We had a busy weekend and I woke up still tired. Hubby and I went to the Idaho-Montana border yesterday to Ride the Hiawatha Rails to Trails.
It took us about 2 hours to get there by car and the drive over was very scenic... especially when you're looking at Lake Coeur d' Alene.
We had to stop at the Lookout Pass Ski area right at the Idaho-Montana border to buy tickets to enter the trail.
Then we drove another 5 miles or so --- parked and unloaded our bikes --- it was probably around 10:30 am by the time we got started.
The trail is a total of 46 miles but 15 miles of the Idaho section is open to mountain bikers and hikers. The US Forest Service will eventually add 31 miles of the Montana section.
There's a total of 10 tunnels and *The Big Tunnel* is the first one you encounter. It's 1.7 mile long. It is very dark so everyone is required to have working lights to go through.
The trail is considered one of the most scenic stretches of railroad in the country. It also has over 7 trestles that you ride through.
You could find signs along the route that share the history of the railroad like the 1910 fire and the old mining towns. Here are some railroad ties that were removed and now serve as homes for these little critters.
The ride was pretty *gritty*. It was mainly flat and downhill but you are basically riding your bike on gravel and it took us about an hour and a half to finish the 15 miles.
Check it out ☟:
I've got blisters on my hands from gripping my handle bars just so I didn't fall on my a**.
We took the shuttle back up because there was no way my hands could handle another 15 miles of uphill riding plus the temperature was getting up in the 90's.
When we got back to the car, I ate a PB sandwich and brought some other snacks to tie us over before dinner. We stopped quickly at Costco in Coeur d' Alene to get gas and dinner. We picked up a ready-made cilantro lime shrimp wrap that I forgot to take a picture of, but trust me--it was good!
It was a day trip that was FUN and one that we can check off of our bucket list from living here in the PNW.
My shoulders and back were sore so after a dose of ibuprofen, we spent the rest of the night watching the Olympic women's marathon and track and field.
How did you spend your weekend? Are you psyched about track and field, too?
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