Tuloose
Guru
We took a little camping trip in early June to ride our bikes on a few rail/trails in the West.
We have been supporters of the Rails to Trails Conservancy since it's early days in 1986 and have enjoyed riding these paths in many states and British Columbia.
Our first stop was in Osburn, Idaho at the Blue Anchor RV Park where we have enjoyed previous vacations.
Osburn sits right on the 62 mile Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes, a paved trail running from Plummer in the west to Mullan near the MT border, running along the Coeur d' Alene River for much of it's length.
On a bridge across the Coeur d' Alene River
Next we rode another old favorite, the Hiawatha Trail, a 15 mile dirt trail up in the Bitterroots following the route of the Milwaukee line that ran from Chicago to Seattle. In addition to a number of awe inspiring trestles spanning deep gorges there is a 1.7 mile long tunnel on the ID/MT border - remember to bring your lights.
The Pearson Trailhead
Dogs are not allowed on the well patrolled Hiawatha and there is a day use fee of $11. Notice the day use tag on the brake cable. We rode it as an out & back but many people get shuttled to the East Portal Trailhead in MT, ride the slight downhill to the Pearson Trailhead in ID and then get shuttled back.
We also took an arduous hike to an icy mountain lake and did a sight seeing drive along the St Joe River.
Next we took the Selkirk Loop route up into British Columbia, taking the ferry across Lake Kootenay and down to the charming village of Slocan, pop. 272, where I had read of a recently completed 28 mile rail/trail.
The Slocan Rail/Trail goes through a nature preserve, crosses a raging creek and ends on a 2 mile paved section in the town of South Slocan.
We camped at the beautiful community run campground at Springer Creek Park. This was the highlight of our trip and a place we hope to visit again.
A mural of Slocan at the entrance to Springer Creek Campground.
A nature preserve along the Slocan rail trail.
This was a shake down of sorts for my new T50 and it performed well on the gravel trails. Except for a bolt attaching the rack to the rear stay falling off there were no problems with the bike. I was able to take a bolt from the headset clamp to repair the rack.
Tricia rode her venerable old Bacchetta Giro. I have tried to introduce her to Cruzbikes but she has been scared off by the handling quirks. Maybe someday I can get her together with Ratz or Robert Holler for some in depth Cruzbike riding lessons.
We have been supporters of the Rails to Trails Conservancy since it's early days in 1986 and have enjoyed riding these paths in many states and British Columbia.
Our first stop was in Osburn, Idaho at the Blue Anchor RV Park where we have enjoyed previous vacations.
Osburn sits right on the 62 mile Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes, a paved trail running from Plummer in the west to Mullan near the MT border, running along the Coeur d' Alene River for much of it's length.
On a bridge across the Coeur d' Alene River
Next we rode another old favorite, the Hiawatha Trail, a 15 mile dirt trail up in the Bitterroots following the route of the Milwaukee line that ran from Chicago to Seattle. In addition to a number of awe inspiring trestles spanning deep gorges there is a 1.7 mile long tunnel on the ID/MT border - remember to bring your lights.
The Pearson Trailhead
Dogs are not allowed on the well patrolled Hiawatha and there is a day use fee of $11. Notice the day use tag on the brake cable. We rode it as an out & back but many people get shuttled to the East Portal Trailhead in MT, ride the slight downhill to the Pearson Trailhead in ID and then get shuttled back.
We also took an arduous hike to an icy mountain lake and did a sight seeing drive along the St Joe River.
Next we took the Selkirk Loop route up into British Columbia, taking the ferry across Lake Kootenay and down to the charming village of Slocan, pop. 272, where I had read of a recently completed 28 mile rail/trail.
The Slocan Rail/Trail goes through a nature preserve, crosses a raging creek and ends on a 2 mile paved section in the town of South Slocan.
We camped at the beautiful community run campground at Springer Creek Park. This was the highlight of our trip and a place we hope to visit again.
A mural of Slocan at the entrance to Springer Creek Campground.
A nature preserve along the Slocan rail trail.
This was a shake down of sorts for my new T50 and it performed well on the gravel trails. Except for a bolt attaching the rack to the rear stay falling off there were no problems with the bike. I was able to take a bolt from the headset clamp to repair the rack.
Tricia rode her venerable old Bacchetta Giro. I have tried to introduce her to Cruzbikes but she has been scared off by the handling quirks. Maybe someday I can get her together with Ratz or Robert Holler for some in depth Cruzbike riding lessons.
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