the many activities this little adventure town offers. (Interesting little history on Wallace) Moving on down the trail, It traveled near rows of homes and then disappeared into a tree line forest. At one point I met up with Andrea who was on her way back to town for some appointment. She just ended a group bike ride with one of her friends who turned 85 today. We rode together until I came into our destination town Kellogg ID. Meeting up with Lisa Marie I spotted a bike shop right next to the trail and took my bike in to have the brake pads changed out. The mechanic made quick work and we were soon off to get some food at this cool little sandwich shop just off the trail. Inside the shop you could see the mementos of the adventures that happen centered around the town. Lisa Marie and I both noticed a buddy board. This board was a way to bless others in the town with (pre-pay) food, coffee, and or beer. What a great idea for the locals.
Kellogg Idaho is another adventure town primarily centered around the Silver Mountain Resort which is the major ski area. This also doubles as a mountain bike mecca. Here people were taking their mountain bikes up the gondola and riding a labyrinth of trails to the bottom where they could rinse and repeat all day. Lisa Marie and I took the scenic gondola ride to the top to check out the views and to just hang out. The Coeur d’Alene trail was everything I hoped it would be. I’m looking forward to riding the remainder of the 70 mile trail tomorrow.
