Day 8: To Elk Bend

September 4, 2008

I slept for 11 hours last night, didn't get up until 8:30. Outside it was 42F, windy, and overcast. Chilly! The temperature was still 42F when I got on the road at 9:45. Fortunately I had a tailwind and was going downstream along the Salmon river.

As I go downstream the landscape becomes more arid, revealing interesting geology.

I stopped for lunch at a Subway in Challis. Challis has a population of only 900 but it has a supermarket, restaurants, motels, airport, hospital, and two ranger stations (BLM and USFS). It's the county seat and is a regional center in this sparsely populated area of Idaho.

This guy was traveling with 10 horses, 8 goats, and 2 dogs.

A few miles north of Challis my tailwind suddenly became a headwind. I had a headwind for the rest of the day, maybe 30 miles. Still going downstream, though.

Near Challis, Idaho. The tall distant mountains are the Bitteroot range which forms the border with Montana.

In the little village of Ellis I met a touring cyclist named Lee who had pedaled south from Missoula, Montana. He's headed south but he rode north with me for 3.5 miles to Cronk Canyon hot spring. We had a long soak in the 106.5F riverside pool. The pool is 20 horizontal feet away from the road but 15 feet below the road, so it's not visible to passing motorists. The pool is 10 feet above the Salmon river at the mouth of a scenic gorge. The sun even came out for a few minutes while we were soaking.

Cronk Canyon hot spring is VERY close to the highway. The cyclist had pedaled from Missoula.

Cronk Canyon hot spring and the Salmon river.

I really enjoyed riding through the gorge downstream from Cronk Canyon hot spring. The sun was behind me, providing great views of the rock formations. Before this trip I had been told that the route from Stanley to Challis is extremely scenic, but I think it's even more scenic farther downstream, between Challis and Salmon. I guess it depends on what you like. It's more forested near Stanley, with few interesting rock formations. Downstream the environment changes to desert with colorful rock formations.

Wide view of Salmon river and US93 (two photos stitched together).

Salmon river and US93 late in the evening.

My goal for today was to camp somewhere near the Goldbug hot spring trailhead. I rode through the village of Elk Bend, not quite sure where the trailhead is. The grocery store was closed, so I'm glad I stocked up in Challis. A mile past the RV park (no tent sites) I found a free riverside campsite. Close to the highway but it seems like there will be no truck traffic overnight.

Today was mostly overcast with a high temperature of 70F. The chipseal pavement had a high rolling resistance. Not too slow going downstream, but tomorrow I plan to start backtracking to Stanley, 95 miles UP the Salmon river. After a hike to Goldbug hot spring.

Distance: 63.1 miles (101 km)

Climbing: 1036 feet (315 m)

Average speed: 10.4 mph (16.7 km/h)

Maximum speed: 26.5 mph (42.4 km/h)

Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 342 miles (550 km)

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