TRIP SUMMAY & PICS!
(Link to high-res photos on SmugMug photo hosting site:
https://jasonb.smugmug.com/organize/GS2FBv1
Whew! Made it back in one piece, lads, in spite of record breaking temps. MY riding partner, Brian, and I had a great time on our little trip to Montana. Cousin Mike's handy-work on, "Going-to-the-Sun" road was nothing short of amazing. Especially the "triple arches," on the way to Logan Pass. He's an amazing stone mason - blending nature with civil engineering. The final route was intense riding right from the start. A moonlit ride into the Eastern Oregon desert began the 5-day adventure. The road from Fossil - to Antelope - to Shaniko - was as awesome as I remember; technical, with top-notch road surfacing - it's not to be missed.
After running low on gas, we had to cowboy camp near John Day. [Note: gas stations may say, "Open 24 Hours" on-line - but they require either, A) a Pacific Pride gas card or, B) a call to the station owner who will come down for "a fee," according to the bartender in town.] After a most excellent breakfast at Maria's in Prairie City, we hit the road through the Umatilla Forest and Idaho. Boise was damn hot, but road into the Sawtooth range made up for it in spades. Jade colored mountain streams sliced through rocky ravines amongst the towering ponderosa pines. on our way up, over, and through the forest towards Sula, Montana. We made it just past Gibbonsville, MT, before bedding down for the night at a pristine Montana forest campsite.
The following day we hit the super-highway (I-93) to Missoula and continued north past giant Flathead Lake. It was a hot & dry (and comparatively busy road) up to Kalispell, Montana. Pretty much toast from the heat, we dropped in on Cousin Michael John a bit earlier than anticipated... and downed couple of cold ones. After a 2-hour rest (allowing the would-be traffic in the park to subside) we headed-out for Glacier National Park. The snapshots, undoubtedly, turned out better in the setting sun with texture of the granite peaks clashing against a clear blue sky. Wildfires NE of the visitors center atop Logan Pass in Glacier National Park kept us from crossing the continental divide into St. Mary. "Going-to-the-Sun" road was astounding; not only in it's scenic beauty, but also it's technical prowess. It was cut right into the cliffs on the mountainside and rises seeming into the sky.
Sunday, plans were modified to avoid a congested return to Missoula. We took Hwy 2 to Sandpoint, Idaho, instead of 12 back to Lolo Pass. I
really wanted to see that advised stretch of road, but the alternate route proved a good choice in the end. We made great time that morning riding to Libby, Sandpoint, and finally Coeur d' Alene. It seemed we only had a few moose to keep us company for over 200 miles. The BIG SURPRISE of the trip was
Hwy 129 south, from Asotin (and the Snake River) up to Paradise, Oregon. The rivers have cut such steep & deep gorges and valleys here that the roads constructed must match the elevation gains & drops just to get you there. It was VERY technical road riding, especially at 113 degrees. Hwy 129 traverses straight-up off the Snake River, then continues south into a wicked "Rattlesnake Canyon." This is truly epic terrain for any riding enthusiast - a real sport bikers dreamland. We made Enterprise, Oregon, by early evening and enjoyed immensely a fantastic meal at Terminal Gravity Brewing. Remarkably, we rolled into Joseph after dark and found a spot on the popular Wallowa Lake. The morning light brought us stunning views of Eagle Cap Wilderness with it's towering peaks at 10,000 feet overhead.
The final day started with even more river valleys and scenic farmland, before a battle with a hot, gusty headwinds around Pendleton. A quick hop back into Washington to see "Stonehenge" had me reminiscing about the movie
Spinal Tap. It was pretty cool, but the route into Grass & Tygh Valley's was even better - the Deschutes River cuts a deep gorge here and the road into & out of it is very scenic. A final beer & burger at Portland's own
Ecliptic Brewing end-capped the trip.
With
2,100 miles of hard riding in
4.5 days at
100F+, and no offs - I'd say we did pretty good. The Camelbaks were a life-saver, undoubtedly. My fresh set of
Conti TKC-70's gave great confidence whenever we hit gravel, but at the cost of ultimate grip on the prevalent, hot & tight, asphalt canyon roads. The front-end tended to wander above 75MPH, but improved some as I adjusted the suspension and either a) the tires flattened a bit from wear or, b) the air pressure came down over the course of the ride. Everything has it's trade-offs.
Thanks for all the advice here before my trip guys. It really helped to be mentally prepared going into such and taxing ride.
Enjoy!
Jason
