Days 13 - 15: Boise to Stanley Idaho - Days of WOW!

Sorry for the delays in posting.  The internet coverage has been non-existent to spotty and I've been unable to post since Boise until now.  I must say that the the trip from Boise to Stanley, Idaho (except for 43 miles on a very busy Rte 55 out of Boise for 44 miles) has been spectacular, with each day offering very different experience, topography, climate and Wow factor.  I'll recap briefly and offer some photos here.

FYI, you can click on the photos to see them full screen and scroll through them too.

Day 13 - June 27: Boise to Garden Valley, ID

Days mileage: 51 miles

Distance since Pacific Coast:  613 miles

We leave Tom and Joni's house in Boise after a wonderful visit with them and a needed 2 days off from the saddle.  The day is cloudy and overcast and we meet up with some rain in the morning.

Getting set to depart from Tom and Joni's.

Unfortunately the road out of Boise is very busy with weekenders (it's a Friday) heading out with their RVs, trucks, horse trailers, boats, etc. We're on Rte 55 for some 44 miles and it's a bit hectic and stressful but we survive it OK.

This sign is a biker's best friend.  A 5 mile descent with a 7 % grade.

We stop for lunch at Horseshoe Bend, where they have an exhibit of one of their retired Idaho train lines.

As we wind our way up we turn onto the Banks-Lowman Rd and follow the Payette River with beautiful views along the way.

Along the Payette River.

 We are thankful for Cathy's support with the van along the way.  She leapfrogs us along the way every 5 -10 miles or where she can find a turnout.  When we catch up with her each time she makes sure we have enough water for our water bottles, electrolytes, snacks (nuts, crackers, jerky) or just to check our status. She's our angel, our morale booster and life-saver.  And she's my wife so I love her extra special, too!

Cathy making sure we have enough provisions along the route at one of the turnouts.

 We finally arrive at my friends Beth and Joe's cabin in the mountains along the South Bank of the Payette River.  A beautiful setting and great place to get away from the road and the madding crowd.

Cathy, Me and Beth on the back deck of Beth's getaway in the woods along the Payette River.

Tom and Stephanie relaxing on the back deck at Joe and Beth's place.  A welcome respite from the saddle.

Greg Garbinsky - Mountain Man of the Wild West.

Having a lovely dinner with Beth, Cathy, Stephanie and Tom (taking the photo).

Not sure what I'm doing here.  View from the back deck of Beth's place along the Payette River.

Sharing good times in the kitchen.

Sunset from the deck.

Day 14 - June 28: Garden Valley to Bonneville Campgrounds, ID
Days mileage: 46.4 miles
Distance since Pacific Coast:  659.4 miles

Getting set to shove off after our overnight in Garden Valley at Beth and Joe's place.

 We set off toward Bonneville campgrounds along the beautiful Banks-Lowman road heading to and through the magnificent Sawtooth Mountains.  The ride is a mostly gradual ascent up to about 4700 ft elevation.  Along the way we have our first glimpse (one of many) of the Sawtooth Mountains.  (Note:  Why aren't they called the Sawteeth Mountains?)

Our first view of the Sawtooth Mountains.

The winding roads around the Payette River are just staggering.  I had to stop often to absorb the views and take a photo.

Along the Payette River

For those of you who recall Day 1 of the blog, here is yet another Deadwood area, this time a campground where we decided to have a picnic lunch.

We finally arrive at Bonneville Campgrounds after an all-day steady climb, but a short 40.6 miles.

The traditional celebratory beer upon arrival at our campsite.

Setting up camp in Bonneville.

One wonderful thing about many of the campgrounds in Idaho is that there are natural hot springs.  Tom, Stephanie, Cathy and I find our way down to the springs but have to find the area where the cold river water meets the hot springs as the springs water is way too hot to even step on let alone bathe in.  Over 140 degrees F.

Trekking into the natural hot springs

Day 15 - June 27: Bonneville Campgrounds to Stanley, ID

Days mileage: 40.6 miles

Distance since Pacific Coast:  700 miles  (1,126 km)

 Again, like at Ochoco Divide, it is a frigid night with fitful sleep.  Temperatures in the morning are about 37 degrees F!  As you can see in our breakfast prep photo below, it doesn't feel like summer.

Brrrrr...brrreakfast! 

 We take off about 9 am (when the sun is high enough to warm us up and dry our tents out).  Again the road to Stanley is invigorating and awe-inspiring.  Today we have to climb our highest elevation of the trip:  7,200 ft!  I've never biked that high so I have no clue how I'll do.

A beautiful road, low traffic and a wide shoulder.  A biker's dream.

Climbing, climbing, climbing! 

Along the way we come across the remnants of an avalanche from the past winter.  Note the snow, debris and broken trees on the right.  Most likely it covered the road and they had to close the area to clean up and also undam the creek which is now running under this avalanche sight.

SUCCESS!  I successfully climbed up and over Banner Summit, elevation 7,200 feet!  A major milestone for me, since I am a lowlander from the Finger Lakes of NYS and have lived mostly at low elevations (DC, Madison, Rome, etc.).  It was a great feeling and a great confidence booster.  We have one more 7,000 ft summit to surpass on July 2nd at the border between Idaho and Montana (Lost Trail Pass).  So this was a great test.

SUCCESS!

A great feeling of joy and exhilaration. Standing in front of the Banner Summit 7,200 feet elevation sign!

After going over Banner Summit, we were treated to many more magnificent views of the other side of the  Sawtooth Mountains with lush meadows in the foreground.

Sawtooth Mountains

Lush meadows with purple/blue flowers with Sawtooth Mountains as a backdrop.

 

We finally arrive in Stanley, a small town of 67 people surviving on tourism for whiterafters and hikers on the Salmon River.  Upon inquiry, we deduce the reason why this town only has 67 inhabitants is that they get frost on average about 290 days per year!  But it's a beautiful place with great views of the Sawtooth Mountains and setting on the Salmon River.

Celebratory beer on the porch of the Riverside Motel, Stanley

Cathy and me sharing a romantic moment at a cafe on the banks of the Salmon River in Stanley

 Even our motel has a view of the Sawtooth Mountains out the back deck.

The other milestone today was that I reached 700 miles for the ride as we arrived at the motel!  About on course for finishing the transAmerica ride in 10 weeks or so.

Day 16, June 30, we rode up to Challis, following the Salmon River downstream so it's a gentle downhill with ups and downs along the way.  I'll report on today's ride in a future blog post but I wanted to get this one up on the site as soon as I could since I never know when I'll have internet/phone access.

Happy Trails to all!

G