Fulfilling a Dream (36 years later): Day 70: Syringa, ID to White Bird, ID

Saturday, July 28, 2012, 61 miles - Total so far: 2066 miles*
* Miles ridden on the TransAm route
Odometer miles - Today - 66.2 Total to date - 2148.9 miles

The most spectacular 7 miles of the TransAm!

(Now that we've got an off-day in Baker City, OR I can get caught up on several days of the blog.)

This day began with more scenic riding alongside the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River on U.S. 12. We headed out of Syringa, ID to Kooskia where we stopped for second breakfast. Our visit coincided with the annual Kooskia Days events including a run/walk by many participants from the town and a parade.

As I arrived in the center of town people were cheering! I thought it might be for me, but realized it was for the finishers of the run/walk competition. :-) The waitress at the cafe suggested we might want to get out of town soon, because the parade would be blocking the main street of town starting at 10:00am. I finished my breakfast and headed out by about 8:45am.

The Middle Fork of the Clearwater River alongside U.S. 12 - again

Another pedestrian bridge over the river.

Winding through rock outcroppings along the river.

Entering the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

Out-of-business fireworks stand near Kooskia - everyone thought of Simon when they saw this.

Barbed-wire art sculptures for sale in the cafe in Kooskia.

The Kooskia Days parade lineup begins to form on the south edge of town.

Beyond Kooskia we turned onto Idaho Hwy 13 and began a slow climb up the river. After Harpster, where I made another brief rest stop, the road left the river and made a long, steeper climb up to Grangeville. We started the morning in Syringa at ~1400 ft. and reached ~3,700 ft. at Grangeville.

Large lumber manufacturer just outside of Kooskia.

Interesting signs on the old windmill.

Colorful horses on the way to Harpster.

Another Osprey in a platform nest.

Continuing along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, upstream towards Harpster.

Near the top of the climb to Grangeville, ID

Grangeville sits on top of a plateau with lots of farmland all around. It was quite a contrast from our first couple of days in Idaho, winding through forested mountains along rivers.

Farmland on the high plateau near Grangeville, ID

Grangeville, Pop. 3228 (a big city, elevation ~3,670 ft.)

The Advanced Steam Traction Engine - on display in Grangeville.

Leaving Grangeville I came to the second large climb of the day. I left several minutes ahead of Paul, Wendy, Gina and Judy. We were supposed to turn just outside of town and turn off of U.S. 95 onto Old White Bird Hill road. This was the route of the old U.S. 95 before 1974. Unfortunately, I missed the turn, so I continued up the climb on U.S. 95. It wasn't a bad climb, long but a steady, not-too-tough grade. As the grade increased there was a slow lane added to the uphill side, so traffic was able to give me wide clearance.

At the top of the climb I found where Old White Bird Hill rejoined U.S. 95. It was a bit of a shame that I missed the older road for the uphill. Those who did it said it was scenic and free of traffic. But I made sure to find the entry off of U.S. 95 on the downhill to the Old Highway 95. This road was built long ago, when the style was to climb grades through a series of switchbacks instead of just blasting away the mountain to form a flatter grade.

The drop down Old Highway 95 into White Bird was spectacular! It was 7 miles of switchbacks with tremendous views of the Salmon River Valley. On the whole stretch I barely pedaled at all, though I used the brakes almost constantly. I was passed by only two motorcycles (going the other way) on the whole stretch. The road was in good shape so riding was easy. To me, this was the best, most interesting and scenic section of the whole TransAm ride.

Note - despite all the climbing, we finished the day at ~1560 ft., not much different than our start at ~1400 ft.

Near the top of the climb up White Bird Hill on U.S. 95 - "Truckers, Steep Grade, Next 8 Miles, 7% Maximum" (Yay!)

White Bird Hill, El. 4,245 ft.

The view to the Salmon River Valley from the top of White Bird Hill

Panoramic view of Old U.S. 95 hwy leading down to White Bird. (The gouge in the mountain range to the far right is the new U.S. 95, opened in 1974.)

Down White Bird Hill on Old U.S. 95

Looking toward White Bird - the road is visible in the center of the picture.

Approaching the green oasis of White Bird.

Neat old church building in White Bird.

Interesting contrast - Dr. W. A. Foskett's Historic House and Drug Store on the right, the new U.S. 95 highway bridge on the left (built ~1974).

When I got to White Bird, the campground should have just been about 1-2 miles on down Old Highway 95 through town. However, the bridge across the Salmon River was being rebuilt. We had to detour back up to the new U.S. 95, continue south a couple of miles and then double back on the old highway to get to our campground. It was an extra ~4-5 miles added to our already long day. But the views were so spectacular this day that there was very little grumbling about the extra miles.

The Salmon River, approaching our White Bird campground from the south side.

Our campground beside the Salmon River in White Bird.

A covey of ~40 quail near our campsite.

After dinner Nicole and Paul organized our very own TransAm Olympic competition - in honor of the London Olympics. Tonight there was a trivia question about how many nights we've camped so far (28) and a map folding contest. Everyone had to correctly refold three of our TransAm maps as quickly as possible. I tied for 1st in the trivia and finished 3rd in the map folding.