Day 16 - Lewiston to Kamiah

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 Stats: 

Today's miles: 64 miles
Today's feet of elevation gain: 1,188 feet
Total miles traveled: 564.0 miles
Total feet climbed: 21,104 feet
Dead Rattlesnake count: 16
96 F @ 1:00 PM

Finally, after 6 nights in Lewiston, the heat wave started to break and it was time to start putting on some miles. The area temps are still in the 90’s, but they’re manageable with early starts and limited miles (early afternoon wrap-up). So at 5:30 this morning I waved goodbye to my source for lunch/dinner/refreshments for the last week….bye Stinker!! (western convenience store chain) (this is a long story, ask me about hotel location some time) and headed east along the Clearwater river.


The ride was fairly easy. The elevation change was consistent over the whole ride. The route was on US Hwy 12 for most of the ride, which for much of the way has nice wide shoulders, although plenty of logging trucks. I suspect that I may have committed a federal crime early this morning. Part of the route avoided US12 traffic by riding through the Nez Perce National Historic Park and continuing on a back road only accessible through the park. I arrived at the locked entrance gates @ 6:30AM, however the park didn’t officially open until 8:30AM. It was a little challenging to heft the bike up the grassy embankment, and around the gate. Problem solved, on with the ride.


While most of US12 is very rideable, there are 20-30 miles where the shoulder varies from 12” to 0. The alternative, recommended by local riders according to Adventure Cycling is 19 miles longer and goes up/over 4200’ in elevation. I chose the option that stayed along the Clearwater river, riding carefully and enjoying the beautiful scenery.


Note - I won’t be updating this until Thursday or Friday. The next couple days are pretty remote as I head up and over Lolo Pass and into Missoula, MT.



Location: Kamiah, ID 83536, USA

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