NewsArticleBody
No cycling was scheduled today but three in the group got up early to climb the Old Spiral Highway to the top of Lewiston Hill. All eleven of us went on a jet boat tour deep up the Snake River into the Hell's Canyon wild and scenic area. The Snake River Gorge is deeper in places than the Grand Canyon. Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in the U.S. What’s the difference between a gorge and a canyon? In a canyon you can see from the top most point to the bottom. In a gorge you cannot see entirely from the peak to the bottom. The second highest gorge is on the Salmon River. The Hells Canyon Gorge plunges 7,913’ at its peak – 1.5 miles. The Snake River is 1,036 miles long. The deepest point of the river is in Buffalo Eddy at 110’ deep. People lived in the gorge as far back as 15,000 years as evidenced from the petroglyphs (figures) we saw carved into the rock. Much of it is only accessible by boat (and helicopter). Most of the vacation homes we saw in the canyon had the materials delivered via boat since there are no roads that deep into the canyon. Along the way we viewed deer, heron and mountain goats. Our jet boat is powered by three jet engines. Each engine displaces 4 tons of water for a total of 12 tons. The boat rides on top of the water thus eliminating many of the issues of navigating around rocks in the river. After 9 days of warm sunshine, the day was cool and rainy. The captain said it was the first rain they have had since May. Several didn't dress adequately for the wet weather and 35 mph wind of boat. Nevertheless, the scenery was awe inspiring. Lewiston, ID to Craigmont, ID What a painful climb out of Lewiston. Since Lewiston sits on the river, there’s only one way to go UP. The total climb today was 5,000’, the highest day of the trip. Montgomery Grade had a 6% grade and the scenery at the top was magnificent and the fun continued with the long, spiral downhill. Our destination is Craigmont, population of 506. We stay at a delightful B&B two miles down a gravel road outside of town. This farm raises 2,000 acres of wheat. Wheat is all you can see from any direction. Our host is Lavina, an energetic 72 old grandmother as spry as a chicken. Her home and grounds are charming with her collections of dishes. Her hobby is gardening as evidenced by the many lovely flower beds. She is as sweet as can be and a hoot to listen to. Everyone one is a “dear” or a “darling”. Dinner is elegantly served with china and crystal and topped off with homemade rhubarb (grown at home) pie and apple pie. Craigmont, ID to Syringa, ID We wake to another beautiful morning and Lavina’s home cooking. Breakfast was a collection of casseroles and more chit chat about life on the farm. Getting off the farm involved a 3 mile ride on gravel. Most of the day was rolling hills with the bonus of a long descent off the mountain and to the river. The first 40 miles was tranquil countryside on back country roads and sparse traffic. Then we got on Highway 12 which parallels the Clearwater River. It’s a two-lane road with no shoulder which is peaceful at times but nerve-wracking when the tractor-trailers come barreling by us. The landscape has changed from the grain covered fields of the Camas Prairie to tree-covered evergreen forests. And yes, there are logging trucks joining us too. We’re into more of a vacation area in the Clearwater Forest. Lots of motorcycles are enjoying the scenic ride along the river also. |
Our first opportunity for breakfast is seven miles down the road which also provides us box lunches since there are no services available the rest of the day. We are in a designated Wild and Scenic River area which has been un-touched by man building dams or dikes. What a treat! All day we’re on our two lane road with no shoulder. We pass a sign of “Next Gas 64 Miles”. The day consists of a steady 2,000’ climb so it felt like we pedaled non-stop for 73 miles. With some headwind we even pedaled on the down hills. Often it appeared we were on down hills but they were “false flats” which still required pedaling. At 47 miles we stopped at a beautiful picnic area along the river. A few of us took the opportunity to dip our feet in the 60-ish degree river. At 63 miles we took the 1 mile hike to the naturally flowing hot springs on the cool mountain trail along the creek. It was well worth the detour. It was a beautiful setting with hot water flowing down from a rock wall and also bubbling up from the springs in a natural rock pool of ~102 degrees. We soaked our legs and soaked in the scenery at the same time. Powell, ID to Missoula, MT Today has an eight mile climb up to Lola Pass to an elevation 5,235’. That’s a 1,700’ climb over eight miles. There are two moose frolicking in the river. We saw several “Moose Crossing” signs but never saw them amble across Route 12. The descent down Route 12 was not as nerve-wracking as I find some mountain descents. With speed limit signs of 70 mph on a two-lane state highway with very little shoulder there cannot be a lot of curves. Of course if Georgia had a 70 mph limit on two lane roads I wouldn’t have nearly as many speeding tickets. With great anticipation of the past two weeks, Gloria finds her Dairy Queen in Lola. She treats us all to a DQ treat. We arrive at our Missoula motel and folks start un-assembling bikes to ship home. It’s been a great adventure. There are many happy memories and tired butts! Let’s not forget our toast as the beginning ... |
ITINERARY Astoria, OR - Seaside, OR 49 miles |
ACCOMMODATIONS JULY 12-13 ASTORIA, OR 888-898-6222 or 503-325-6222 JULY14 LONGVIEW, WA 360-414-1000 JULY 15 PORTLAND, OR 888-898-6222 or 503-484-1102 JULY 16 HOOD RIVER, OR 800-828-7873 or 541-828-7873 JULY 17 BIGGS 800-358-5881 or 509-773-5881 JULY 18 UMATILLA, WA 877-922-1500 or 541-922-3271 JULY 19 WALLA WALLA, WA 509-525-4700 JULY 20 POMEROY, WA 509-843-1559 JULY 21 & 22 LEWISTON, IDAHO 800-232-6730 or 208-799-1000 JULY 23 CRAIGMONT, IDAHO 208-924-5483 JULY 24 SYRINGA, ID 800-451-6034 or 208-926-4300 JULY 25 POWELL, ID 208-942-3405 JULY 26 MISSOULA, MT 406-728-4500 |