Another searing day forecast, our plan for the day was to generally follow the Pend Oreille River upstream, but try at least to escape the busiest roads for some quiet gravel roads in the hills. Finding the cycle paths out of town, we crossed the third incarnation of Long Bridge – at two miles long, it certainly was that. The highway is now on the fourth Long Bridge, so the one we were on was foot and bicycle traffic only.

Osprey sightings were common on the trip, usually seen in and around large nests on pallets that had been attached to the top of tall poles. Just after the bridge, I finally got to see an actual eagle (I’d taken to claiming any sufficiently large bird was such). But this was a bit different: the eagle had taken over the nest, and the poor displaced osprey was desperately trying to evict the invader. Despite much noise and many spirited swoops at the eagle while we watched, it was all in vain.

Not even an hour into the day’s ride is none too early to take full advantage of an extraordinarily good German Bakery. Eating far too much for that hour, there were still plenty of treats to try to find space for on our bikes.

The cycle path ended and we were dumped on a highway again. Startlingly, while having plenty of traffic and a noisy railroad on the other side, this one had a very wide shoulder, courteous traffic and a silky smooth surface; for a highway, it was pretty good. It didn’t last long as we cut west for the river on quieter roads. A rural area, we were once again struck with how much nicer it is to cycle on Idaho roads compared to those in many other places – most drivers gave us the whole lane when they passed. I’ve since found out about the Idaho Stop law – cyclists get to treat red lights as stop signs, and stop signs as yield signs; brilliant.

Not bothering to cross the river to Priest River, further attempts to stay on quieter roads ensued. With some success – we struck another gated community; but there were trails in the woods, not to mention shade. A short hike-a-bike later we were back on track and heading for the Washington border. Through Oldtown we crossed the border and sought respite from the midday sun lying and lunching on shaded grass in a central park (also here) in Newport (someone really was scratching the bottom of the barrel for place names here).

Heading out of town, we chose the quiet road away from the river – our first steep climb of the day. People stopped to ask for directions (surely we didn’t look local) and to offer help (we may have paused in some more shade) as we toiled toward Bead Lake.

Once again surrounded by private property, this was as close as we got – one lot early enough in the building process to have a clear view.

Then this happened, and there was much rejoicing.

Chief-namer of landmarks struck again with No Name Lake; mid-afternoon and we hadn’t really climbed that  much yet – it was still stinking hot. The walking track down to the lake was steep and just mostly-rideable. There was a pretty large group out swimming and playing around on various inflatables, their voices and laughs echoing around. (Overheard line of the trip rang out around the lake as one of the group loudly proclaimed “Bitch, calm down, I just got on a floaty”.) It was lovely to cool off in the water; although, we really should have left our bikes nearer the top of the track – it was a tough push back to the road.

Not a bad spot for a mid-afternoon dip on a scorching day.

Bead Lake Rd turned into Cook Lake Rd, narrowing and becoming more remote as we went. Contemplating camping at Cook Lake, it was decided against as there was still plenty of daylight left and the lake was rather manky.

The high point of the day was reached and we started to race downhill, the air rushing past a welcome respite. The track marked on the map that would point us on a more direct, but hillier, route didn’t eventuate. Route pondering continued.

Instead we had prevening snacks with these bears; they were guarding yet more huckleberries – but not well enough to keep me away from them.

A hundred kilometres, ten hours and a hundred degrees (Fahrenheit) having been surpassed for the day and nearing the river it was time to decide: down to and along the river to a campsite we knew was there (but not exactly what facilities it provided) or into the hills.

Early evening starting to cool ever so slightly.

I must have been getting tired from the heat, as we chose the lower option. Twenty-five kilometres left, the pace picked up a bit along a deserted wide, sealed road. Still not knowing what we’d find at Panhandle Campground, we stopped at a rushing stream to fill up with water – this would also make a good back-up campsite. As it was, Panhandle was right next to the river and itself a well-serviced and popular place. Pretty exhausted from the unrelenting heat, the wide Pend Oreille River washed off more of the day’s sweat before dinner was cooked, devoured and rampant mosquitoes avoided as best we could – mostly by collapsing into our bivy bags.

Startled to wake and find the moose still watching us and blocking the road, it was surreptitious that a pick-up idled its way up the hill and our moose sentinels scattered. With an even hotter day forecast, finally managing to start riding earlier was advantageous. Through the trees, we wound our way up noting the smoke was much thicker and breathing not always easy.

Three decent switchbacks further up the climb we came across this large day-shelter. Turns out it was there due to a snowmobile club – I don’t think they would have known if we’d slept there, but as it was a night under the stars with no biting insects was good.

A big fireplace, drying racks, and tables – it was quite a set-up.

Views for metres, scores of metres… Megan had been monitoring wildfire status online and we expected (hoped) we weren’t going to have to turn around.

An hour into the day’s riding we were at the top of the pass – we could see more smoke over the other side. The downhill came as a welcome change, until the road suddenly ended. A route was shown on the GPS, but it was much less obvious on the ground. Having just passed a Idaho fish & game officer, we turned back briefly and asked him if he knew what was ahead. He wasn’t sure, but had maps that showed something promising.

It was worth giving it a go, over turning around. Our progress slowed as it became apparent there had once been a decent road, but it had been ripped up and destroyed. It wasn’t just left to go back to nature, there were big hollows, rises – it was altogether slow riding, when we could ride. Thankfully it was passable and, initially, mostly rideable.

The smoke was still thick and of some concern. But at altitude and the early hour, the day was not too hot yet.

Having dropped off the slopes, and crossed a sizeable stream (I’m glad at least the bridge was still standing well) we were on the valley floor following the water course out. Somewhere the ex-road deteriorated markedly and then disappeared into the undergrowth altogether. There was significant hike-a-bike – particularly when side-creeks came off the mountains and crossed our path.

At times the trail was only a line on our GPSs, definitely not to be seen on the ground.

Sometimes it was pick-a-path through boulder strewn creek beds, which was preferable to what became routine: landslips having taken the route out, we had to scramble down to the main river, pick our way over the rocks and water and then scramble back up.

Definitely adventure “riding”.

Fatigue started to set in for me, but we were in no rush – so plodding on worked.

Ten kilometres and dropping six hundred metres took us two hours – always wonderful to take longer going down a hill than up! We were well pleased to reach an actual road. Until we saw this…

Oh.

Short of water, we snuck past the barrier to top up, eat, drink and rest in some shade. We contemplated trying to sneak through, pleading ignorance if challenged (the fire wasn’t reported as being down to the road, yet) – but the heavy equipment we could hear nearby suggested that was not a good option. We found an alternative route that headed north and then west to the highway – I for one was very relieved we didn’t have to retrace our path up the hike-a-bike!

It worked out well (not knowing what terrain, and crackling fire, we missed) – another six hundred metre climb was manageable in the heat and rather enjoyable. The presence of a quality and proper gravel road certainly helped there.

Heading up the climb, looking back in the general direction from which we’d just come.

Then an absolutely wonder of a thousand metres to drop on the gravel, looking out over the valley, whizzing down, enjoying the wind rushing past.

So. Much. Fun.

Eventually we reached some small signs of inhabitation.

Down at the highway and cooking, we attempted to get to Lake Pend Orielle to cool off. Alas, private property all around.

With sufficient water and food taken on board, it was the highway around the shore towards Sandpoint. We didn’t last long on the highway, preferring a significantly longer route on quieter rural backroads. They were mercifully flat in the heat. Hitting the outskirts of a small conurbation, the first gas station found was raided for cold drinks and ice creams. Sitting in the shade, still melting (not just the ice creams) somewhere with air conditioning was found to escape the inevitable overnight heat.

Five kilometres on a mix of cycle path, quiet roads and then the nasty highway again took us into town. Sandpoint was a nice little town with some tasty eateries (we may have required two large dinners that night) and a nice vibe – I’d have liked to explore more, but was content to walk around a bit in the evening. The first night in town for a week led to mechanised washing of clothes and so on; unfortunately with the increased heat being at lower altitude, better sleep was had the previous night higher up under the stars.

Another fantastic day on this trip – by far the hottest and most challenging yet.

With temperatures set to climb even higher as we headed towards Idaho, we decided to get up and going earlier than we’d achieved up to that point. Best intentions and all that – it was a leisurely start before leaving at nine. A short section on the highway first up, that then crossed the river to leave us on on a deserted road all the way to Libby. As the day warmed, the only other contact we had was people out picking wild chokecherries roadside. I tasted a few – just as well they improve with cooking, they deserved their name.

Following the Kootenai River down, it was strange to see hills with a bit of grass (however brown) on them.

Having heard many trains for days, but seeing few – I finally spied the head of one of the elusive long cargo-carrying beasts as we gently rolled into Libby.

Libby seemed rather down on its heels and was the place I really started to notice yards crammed with junk pick-ups, snowmobiles and other rusting vehicles long past their prime. Getting rather hot, we headed straight for a cavernous diner and proceeded to devour second breakfast. More route planning ensued – after heading down the Kootenai Valley towards Troy would we continue to Sandpoint down low and do a big arc, or strike west through wilderness and over hills?

Three trips to the grocery store, one to the hardware store (back to trusty safety glasses as my sunglasses were slowly crushing the side of my head – well, giving me headaches at any rate), much food and procrastination later we set off into the heat. Already above 35ºC, it wasn’t the best time for a little miscommunication and poor navigating on my part. Nonetheless, the quiet road down the right bank of the river didn’t connect and we had to backtrack forty minutes and take the highway west. This required a gas station stop for litres of cold water. Eventually we were on the noisy highway out of town – thankfully the shoulder was mostly generous.

Thanks Smokey. The wildfire smoke seemed to roll in more in the afternoons, at least for a few days.

Mid-afternoon we reached the Kootenai Falls lookout walk; it was time for a break. The small shop and huckleberry ice cream had nothing to do with our need to stop. Monopolising a picnic table in the shade of the busy area for too long, the rest was well deserved. There was some denser shade, so while Megan walked down to the falls I watched the bikes, napped on a bench and soaked my feet in a cold stream. Bliss.

Kootenai Falls

A fraction of the heat gone out of the day, it was not long down the valley before we took the turn and headed up Lake Creek heading for the hills and the more direct route to Sandpoint. Still stinking hot, we filled up water bottles, crossed the creek and tried to find somewhere shady to rest for a while. The woods seemed rather different, but this was by the road – open, with plenty of small trees. Another big rest stop ensued to manage with the heat. Perhaps I was at a disadvantage having come from winter and not having grown up in rural NSW? Rather, I’ve always been susceptible to heat stroke and only very slowly learnt to manage that better.

Leaving Lake Creek behind, the climbing kicked up a bit. The trees got denser, the smoke thicker and the heat slightly dissipated. Seemingly now in the middle of nowhere, we were puzzled by there, for the most part, being a sealed road to ride on. It was rather old, but in good condition on the whole. Not a single vehicle passed us as we climbed and climbed.

It was to be over a thousand metres of climbing to the top and we were wondering if we’d make it by nightfall. Should we camp at the top, or try to drop down? As it happened, we stopped to refill bottles at a creek and found a mama and two young moose with similar thirst quenching ideas. They didn’t notice us for a while, we watched. Eventually they clocked us and ran up the road a bit. Curious, there was no way they were getting off the road. Moose are big and not altogether not-scary; we called it a day at nine o’clock and slowly retreated down the road.

None shall pass. That’s OK, we weren’t really going that way anyway.

Setting up camp beside the deserted (apart from moose) road, there were no food lockers – so a first for both of us, throwing rope up to hang all our food and toiletries up a tree. We weren’t sure if there were bears around (we were close to Bear Mountain), but it seemed reasonable to think there might be and they might like our honey and mustard pretzel pieces. Still warm, it was a glorious night to be fall asleep staring up at a big Montana sky filled with stars. We may not have covered a lot of ground (and some of that was my poor routing), but it was a very hot day – definitely a day of riding I wasn’t really used to; different, but excellent all the same.

Having eaten at least the mass of my bike, if not myself, for breakfast it was time for all of our group to start packing up. We said our goodbyes and pedaled off down the access road for a short stretch on the highway – it was still nasty, but only lasted quarter of an hour. Enter Megan’s excellent selection of back roads. Mostly on gravel for the rest of the day, traffic was at worst light – but usually non-existent.

Turning off the wonderfully named Farm to Market Road we headed, gradually climbing, towards Tally Lake. With the day warming, and smoke free, a cool lake appealed. Unfortunately the only easy access was through a campground and day access involved a fee.

There may have been trees surrounding the gravel.

Perhaps even more trees.

Away from the lake, the gradient reared a little as we got further into the Flathead National Forest.

Turning onto Star Meadow Road the road was suddenly and unexpectedly smoothly sealed – another deserted road, it existence seeming well out of place, we took it as a fantastic roadies’ road. It was a very nice interlude.

Star Meadow? I’ll assert so. Once again, the hay bales were beginning to congregate.

Leaving the grassland behind, our route kept us heading west with some gentle valley floor gradient before climbing through old burn zones.

Occasionally there were even trees that were not pines. Either way, they were useful for hiding from the beating sun.

The pass was just over 1500 metres high and gave way to a beautiful and sustained descent. Losing all the elevation gained that day, we crossed yet another railroad and found Wolf Creek at the bottom of the valley. Time for a pleasant mid-afternoon rest and water top-up. Also, there were huckleberries! Bushes and bushes of them; even better, there were no bears. Or wolves.

Now into the Kootenai National Forest, we had to choose between a longer, sealed and generally flat route to the campground on the Kootenai River – or a more direct path, that just happened to have a six hundred metre unsealed climb in it. It was warm, but there was plenty of daylight left – we chose the backcountry option. The two hour climb was steeper than earlier in the day, but manageable. In fact, slowly spinning up the hill being shaded by big trees as their shadows lengthened was thoroughly enjoyable.

My new bike may be a bit more of a poser than my previous one.

Climbing done for the day, we had ourselves twenty kilometres of downhill gravel bliss to whoop and holler down. All the noise was in part calling to alert any bears in the neighbourhood to the presence of two people have a grand time speeding down hills on loaded bikes. I finally added some sort of substance to my bear call.

A short section on the highway took us alongside Lake Koocanusa and to the top of Libby Dam.

Having dropped from the highway all the way down to the bottom of the dam, a brief trail led downstream to an expansive campground. Choosing a site next to the river, it was time for a dip, to cook dinner and collapse after a most-excellent day through big, deserted country.