Day 19 – July 1, 2015

Day 19 – July 1, 2015
Orofino ID to Wild Goose Campground 53.76 Miles

Bumble Bee – Audrey

Amazing we did over 50 miles today. It actually went really well. Early start again as usual. But today we pushed it a bit and even broke our cardinal rule not to ride past 10am. We rode into the heat but managed well.

The morning ride was unique in that we even had to put on our riding sweaters for the first 15 miles, it was cool. I would say about 62 but once you get moving and create your own wind, it was slightly chilly.

The ride itself followed the Clearwater river the whole way. Beautiful. Not too many trucks, a nice road. It was great. We got to Kamiah, another little town that has seen better days, and stopped at the only establishment open at 7am, a little bakery and cafe. There we met the local Sherif who gave us advise about campsites up the road. He told us that the Wild Goose site is nice because it is right on the river and there is even a swimming hole. Great advise, just 30 miles up the hill.

In Koosia we stopped for breakfast at about 33 miles. We also decided to stock up on some fresh food, so I bought some ground beef and Fritos. I also snagged a cup of ice that I put in a little zip lock bag and placed it on top of the beef to keep it slightly cool during the hot hours of the day. The ground beef will go well with the dehydrated bean chili mix we bought, that over some pasta, yummy.

On we went for out last 18 miles. It was getting hot but we were coping well. We came upon a little rafting resort called the River Dance Lodge. There we shared a chicken salad sandwhich and had some cold beer, something new “Juniper Pale Ale” from Cour d’Alene Idaho. It was nice. Cold and refreshing, just what the doctor ordered.

Just another 5 miles and we were there. Just as we reached our campsite we came upon 3 young men that were completing their Trans America tour. They had started in Virginia and were on their way to Astoria. Yep, they confirmed that the hills of Kentucky were very very difficult, good reason for us to avoid them.

So now we have a good portion of the day to do nothing. We swam in the Clearwater to cool off, it was heavenly. Gregg is reading and trying to nap, and I am blogging. No cell phone service here. Out of touch, far far away from everything.

Oh, one very exciting thing is that we saw a Bald eagle that was a resident all year round. He or she flew by 3 times to say Hello. Gregg call him Steven after Steven Colbert.

Later: we did nothing except swim in our little swimming hole on the river and tried to stay in the shade as best as possible. The sun was blazing hot and temperatures really did not come down until just before we climbed into our tent. Even then, it was hot.