The bad advice trail.

June 18, 2021

The morning started out as cool and sunny with the day promising to warm up significantly. We got a pretty early start rolling out of camp at 8 am. The first segment was a 15 mile ride to the Lake Koocanusa bridge. The route followed hwy 37 along Lake Koocanusa going up and down along the shore. The bridge was pretty cool. It was built just before they flooded the valley and they had a picture of the valley with the bridge before the flood. We ate a snack at the bridge and then started to cover our next segment. It was a 15 mile ride through Rexford into the town of Eureka where we planned to get lunch. We met a couple from Eureka in the campground last night and they highly recommended the 7 mile bike trail into Eureka. We always try to get local knowledge and follow any local advice. Our map had the trail on it and showed it starting in Rexford. It looked like the trail would be 3 miles shorter than the road and eliminated a significant climb. When we got to Rexford the road was freshly chip sealed. Every car that passed us kicked up a large cloud of dust. With all that going for the trail, it seemed like a no brainer to take the trail. Our map indicated that the trail started in the campground in Rexford. Ross found the start of the trail and it started out as a single track hiking trail. After 1/2 of a mile the trail ended on a gravel road. Hmmm, not a good sign. Ross consulted google maps and we proceeded a bit up the road to pick up the trail. This is where the trail got even worse. It was an Atv trail down a hill, rather large rocks all over the trail. We had to walk a bit on this trail and it led to another campground that was very primitive. The road was heavily rutted and we needed to be careful. After more navigation Ross found the start of the real trail. It looked promising with crushed gravel. That lasted about 50 yards. The trail then turned into a old maintenance road for the rail line that used to be next to it but does not exist anymore. It was a never used 2-track trail with lots of rocks and part of the railroad bed spilling into the tracks. At one point Janet lost control of her bike and it went down, but, Janet was able to stay standing. This trail would have been fun if I had a mountain bike with a suspension and no packs. We had loaded down touring bikes, so it really stunk. It was some pretty bad advice.

We made it into Eureka and had a great lunch at Cafe Jax. We even had chocolate milkshakes. After lunch we hit the small grocery store for dinner supplies and got on our way. The route now changed to a small country road for 13 miles. We find that small country roads have hills that have a harder grade than hwy roads. The trade off is much less traffic, much quieter roads and very scenic roads. After the 13 miles we ended up at a convenience store in the town of Fortine. We had drinks and ice cream and then did the last 4 miles to the North Dickey Lake campground.

Tomorrow we have a 40 mile day ending up in the town of whitefish. The first 30 miles is going to be tough because the road has a small shoulder and high traffic. Wish us luck!

Cool picture of when the bridge was built and what the valley looked like before it was flooded.

Ross and Janet have been cooking great dinners when we camp. This is ham, mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Yum!!

Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 731 miles (1,176 km)

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Paul & Amy TeafordHappy Father's Day, Terry! Seems we've all been down a "bad advice trail" a few times, be it with our work in IT, travel with an RV or on a bike. Gotta appreciate Ross trying to sort it out on the fly and at a certain point there may have been no turning around and going back. Pictures are awesome! Take Care, Paul
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3 years ago

Terry OBrienTo Paul & Amy TeafordThanks Paul! We do appreciate Ross’s navigation. He is very good at it.
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3 years ago