Day 104 - Libby to Heron - Two Far 2023 - Oranges to Apples

July 28, 2023

Day 104 - Libby to Heron

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Keith A. SpanglerAmber Bear Inn looks amazing!
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1 year ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Keith A. SpanglerIt is a beautiful place. We definitely recommend to anyone traveling in the area.
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1 year ago

Today was another all-round good day. Once again, the traffic wasn't bad, the roads were good, and the scenery was spectacular.

I waited until 9AM to let it warm up a bit, or at least that's what I told myself. Actually, I really just wasn't ready for another long hilly day. Once I got started however, I really enjoyed the ride. Pretty much as soon as I got outside of Libby, I picked up the Kootenai River and the views couldn't help but get you in a good mood. The fact that I was gradually losing elevation, which made the riding easy, didn't hurt either. In fact, I dropped below 2,000 ft at one point, which surprised me.

Sidebar: I've had this misconception that because you climb to about 5,000 ft as you come across the plains and reach the foothills, that that would sort of be a baseline once you were in the mountains and you wouldn't drop below that until you started the descent to the Pacific. I just can't get used to the fact that even though I'm in the Rockies, my current elevation is about the same as when I was in North Dakota.

Sidebar 2: I also can't get used to the optical illusions I'm having with the grades while in the mountains. My eyes tell me I'm going downhill, but my legs tell me I'm going uphill, and my Garmin's altimeter confirms my legs.

Anyway...

Just outside Libby, I saw this man with a bucket picking something. I didn't recognize the tree, so curiosity got the better of me and I pulled off and asked what he was picking. He told me he was picking chokeberries and would take them to an "old woman" he knew who would use them to make herbal remedies. He went on at some length about all the things these berries were good for and all the ailments they would cure.

Actually, I THINK he said he was picking chokeberries, but I can't remember for sure. Bill, you out there???

US-2 and the BNSF alongside the Kootenai River, north of Libby.

About 11 miles north of Libby, I stopped at the Kootenai Falls Trailhead to see the falls and the swinging bridge. The trailhead is a very nice facility with 2 large parking lots, restrooms, a concession stand and a picnic area, all of which were well utilized. The path to the observation overlook was paved; getting to the falls and the swinging suspension bridge was a bit more difficult, but definitely worthwhile. I spent about an hour seeing the sights, and would have spent more time, except that I still had 50 miles to go for the day.

From the visitors kiosk:

The Kootenai Falls is the largest waterfall in Montana and one of the largest in the U.S by volume.

View of the river a short distance downstream from the falls.

This was taken about halfway between the falls and the swinging bridge.

One of the smoother sections of the trail leading to the bridge. The trail definitely was not flat and there was lots of loose gravel to boot. If you ever visit here, wear something other than bike shoes if you can.

The bridge was first built in the 30's so firefighters could reach the other side of the river. It was destroyed by a flood in 1948 and rebuilt. The Forest Service rebuilt the bridge again in 2019 to handle the increased tourist activity.

And looking upstream. I almost didn't get these photos, as a group of boys started to run across the bridge while I was on it. However, when they saw that I was hanging onto both of the suspension cables for dear life, they were polite enough to stop and let me take the photos and get off the bridge before they continued on.

About 15 miles into my ride, I turned off of US-2 and onto MT-56. MT-56 is only 35 miles long but has spectacular scenery for almost its entire length as it runs through the Bull River Valley and is surrounded by the Cabinet Mountains.

MT-56 - not much shoulder, not much traffic, a whole lot of beautiful scenery.

Still on Mt-56. I got my hopes up, only to be let down 4 miles later. :-(

MT-56 ended at the intersection with MT-200 near Noxon. I followed 200 for about 6 miles until I turned off to reach our B&B. For much of this distance, I was riding alongside the Cabinet Gorge Reservoir.

Looking over the Cabinet Gorge Reservoir towards the northwest.

Looking back at the Cabinet Gorge Reservoir towards the Southeast.

Golden field against a deep green background.

The scenery near our lodging - The Amber Bear Inn. The only downside to the beauty is that it was a mile-long climb on a gravel road. Climbing a hill on a gravel road with a long-wheelbase recumbent is just an all-round bad combination - but I made it :-).

Today's ride: 61 miles (98 km)
Total: 4,935 miles (7,942 km)

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