Today we cycled from the basic Eightmile Campground between Stanley and Challis to a dispersed campsite at Morgan Creek. We had blue skies, with some friendly clouds all day. We rode almost all day on gravel roads and double-track. Only in Challis we rode on pavement.
Riding statistics: on Friday June 7, 2024, the 30th day on the Western Wildlands Route route, it took 11:31h (07:16h moving time), between 06:55 and 18:27, to cover 79 km (49 miles), including 1731 m (5679 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 11 km/h (7 mph). During today's ride the average temperature was 27 °C (84 °F) with a minimum of 1 °C (32 °F) and a maximum of 50 °C (130 °F).
Totals: So far, it took 9 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes and 8 seconds of cycling time to cover 3133 km (1947 miles), including 35704 m (117145 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.3 km/h (8.9 mph).
This morning the outer tent was again wet from the damp. It was chilly but not as cold as we have experienced earlier. No freezing temperatures, just. When leaving the campsite there was no sun yet, it was still behind the mountains. So, the first half an hour were cold on fingers and toes. I do wear gloves when breaking up the tent and if it is wet. The cold outer tent, and the aluminum poles makes my fingers feel so cold, the gloves help a lot.
A few kilometers into the ride, we had our first climb of the day. We had to climb 600+ meters in elevation in a distance of 16 kilometers. Not too bad, but good enough to get it truly warm in a short time. The climb went well and we rode most of the time in the sun. The top of Mill Creek Summit was at 2677m above sea level. Around 2200 we already saw snow between the trees and at a distance, but nowhere eat our route. That changed around 2500m, patches of snow where on our path, but we could still ride through some tracks that ATV riders made. At 2600* that changed, the patches of snow got longer and deeper. About 800m from the top, 40m to go in elevation, the road was completely blocked by snow, probably still over a meter thick. Although we were still quite early in the morning, you could now walk over it, you would sink in it. Fons did an attempt and somehow made some progress but his shoes and socks got completely wet. I hate that. So, first I rolled my bike at the side over the snow, while I could walk a little higher next to the road. That worked, until my bike sank over 50cm into the snow. From that section I could drag my bike on the side as well, and walk my bike between the trees a few meters from the road. I showed Dins and he joined me. Eventually we could not continue because there was again snow at the sides of the road as well. Ow we had to cross the road. Dons went first and was surprised by the snow. His bike also deep into the snow, and his legs went in over the knees. His feet were already soaking wet, and cold. As I said, I hate that. So I got my overshoes and rain pants. It worked shoes almost completely dry, socks all good, no cold legs. There were some more patches of snow that we managed to pass more easily and suddenly we were at the summit. From that moment onwards, there was no snow anymore. That side gets a lot more sun during the day. We had an awesome downhill, and 15km later we had another smaller, but intense climb.
When we completed the second climb, we continued the amazing downhill into the town of Challis. There was an historical section which looked nice. We had a small talk with one of the residents about our ride. The guy just wanted a talk, no matter the subject. However, he knew the area and was interested. We continued and rode the the grocery store. There we got food for 2 to 3 days. We have to cycle over 225km to the next town where we can get supplies. We will now have a few of those longer stretches. Water will probably OK with the streams and my filter / water treatment tablets. Food however, we have to carry it all. We ate some lunch on a picnic bench before the grocery store, and got into some more talks. First, a local lady who has been doing some cross country cycling herself when she was a lot younger. She also knew the area very well. Second talk was with a younger guy from Chicago. He was in town for an ultramarathon (68 miles or something, in the mountains around Challis. Wauw. It was a great chat, and I even lent his bike pump which he had in his car. I needed to add some air to my rear tire, and this was the perfect opportunity.
After lunch we left Challis and immediately went on a gravel road. 10 minutes later it changed to a difficult double-track. Loose sand, pebbles, big rocks, deep tracks from water running over the road, etc.
It was a very difficult 15km, to gain 700m in elevation. When the climb was finally completed, we got to do a downhill. Unfortunately, the same road conditions, so we had a 7km downhill which we had to do very carefully and slowly. At the bottom there was Morgan Creek with a small area where we could setup the tents. The climbs today took us from one environment to another. Some sides of the mountains are beautiful pine tree forests, at the other side it are soft shaped mountains with only low vegetation and hardly any water. Our Morgan Creek location is in such an environment, but thanks to a water stream, it is a little green oasis with trees.
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