GTV First Loop: Northern Idaho

Jeff here. The day started in Missoula with another quick an uneventful ride up at Rattlesnake – the Spring Gulch - Wallman Loop followed by the flowy Sawmill Gulch trail. A quick shower before checkout time, then we hit up the local organic food market Good Foods (we admit, we’re a bit spoiled in Portland) to restock the pantry. And so we exit Montana for the trip (maybe?)…

As per our mission statement, the Selway / Bitterroot / Sawtooth / etc. wildernesses that make up the center of the state on the road map were surrounded by roads with dots (aka, scenic), so we made it a loop starting down the eastern side, then up and over Lolo Pass and along the Locsha river. Idaho has many hot springs (and we had many recommendations to visit some on our trip) so we stopped by one called Jerry Johnson (named for a prospector, of course). A relatively easy 1.5 mile hike up a tributary river brought us to a natural hot springs only accessible a couple of months a year when the water levels have come down enough to rebuild the pools in the late summer. We learned this from Bob who, along with his dog Buddy, were our sole company at the gorgeous spring. Turns out, Bob comes in every August to rebuild the rock-lined pools that capture the spring. Thanks Bob!

On Bob’s recommendation we headed down the road a bit to a free campground called Colgate Licks, no kidding. It was quiet and flat enough for the night, right on the Locsha River.

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After coffee the next morning we got back on the road and then "Holy shit is that a MOOSE???"—a mother and her cub crossing the road. Our first cool wildlife sighting, and fortunately it wasn’t a super close call between the moose and the GTV, but close enough to be a good test of our brakes and ability to tie our stuff down (we did ok J). This would also be one of the many moments during this trip where the camera just didn’t make it out in time…

We took a quick hour walk to stretch our (and Flynn’s) legs at Boulder Creek, passing a handful of folks (some well-armed – bears!) who were backpacking to the hot springs further in. More driving south along the Locsha…

Up the Selway a few miles for lunch, up into Grangeville and back  down the valley towards White Bird. Beautiful open country of an entirely different variety, and sadly somewhat scarred by its history with the Nez Peirce.

Eventually we joined with the Salmon River. Just over the ridge was Hells Canyon, separating us from Oregon.

Up the little Salmon River and towards McCall it was getting late in the afternoon, so we started to figure out where we could park the van for the night. While I had my head down in the map, Melissa spotted a mountain biker getting ready for a ride. She did a quick 180 and we got the beta on some local trails. But where to camp? On this local's advice, we decided to check out the other trailhead which was a bit further off the road, in hopes that we might bunk down there. We rolled up to Little Bear trail head – the start of a really fun trail system built by and for bikes (think Sandy Ridge built over high rolling meadows)—and I  explored the trails for a half hour while Mel chilled. Remembering the lesson from Day 3, we ignored the “No Camping” signs, pulled the curtains and cooked a quick dinner. In the GTV, we like to think of ourselves as living in a gray area between the RV and the ten campers – small enough to not attract attention but large enough to hole up without spreading out and pitching a tent. It works for us.

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We had toyed with varying ideas for celebrating our anniversary – checking into a spa, finding a nice hotel and restaurant, etc. But, as we’re starting to discover, on this trip the best times come to us when we don’t hunt for them; instead, by simply relaxing into the moment and taking the opportunities the universe presents to us we find we (to paraphrase) “get what we need.”

And what we needed for our anniversary was simple fun, which came to us in the form of a morning mountain bike ride on these great lucked-into trails (Mel’s first this year but, you know, it’s like riding a bicycle…). I was holding the camera, obviously...

Back on the road we headed into another hot, dry and beautiful section of Idaho road (so varied, this state!) via another scenic byway (the only way to travel).

A quick dip in the Payette River cooled everyone down.

And then, as quickly as the earth had parched, the trees filled back in as we rose to Banner Pass—the beginning of the Sawtooths (more on those later!), and began to think about where to bunk down for the night.

We decided to get off the main road and see what Lola campground had to offer, about five miles down a dirt road.  What L-o-l-a delivered was beauty and solitude—the perfect place for a quiet anniversary dinner cooked over a campfire, a nice bottle of red wine brought from home, and sunset by the river.

Days' lessons: Bend, don't push. Also, rinse is the new wash.