August 15, 2013
Day 15: To Wilderness Gateway campground, Lochsa river
Today I continue up the Clearwater river, steadily climbing into the Bitteroot range. After 7 nights in motels I'm finally back in an environment that makes me want to camp. That's a good thing because I pretty much have to camp the next two nights because there is no lodging.
My goal was to get up an hour earlier, but I got up at 7:30 and on the road at 8:45, heading east on US 12. On the way out of Kamiah I saw 4 young bike tourists packing up at the city park.
For 10 miles the landscape is continuously inhabited. But development ends after the village of Kooskia. Then it's just the highway and the river canyon.
I'm still on US 12 but today has less traffic than yesterday. Maybe all the trucks turned south. Today the shoulder comes and goes, but about 2/3 of the route has a rideable shoulder. Overall, today was much more serene than yesterday.
I had lunch at the resort in Syringa. Then a few miles upstream I bought groceries at the store in Lowell. Blackberries are abundant on the roadside before entering the National Forest. And the sparse pine forest becomes a denser mix of pines and firs.
After entering Clearwater National Forest the Clearwater river starts to have frequent ledge drops and waves. And the trees get bigger and denser.
Just past Lowell the Clearwater splits in two. US 12 continues up the north fork, the Lochsa river. The south fork is the Selway river. Understanding the geography gets complicated when rivers change name. From here the path to the Pacific ocean is:
Lochsa river
Clearwater river
Snake river
Columbia river
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Today's ride is gentle upstream all day. The gradient is gradually increasing but it's not steep yet. I had plenty of time to stop, relax, and contemplate the river.
The heat wasn't really oppressive today, but during the peak afternoon heat I stopped to immerse myself in the Lochsa river. The water was surprisingly warm, maybe 80F. It felt great.
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The temperature was only 88F when I turned into Wilderness Gateway USFS campground at 5 PM. It's a big campground with 4 loops. Water, flush toilets, $8. 2300 feet elevation. My site is 100 feet from where Boulder creek flows into the Lochsa river.
It's great to be back in the forest. Nice to have the late afternoon temperature in the 80's instead of the 90's. By 8 PM the temperature dropped into the 60's.
Distance: 59.2 miles (94.7 km)
Climbing: 1525 feet (462 m)
Average Speed: 10.9 mph (17.4 km/h)
Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 820 miles (1,320 km)
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