Chapter 4: The Great Expansion
(written July 12th, 2018)
60 days ago my friend Jenny and I began our journey along the Trans American bike trail. A 4,288 mile journey from Yorktown, Virginia to Astoria, Oregon. Traversing through ten states and some of the most beautiful territory that this country has to offer. We are a little over 3,700 miles into our journey, based on my bicycles odometer, and we have a little less than 700 miles left of the route to complete. We just crossed into Oregon today after having enjoyed the sights, heat, and beauty that Idaho has to offer.
Upon entering the Grand Tetons a couple weeks ago we were not only greeted with enormously beautiful, rugged peaks but with connections within the park! My brothers friend, Billy, works at one of the lodges within the park so we were able to take a lovely and very successful rest day there. We were able to spend the morning kayaking along Jackson Lake after having indulged ourselves in a delicious breakfast of pancakes and coffee! I took a very quick dip in the lake as it was quite cold and then of course got around to taking a nap before enjoying the rest of the evening in very beautiful territory.
The following day we left the Tetons in our rear view mirror and welcomed with wide arms the long awaited Yellowstone. Both the shoulders and the mountains decreased in size as we got further into the West part of Wyoming. The mountains, although less grand, were nonetheless magnificent. It was very cool being able to watch the scenery change so drastically in such a short period of time. We opted not to do the entire grand loop of Yellowstone, as all the sights we had wanted to see were along the portion that was on our route and it was very crowded. There were many very cool sights such as geysers, hot spots, hot springs, waterfalls, canyons, and wildlife available for viewing right from the road. We just meandered our way on through the park, stopping when there was some sights to see. I will definitely make it back to Yellowstone one day to do some backpacking and explore much more of the park than the roads allow, but for now it was more than enough. There were many tourists in the park and although impossible it seemed that their RVs outnumbered them. The first night in the park we camped behind some fellow cyclists, Anita and Geert from The Netherlands and Stuart from Australia, who we would continue to bump into on the road for a while. As I was packing up my tent in the morning I looked up and saw a yearling Elk five or ten feet from where I was standing, just minding his own business, eating some branches.
The second day in the park, after a lovely morning of exploring some hot pools and a enjoying a perfectly chilly riding temperature, the hail begun. It started off as a light rain, and then a heavy hail followed with howling winds and more rain to back it up. Fortunately it didn’t begin until after I had climbed one of the passes but unfortunately that meant head winds and all of that lovely nature right in the face on the way down. The temperatures dropped down to the 40s which made shifting or even holding onto the bike a hefty challenge. I knew that we were coming up to the Old Faithful Lodge in ten or fifteen miles so I just gritted my teeth and took turns warming my fingers up between my calf and my thigh when the one leg that was pedaling was bent. I made it to the lodge and went right to the bathroom to stand under the hand dryer and to try to regain feeling in my hands. I then went on to buy the largest container of coffee I could to assist in warming the rest of my body. Jenny and I hung out at the lodge, waiting out the storm and waiting for Old Faithful to erupt. Afraid that the storm wouldn’t pass we asked the very fancy lodge if we could sleep under some table in the basement in exchange for us doing some dishes or cleaning, commonly known as a “work for stay”. The manager looked at us like we were from a different planet and told us absolutely no under no circumstances would that be allowed. Luckily the worst of the storm ended up passing and we were able to keep on moving. We saw some more sights, some buffalo, hit the 3000 mile mark, left the park, and entered our eighth state, Montana.
The following day we passed a visitor center that educates the public on an earthquake with a a magnitude of 7.5 that shook the region in 1959. It caused a landslide of an entire face of a mountain which is still bare to this day, along with a whole new lake and river being created. It buried many houses, cars, campers, and people when it occurred. Standing amongst all the destruction that still persists to this day was a very good reminder of how powerful nature is and how everything can change in the blink of an eye. We are not in control of much when it comes to Mother Nature and we too could very well be caught in a deathening earthquake at any moment. We are very small and nature is very powerful, that is not something that should ever be forgotten.
The following day we did less mileage than usual to a small town called Twin Bridges. The community built a little bicycle shack at the rest stop on the river in town. Complete with couches and a shower, it was a really cool place! Anita and Geert joined us, along with another couple from the Netherlands that are touring on Ebikes, and a couple from Kansas on a tandem bicycle. My wonderful mother came in clutch all the way from Michigan and treated Jenny and I to one of the most wonderful pizzas of all time from the local pizzeria.
After a couple of gnarly mountain passes and about 75 miles the next day we arrived in another tiny town by the name of Jackson. Our pal Stuart was there and we chatted with him for a bit as he finished his meal from the restaurant where we were going to get water. Stuart used to be a federal police officer in Australia and has about 3 master degrees in law, finance and some other thing. He is a very interesting guy and a good conversationalist. He usually puts himself up in a hotel or motel in towns while Jenny and I are usually under a bridge or hidden in the woods but we run into him quite often and it is always a lovely surprise. After chatting with him for a bit we asked around for a free place to rest our heads and then headed out to set up camp in between two of the two bridges that you cross when entering town. We were able to cheer on Anita and Geert as they arrived in town later on, as well as Pam and Tracy, the couple on a tandem.
We stayed with our second warm shower host, Curtis, the following night. After a beautiful rolling 65 miles we arrived at his home. Curtis is an expert warm shower host and hosts a good amount of the cyclists that roll through Darby. We got our showers, did some laundry, relaxed, and then Curtis showed us some of the beautiful sights around town that we wouldn’t have been able to see with our bicycles. For dinner we were treated to Enchiladas and he even baked a vegetarian dish of enchiladas just for me, which I of course devoured. If Curtis doesn’t already sound like a great host he had a coffee pot and coffee just for his guests, and he doesn’t even drink coffee! Jenny and I made the rest of the pancake mix I had in my food bag that morning, drank a boat load of coffee, gave our thanks to Curtis and headed out on our way to Missoula for the Fourth of July!
Missoula is a very bike friendly town and there were bike paths for around 40 miles outside of the city leading in. In the city there are bike lanes and more bike paths as well. It was a beautiful rid, per usual, and we were able to stock up on food at the Walmart upon our initial arrival. We stayed with another warm shower host that Curtis recommended and when we arrived at Bruce’s there were many other cyclists there as well. Bruce used to make his living by playing the saxophone but now he works as a hydrologist. He opens his home to all cyclists and allows them to come and go as they please. He has a huge, gorgeous home right near downtown and allows people to stay as long as they please, with the only catch being that they have to start paying rent after 30 days. There was a man from South Africa doing the Continental Divide mountain bike trail with his friend and another couple guys from Belgium that had just finished and were waiting for their flight back home. There was a young couple headed East and some other random folks as well. We watched the fireworks that night and decided to take another rest day in the morning to explore a bit more of Missoula and eat as much as possible. Bruce, who is used to cooking mass meals for the many Jazz concerts he holds at his home, offered to let us use some of his potatoes, eggs, and vegetables so we could cook ourselves up a grand breakfast of homemade hash browns and eggs! The Adventure Cycling Association is in Missoula so we checked that out and got some free ice cream, and a bandana that has bicycle written on it in a whole bunch of different languages. We were given a little tour and a nice gentlemen who worked there looked at my shifting for me as it has been quite rough for a while now. It just might have to continue to be rough until I can update some parts on it but for now it will get me through, as it has gotten me this far. I bought these pair of tie dyed MC Hammer pants that can also be a romper that I 100% do not need but dang are they comfy. The lady at the store gave us a bunch of Nepalese prayer flags for our bikes and to put them up as we go to aid us in our journey. There was a cookie and ice cream shop in town and the day old cookies were buy two get one free and there were many giant cookies in just one of the bags so naturally we got three. No rest day is complete without a nap so I made sure I snuck one in. The young couple that was headed east got really drunk the night before and ate some of our pizza, so to make up for it they bought us some beer, it was hard to hear at first but eventually all was forgiven.
We left Bruce’s the next morning on the notorious highway 12 and went up Lola’s pass. Highway 12 in Montana/Idaho is notorious for being a very dangerous road, as the road conditions are very poor, there is not a shoulder, and it is very winding. All of those things were true but it was a pretty wicked downhill nonetheless. I must admit I would much rather go up the way we did then the way the east bounders have to. We caught up to Stuart at the top of Lola’s pass, right as you cross into Idaho. Coming down the pass might have been my favorite downhill yet. The road absolutely turned to crap as soon as I left Montana but the scenery took a 360. All of a sudden there was nothing but pine trees, mountains, valleys, streams and you speed through it all without having to pedal a bit, just soaking it all in. There was a campground grocery store that allows cyclists to camp behind the store in Lowell. Stuart made it to Lowell as well but was in one of the nice cabins at the campground. We shared the campsite with a bunch of folks touring on motorcycles. After taking a walk down to the river to swim in it, I returned to my bike only to find that a squirrel had chewed through my food bag and was eating my nuts! I scared it off and vowed revenge on the squirrel. I made sure to warn the others about the sneaky squirrels and that they got my nuts and they could get theirs too.
Headed west after Lola’s pass you follow the Lochsa River for about 80 miles, so it is gently sloping down without any steep climbing. It was one of the best days of riding thus far because of the gentle terrain and being right next to the river that carved these mountains for the whole day. There is not much in terms of civilization either along this road so you are able to just get lost in the beauty of it all. Around every twist and every turn was just more pristine, untouched nature. Another cyclists headed east the day before had told us of some hot springs that were off the beaten path and we found them in the morning and soaked in them for an hour or so before getting back on the bicycles. We camped right on the river that night and I had my tents vestibule facing it so I was able to fall asleep and wake up to the peaceful sounds of the rushing river.
After we left the Lochsa river the trees disappeared so there was nothing standing in the way of the sun beating down on us. We began to follow the salmon river up stream for a day or so, meaning that we were gradually climbing for a day or so. The climbing began gradual so I was still able to bask in all the glory of the Idahoan mountains, rivers, and valleys. Soon though, he lovely, gentle terrain of the first part of Idaho was swapped out for some very, very steep climbing. I fell down a couple times as I was going maybe 3 mph up this section of the climb and was forced to walk my bike up the rest of the steep part. Some roads my bike and I were just not meant to get up riding and that is quite okay because I sure do love walking. It was much easier to appreciate the surrounding beauty of the landscape when I was pushing my bike then it would have been if I was riding. One way or another I made it up that dang thing and hopped back on my bike to continue the rest of the 20 miles of climbing that was much less steep and very doable. After leaving the trees behind there was very beautiful rolling farm lands with big ol’ blue mountains pervading in the distance. After lunch, we continued up the last part of the climb which was very winding with many switch backs but with a grade that was the perfect balance between being way too steep and just steep enough. Again, I was very pleased to be going down the other side of the pass as it seemed like a much harder climb coming up the other way. It was an insanely curvy, steep ride down and it was a blast, just as coming down usually is.
Today after a bit of climbing there was a 7 mile or so section where I didn’t have to pedal a bit and held a steady 30 mph. The terrain lowered me into Hell’s Canyon which follows along the Snake River. Named most likely for its intense heat I was thankful to be passing through at an earlier hour. Soon after the road parted ways with the river, I crossed into the final state, Oregon!
I still have a long way to go but my time on the road is coming to a close. I am looking forward to enjoying each and every climb, no matter how much it hurts. I’m afraid I’m running out of country to bike across but hey I might just keep on riding up the coast. I have really fallen in love with riding my bike and the simplicity that life has to offer when you are traveling with everything you need. It is quite the rewarding life style, although tough as heck. There are plenty ups and plenty downs, quite literally. At the end of the day though, I’m just riding my bike, doing my best to find the beauty in each passing moment.
Much love,
Lynne “lioness” Wummel
