It’s no secret that Cortney and I are outdoors people. Sure, we enjoy time inside—but after a bit, we need to get out. And with all the smoke and extreme heat this summer, it’s been tough.
To help ease the situation, Cort found this awesome bike route called the Bitterroot 300 Loop. The loop would take us along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, the epic Route of the Hiawatha (which we’ve had our eyes on for a while), and through some areas of North Idaho that had been on our radar. It felt like the perfect way to escape the lousy AQI, get back on our bikes, and see our new grandson again. A win-win-win. So we set a date, hit the road, and headed north last week.
But Idaho had other plans.
First, practically the entire state was on fire. No matter where you went, the air quality was unhealthy or hazardous. As our friend Larry likes to say, “If you can see and taste the air, don’t go outside!” (That’s not an easy task for people like us who thrive on the outdoors.)
The second thing was the forecast: rain. A little drizzle wouldn’t have stopped us, But we’d done enough cycling the past year with perpetually soggy tents. And we weren’t thrilled with the prospect of repeating that. A wet tent literally stinks.
After a quick and lovely visit with family, the near forecast and air quality looked alright. It was a small window to ride the Hiawatha. That’s was what we were looking forward to the most on this loop. And with the trail closing next week, we needed to go now, or else we’d end up waiting another year. So we went for it.
The Route of the Hiawatha is a premier rail trail in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. It’s been coined the crown jewel of rail-to-trail adventures. The Route of the Hiawatha was named a “Hall of Fame” trail by the Rail-to-Trail Conservancy, one of only 15 trails designated as such in the country. We’ve been on our fair share of awesome rail trails, like The Palouse to Cascade Trail, The Katy Trail, the Lake Woebegone and Paul Bunyan in Minnesota, and the Elroy-Sparta in Wisconsin, to name a few. But the Hiawatha lives up to the hype.
Cortney even called it the Disney of rail trails. Why? The route follows a historic railroad route and passes through stunning lush forests, 10 or so tunnels, and sky-high trestles. What’s more In addition to the epic scenery, the trail is uber curated and offers riders a luxury gravel experience. Also it’s incredibly popular so attracts a lot of people and lines and you have to pay to ride it. Nothing like getting out into the backcountry to enjoy nature with swarms of people.
Kicking things off at the St. Paul Tunnel with 1.7 miles of pure darkness. Don’t forget your light!
The trail winds through stunning forests, and the trestles offer breathtaking views.
Many people who ride the Hiawatha take the shuttle back to the top. The ride is 15 miles downhill so we wanted to cycle back up to add miles and skip the line and extra cost. Plus, the railroad grade is pretty gentle, so the climb wasn’t taxing.
The trail had significantly emptied out later in the day. It gave us a peaceful, crowd-free second pass through the scenery. We soaked in the views and took in details we hadn’t noticed before. The trail’s crushed limestone or ballast left our bikes coated in primer-like dust, but it was worth it.
We saw some people who made it to the bottom about the same time as us. Despite taking the shuttle, we made it back to the parking lot before they did!
That evening, we made our way to a cool campsite in Western Montana called Cabin City—ironically, no cabins or city. Just pure wilderness and stunning mountain views.
Woke up to rain, which pretty much put the kibosh on any further bike adventures. But we did get to go on a great hike in Wallace! Here are some shots from that hike.
It’s funny how things work out, even when they don’t go according to plan. The Hiawatha was amazing, we got a quality hike in, and best of all, we spent more time with our grandson.
It’s not a matter of if the Bitterroot bike trip will happen, it’s just when. We’ll be back.
-Erik
