Despite planning to sleep in, I woke up in my cabin around 6:30 Mountain time. I used the extra time to grab a fresh breakfast at the lodge before packing up and heading out around 8:30, thinking that I had a short 217 mile day and plenty of time to do it in.
The BDR organization recommends waiting until early July to attempt the IDBDR because of snow in the high mountain passes, so I knew that snow was a risk and (with the help of Tori and her Facebook account) had been trying to track snow levels. I knew for sure that some of the earlier sections were still blocked, but it was unclear if the sections I was intending to ride were clear (spoiler alert: they weren’t).
The first leg of the route was supposed to be the Lolo Motorway, a road constructed in the 30’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps which mirrored the trails of the Nez-Perce tribe before continuing onto some of the trails used by Lewis and Clark. After a brief section of smooth gravel, the road quickly turned into more primitive track as it ascended onto the ridgeline of the mountains with amazing views in all directions. As the trees became more dense in sections the snow (and occasional Elk) started to appear.
I was able to avoid or chug my way through the first couple of drifts, but it soon became apparent that continuing would be impossible, or at least very unwise. If I were with someone else, on a smaller bike, or just out for an afternoon I probably would have attempted to continue; but with the mileage I have in front of me I didn’t like taking the risk and turned around.
I decided to take Highway 12 across the base of Idaho’s panhandle, then turn north and pick up the BDR again near Pierce. US12 reminded me a lot of the Mohawk Trail in MA or the Kancamagus in NH, both of which are scenic twisty roads following a river. The only difference is that US12 has a 50-60mph speed limit, abundant passing zones, and goes on for over 100 miles. While it got a bit warm as the morning turned into afternoon, I was still quite happy with the road as a consolation prize. Eventually I turned north on towards Pierce, with another set of breathtaking switchbacks to climb out of the river valley and up into the mountains.
After Pierce, the BDR started off on logging and forest service roads for about two hours. While I tried to mirror the route in the morning as closely as I could, I ended up adding about 50-60 miles to the day from having to bypass the snow. This section of the BDR was less interesting than I’d hoped, alternating between super overgrown with no views and going through areas that had been clear cut by logging companies. The road surface loose gravel over hard pack and I couldn’t push without starting to skate around on the gravel. I ended up starting to feel some time pressure by about 3 o’clock with over 50 miles left to go before reaching Wallace if nothing went wrong, but tried my best to concentrate on the scenery and enjoy the ride.
After 3pm the road did become more interesting, climbing up into the forest and becoming a track instead of a logging road. It eventually even became a rocky, technical climb right when I hit the Blue Cabin, once open to travelers as a free rest but now sadly left locked. I had less than 50 miles to go and was starting to feel like the afternoon would finish strong even if it would be a longer day than I initially planned.
A mile or two after the Blue Cabin, however, the road became totally impassible by another snow drift. Unlike earlier where there had at least been some tracks, it didn’t look like anyone had done this route yet at all this year. Just like earlier, I felt the risk was too great to try so I decided to bypass around the snow.
Idaho is incredibly sparse and most of the interior of the panhandle is National Forest. The only way out that I could find involved backtracking on the BDR then taking over 60 miles of unpaved forest service & logging roads west before I could head north at all, at which point I’d need to do similar mileage east to hit Wallace. Despite only being 50 miles away, I’d need to ride over 110 miles to each my destination. Combined with the morning fun, my planned 217 mile day became 370 miles.
The paved route in was still a great road and the temperatures were finally starting to fall, but I still didn’t end up getting into Wallace until 7:30. By the time I was unloaded nearly every restaurant in town was closed (being a Sunday night in remote Idaho). Wallace is a cool town that caters or adventure travel, and the entire town was registered as a historical place to avoid being bulldozed to build I-90.
Given the complications and bypasses, today ended up being my longest day on the bike yet. After over a week on the road I’m starting to feel the fatigue set in, so despite having a rest day planned after tomorrow’s ride I might still decide to play it safe and stick to the pavement for the last stretch into British Columbia tomorrow.