July 20, Sandpoint, ID

After a long and exhausting trek through Montana I have at last reached Idaho! Furthermore, TODAY I REACHED THE CENTURY MARK. A hat given to me by my daughter was in recognition of Jennifer doing a 100 miler... A "century ride ."  At long last I've earned the right to wear this hat, a gift from Jennifer, because today I bicycled over 100 miles within a 12 hour time frame...much of it going over steep terrain, with variable winds often in my face, over occasional isolated dirt roads, and carrying 50 pounds of gear... I GOT IT DONE!  Okay Jen, I now belong to your century club.

Runs along Cabinet Mountains Wilderness...getting close to the Idaho Border.

Departing Libby, Montana at 6:30 AM this morning, I bicycled some of the most scenic terrain I've yet observed. Leaving Libby, I climbed the base of Samater, Scenery, and Flagstaff Mountains and followed the Kootenai River to Kootenai Falls. From there it was due south over steep and undulating terrain until arriving at Bull Lake and passing through Ross Creek Cedar Grove Scenic Area. It was a very hard pull along the Bull River as I passed around Pillick Ridge and past Government Mountain. After hitting a T in the road, I took 200 W. until reaching the turnoff for Huron. This side loop was done to avoid traffic on narrow roads but turned into steep dirt roads where I saw an abundance of game. Prime bear country with NO traffic necessitated the use of my Bear-whistle pretty much the entire distance. While uncomfortable regarding the possibility of bear, one could not help but be captivated by the truly pristine forests. 

Bear Country!!

Rejoining Highway 200 at Clark Fork, there was a magnificent view of Lake Pend Oreille which I followed around through the towns of East Hope, Hope, Kootenai, and Ponderay, until reaching my destination of Sandpoint.  The road from East Hope to Sandpoint was under construction, gravel, and narrow.  It felt marvelous to reach Sandpoint!

I now have a bit of a dilemma as my route travels right through the ongoing fires in Washington State.  I will study the maps tonight and determine how best to proceed on this now the home stretch.

The upcoming elevation changes