Day 21-Warm River

Day 21- Warm River

Today would be the day where I would be leaving Montana and entering Idaho. Again, I was first up and packed, and waved to the others as I left the campground. They seem to like their hot coffee and oats for breakfast. I don’t regret not taking my stove to cook. I like getting on the road early, especially since I am so slow.

The ride out of the Park was beautiful. I am glad we still have these kind of places, until some greedy folks try to take it away from the public. I saw a sandhill crane and a young fox that ran out of a burrow and hid behind a sage brush when he saw me. I am a bit disappointed that I haven’t seen more wild life like a grizzly, moose, or elk. I think the noise from the bike scares them more easily, whereas they are probably more used to cars and trucks.

Sandhills crane

Young fox

I did realize 5 miles down the road that I forgot to fill up my water bottles at the spring when I left this morning. I quickly stopped and filled up my remaining bladder from a clear running stream still within the park where no cattle were allowed. This time I put the bladder in my frame bag to not loose it again.

I had to climb the Red Rocks divide, and suddenly at the top I was in Idaho. That one snuck up on me. A bit sad to leave Montana, and mixed feelings about Idaho based on past experiences. I will try to remain positive.

It did seem that the traffic here changed more from working trucks and locals in Montana to more tourists in large RV’s and many more of these 4x4 sidecars, with many flags attached. They for the most part seemed friendly and waved when going by, but not in the same way as the locals in Montana. It is hard to describe, and may be somewhat predetermined by me. There was definitely more traffic on the roads, which did kick up a lot of dust. It had obviously not rained here in a while. I did go through a section of farmland that was very pretty. Golden fields of wheat and what looked like potatoes (they grow them in Idaho, right?). Looked like it could have been in Europe with the hills.

I finally did end up at a little town called Mack’s Inn which seemed to cater to the tourists with 4x4 rental places. It did have a Subway restaurant and a grocery store which I both spent money in. I saw Ciaran pull up saying that another rider told him that there was a cheap breakfast buffet place that would close soon. He seemed in a rush to get there. I had my Subway sub so I declined and went to the grocery store instead. Ross was there and had list ready. He was much more methodical about it all especially since he tries to be vegan. However, the chocolate milk has already infiltrated his diet in a big way, and has deviated in other ways as well. It must be very hard to stick to that kind of diet when your body craves protein and carbs, especially in places like Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

I grabbed my usuals which includes flour tortillas, peanut butter, Nutella, gummy bears, and chocolate milk. I did get a can of Spam based on the recommendation from another rider. It has protein, fat, and who knows what else 🧐. Stay tuned for a postmortem review of that in a tortilla 😁.

The couple from South Africa did suggest to skip a portion of today’s route since the trail conditions were pretty bad and boring scenery. The alternate would be on the two lane highway going through Island Park. I decided on that recommendation, although I didn’t necessarily look forward to riding the shoulder of the highway. Initially it was great with a wide, smooth shoulder with a rumble strip between me and traffic. Perfect! However that shoulder disappeared a couple miles later when Idaho DOT must have prioritized a middle turn/passing lane instead. Sorry bikers, you are screwed. I had another 10 miles before I could turn off the highway and take a more remote road. I all honesty it didn’t end up as bad as I had thought. There was minimal traffic, and almost all drivers seemed to give me the road I needed. The professional truckers are usually the best, with the large RV trailers with macho names like Cougar, Vortex, and T-Rex coming in last. Probably good it wasn’t a weekend day with possible more of those on the road. My bright blinking light in the back, along with rear view mirror helped a lot!

I finally got off the highway, and made for a campground called Warm River. The total mileage for the day was about 70 miles, but seemed easier since most was on paved roads today. The others had mentioned this campground as well but I never saw them other than at Mack’s Inn. I rode the last few miles downhill on a smooth single track that paralleled the Warm River about 100 yards higher. Really nice to end the day that way.

The campground was fairly busy with folks that seemed to liked tubing down the river. I found a good camp spot right on the river and with good privacy from others. I decided a dip in the river would be good to wash some of the dirt and grime off me from the last couple days. I will be writing the Idaho tourism board to complain about false advertising. That river was NOT warm 🥶. Still, I braved the elements an submerged myself under. I then had the brilliant idea to put my Choco milks in a mesh bag an let the stay cold for tomorrow.

Choco milks fridge. I hope the bears don’t find it! 😱

Marek pulled up to my camp spot a bit later. How did he find me? Did he plant a secret tracker? It seemed that we always keep running into each other 😄. I really don’t mind. He is a nice guy, even though he struggles with his English for a more in-depth conversations. There was room for his tent. The others camped closer to the camp host since it would be free there. I got a good discount with my “America the Beautiful” park pass. That $80 lifetime pass has paid for itself many times over in the last 10 years I have had it. I don’t think it is available anymore.

Next Post