We left Council with our eyes on Slate Creek Campground, 81 miles away. It would be our longest day yet; but if we could make it we’d be within 12 miles of the dreaded White Bird Hill. We had a hearty breakfast and set out. The ride would involve a good bit of climbing until New Meadows, but then it would be largely downhill the rest of the way.
We stopped at a store near Tamarack for ice cream and a refill of our water bottles. The man gave us a notebook to add our signatures to the rest of the many TransAmers that have stopped there so far this year. He then warned us about the dangerous–narrow–ride along a stretch of the the Little Salmon River. Apparently there is no shoulder and the semi-trucks fly by at 65 mph leaving us very little room. He even said several bikers have been hit/bumped by them because the road is so windy and narrow. We thanked him, committed it to the Lord, and got back on our bikes.
First of all, let me say the many miles of riding along the Little Salmon River were absolutely gorgeous. I simply couldn’t get enough of the scenery. The river rushed by with canyon-like walls of rocks and hills on both sides and scattered pines everywhere. I wish a camera could capture the full beauty of what we saw.
Secondly, when we reached the section of the road about which the man warned us––the long 2-3 mile windy section in which the shoulder was lined with concrete barriers, leaving us less than 10 inches between the barriers and the yellow line––I prayed for the Lord’s protection and rode on. And amazingly, not one car or semi passed me the entire time along that stretch. I kept flying down the windy hill as fast as I safely could, looking back to keep Rocky in view, and trying to get through it as fast as I could. But not one vehicle passed me until at the very end a pick-up went by and honked–maybe he was just saying hello…
On the way down we found a stunning waterfall we just had to stop and see. So we hung out for a few minutes, took some great photos, and then headed into Pollock. When we reached the small town of Pollock the path turns off the main road and goes through Pollock only to join the main highway again 4 miles later. So of course we took the turn to pass through Pollock. But since I had forgotten to check my many pages of addenda that accompany my map I didn’t see that this side road was closed to thru traffic. Oops! Within 2 miles we came to the reason for the road closure. A section of about 200 feet was completely caved in. There was definitely no way a car could get through–but what about bikes? We had no desire to bike up the 2 mile descent we’d just come down to get here. So we carefully walked out bikes across the cracked, twisted, turned, and upheaved road to get to the other side.
We stopped in Riggins with a half-a-mind to stay at the RV Park. The day had been long, hot, and stressful. I was tired and didn’t really want to go on. But Riggins was 30 miles from White Bird–not close enough for comfort. So we grabbed a Gatorade and corndog and hoped that the next 22 miles to Slate Creek Campground was more downhill than up. Thankfully it was. And moreover, it was along the Little Salmon River the entire way. The ride was breathtaking. We were compelled to stop at a section of the road filled with hundreds of trucks and camper trailers. What were all these people doing!? We learned they were all down on the river fishing for salmon. We stopped and watched a few men fish until one caught a nice sized salmon.
I had lost track of how many more miles we had to go so we stopped at the Steelhead Inn and asked. I was bummed when she told me it was 4 more miles. I was hoping it was only 1 mile more. She knew we were on the TransAM and asked if we were traveling West or East. She then invited us into a room where the fridge was filled with juice and sandwiches and told us not to be shy. We weren’t. We downed two juices each, two sandwiches each, and I used the phone to call Chantry to let her know how far we’d made it.
We arrived safely–and very tired–to the Slate Creek Campground (between Lucille, ID and White Bird, ID) early enough to cook dinner and sleep along the Little Salmon River under the stars. It was an 81 mile day, but praise God we made it. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t believe the millions of stars I could see. I immediately thought of Ps 8, “What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?” I thought to myself, “The God who made all those and who knows them all by name, knows me, loves me, and cares for me.” I went back to sleep with a grateful heart and a smile across my face.
Thanks for praying and thanks for following.
Until next time… 🙂
