Day 18 – 70 Mile Ascent
This post is posted a
day late due to lack of Internet and cell phone service.
I ordered the maps we are using for this journey several
months before the trip. When I received
the maps I did a quick perusal and something caught my eye. A 70-mile ascent! Not steep (until the bitter end), but just a
constant uphill journey for 70-plus miles.
It has been the one-stand out item in the maps that has stuck with me. I assumed we would break it into two
days. But a couple things made that
assumption wrong. One, there are no
services, no places to stop for water or food, no cell phone service,
nothing. So a good place to get
past. And second, we had a lot of pent
up energy from two days of no activity.
So today we traveled from Lowell, ID to Lolo Pass, which is
on the Idaho/Montana border. The total
trip was 77.4 miles, and we ascended almost 4,000 feet. We had originally
planned to stop about 12 miles before the summit, but an irrational need to “get-r-done”
came upon us and we went for it. It was
a bit grueling and I hope I don’t pay a price tomorrow. But it is such a great feeling to get that
long ascent and its challenging summit completed. Tomorrow we will start at the top of the pass
and coast down hill for the first 20 or 30 miles. Not a bad way to start the day.
The first 65 miles of our ride today paralleled the Lochsa
River. It was rare the River was not in
our sight. And it was rare the roar of
the river did not fill our ears. It is
an absolutely beautiful river and riding so close to it felt fierce and
peaceful at the same time. I give it at
least partial credit for distracting me from the constant climbing.
Lochsa River. The road we biked is on the right. Followed this river almost all day. |
Lochsa River with walking bridge |
Lochsa River |
End of the day, at Lolo Pass. 5,200 feet and a little snow. |
These are awesome pics. Love the Lochsa river and congrats on the 70 mile ascent!
ReplyDeleteThanks John.
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