With my butt patched up and my cleats removed from my shoes, I rolled out and across I-80 and then across the Snake river into Idaho. It was a beautiful blue sky morning and literally thousands of acres of irrigated commercial produce fields. So fantastic. Amazingly Beautiful. I have never seen so many acres of commercial crops under irrigation. In Idaho they must have totally unlimited water resources for irrigation.
30 miles by 9:30 am which I love to see. Then cross over the Payette river and back on Gravel and back country roads with pretty heavy and rough gravel, dirt and rock. Just like riding in Colorado some days. I am feeling better today with the good nights sleep and the triage and removing my cleats. I am riding in some really great Fizik vibram sole back shoes and I had switched to One Up component pedals that are flat with some grip in addition to the SPD cleat. More coverage shoe to pedal and removing the cleats was making my feet happy.
My first goal was to get to Horshoe Bend which was going to be 50 ish miles. Hopefully lunch and some resupply before attempting the climb to the Banner Summit. My original goal was to get to Stanley but that was pretty ambitious. Another bluebird day but hot but not as hot as the previous days. Riding the back country was so beautiful. Rough, rugged but following the Payette river was gorgeous. I could see the main highway on the other side of the river in the distance as I got closer to Horseshoe Bend. I needed to cross the river to get into town, but the main bridge was closed. I took a detail on past town and used that bridge and then came back to town.
When I got to Horseshoe Bend after 50 miles at about 12:30, I saw the Huckle and Sage Cafe. It had a painting of a Sasquatch on the side holding a Huckleberry ice cream cone with “You Found it”. I knew I was at the right place. If you are ever in or near Horshoe Bend Idaho, don’t miss this. The service was so friendly and inviting. They had a full service cafe and a complete well stocked mini mart and coolers. I ordered a hot ham and cheese and a Huckleberry shake. I asked what a Huckleberry was and the girl told me that they only grow wild and the bushes are like blackberry bushes. I had a fantastic well relaxed lunch, refilled water bottles and grabbed a coke with “John” on it.
I rolled out feeling fantastic. Ready for the challenge that still faced me for the day. I was feeling too good I guess and just stayed on the Highway 55 and missed my turn to avoid the highway. It was really busy but a decent shoulder. Full of vacation travelers, RV’s and trailers. It was so beautiful though following the Payette River. I stopped a few times to get off the Highway and it was decent riding. It was only 15 miles to Banks where I would take the Banks Lowman Highway to the Summit.
It was still peak rafting season on the Payette River coming down to Banks. I stopped and talked to a Raft guide and he said it was down some but still about 4000 cfs. This would be pretty much a steady climb for the next 60 plus miles to the summit. I was totally mesmerized by the sound of the river running by the highway and incredible view after incredible view mile after mile. I was definitely on a ride high and my senses were completely overloaded. I just pedaled and pedaled and smiled and smiled.
My original cheat sheets were worthless as I had gone the long way around. I would come close to Lowman which was my main resupply stop by not go through it. I was going to be pushing my water supply but was good on calories after a great lunch. There was a gas station mini Mart at Garden Valley and I got some water and an ice cream bar. After Garden Valley, Lowman would be my next best bet. I was hydrating frequently with the climbing and the work rate and was going through water faster than planned. I stopped at a campground looking for water, but it was all shut off. Someone camping offered me a bottle of water and I gladly accepted it.
After 100 miles and about 10-12 miles past the road with Lowman I ran across the Lowman Inn. Wow – in the middle of nowhere and so busy. It was now past 6pm. They refilled my water bottles for me and it was hard to pass up the pizza. But now I was concerned about where I would actually end up tonight. A really nice older company was really concerned about me and asked a lot of questions. They said they would pray for my safety which I gladly accepted.
At about 8:45 I came across the Sourdough Lodge and Restaurant. The owner was this great guy who really wanted me to stop and stay in one of his cabins. I told him my original plan was to get over the pass and to Stanley. He said that was probably too far for tonight but there was a lot of camping options leading up the pass. At this point I was feeling good about getting close the summit and then an early ascent and then down to Stanly in the morning. He also told me I would see the Sawtooth mountains as I got closer to the pass.
Maybe, possibly, definitely the most beautiful view I have ever seen from a bike. When I first got glimpse of the Sawtooth mountains there was a storm rolling in with some rain off and on. What a day. But so many miles still to ride to get near the summit. Lots of pictures.
It was starting to get dark as I got to the beginning of the final climb to the summit. 1873 vertical feet over 8.69 miles or so my Garmin said. I had to stop and put on more clothes as it was definitely getting colder and I needed to put my good headlight on. I had seen several campgrounds up to this point, but I entered an area that said Avalanche area which I assumed was closed at times during the winter. As it turns out, No camping or campgrounds until you reach the other side of the summit. I had no choice but to climb the summit that night and then grab the first campground I came to.
At 11:15 pm after nearly 134 miles and 8,551 feet of climbing, I reached the top of Banner Summit at 7,200 feet. Not far past the summit was Banner Summit Campground. I rolled in and it was empty. Grabbed a spot and set my tent in the dark. Temperatures were in the 30’s and I hurried to get in the tent and all my warm clothes on. I just had layers and a skull cap and my long bergen pants and gloves. It was fine once in the sleeping bag (Sea to Summit Ultralight 40 degree bag with a silk liner).
For dinner I still had the rest of my mini mart Turkey Cheese sandwich and a bag of Cheezits. Then off to bed before tackling the descent into Stanley in the morning. What an incredible day. Totally overwhelmed with the scenery and the effort to get here.
