Crossed the Snake River from Clarkston Wa. to sister city Lewiston Idaho this morning. These cities are located at the intersection of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. There is a lot of water flowing thru these towns.
This was my third portage of the trip. I was riding along the roadway at bottom and wanted to get up to a great bikeway that runs on top of a levee along the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. The rig is way too heavy to push up an incline like this so when I spotted this path I had to unhook and push/carry/lug/sweat equipment to top a pretty big hill. That is bike on pathway with me taking pic from roadway where I was originally.
As I was putting rig back together on top a walker who has apparently watched the whole process came by and asked why I did not take the designated paved bike pathway about 100 yards away up to the top. I said I had not seen it even though I had ridden right by it.
The guy says with no expression "I knew when they put those 4 signs up directing bikers up path they were too small", then he walked away. I guess I just got a shot of Idaho humor because all those signs were pretty big--I just missed them all.
Anyway the pathwaay ran about 5 miles along the rivers and was tremendous.
A town of 700 and the setting is stunning. Beautiful country.
Downtown Kooskia--actually you are looking at most of the town.
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Rode 75 miles today and all of it was fantastic. Almost all of it was along the Clearwater River and if there is a prettier route anywhere I would like to see it. It was not long out of Lewiston that things got greener along the river and the bluffs around it. Many bushes and smaller trees turned into larger pine trees (I think they are lodgepoles) but they are not nearly as huge as the ones nearer the coast. There are even some hardwood trees showing up the farther I get into the state.
The route is called the Nez Perce Trail and runs thru part of the NP reservation. Many interesting historical stops along the way(more on those in following posts).
Idaho license plates are similar to Ohio plates and it made me wonder if they are also similar when it comes to state cheers. In Ohio the big thing is for someone to shout O-H and the response is I-O. I think that started at OSU football games.
So do folks here yell I-D-A with response H-O? Do the cheerleaders at games yell " I say IDA, you say HO?
I did not talk to very many people today and did not ask these questions--will do so tomorrow first chance. Who knows I may be able to start a thing here, like in the Buckeye State.
Still deciding what plan is for tomorrow. What I want to do is ride 90 miles to Powell Ranger Station which is near some natural hot springs I want to soak in. The locals in Kooskia were raving about them this evening at town gas station. Will see how I feel in morning. Today was a sweat day and I drank over 8 quarts of water/Gatoraid. Hydration is much more important than food on long days.
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