This week, Brian, my favorite LBS guy invited me to go up the Id/MT divide , when I inquired about a
trail I had heard about. Mr. Adventure was tied up with ski patrol training but I was not so what
the heck. Brian mentions that it's a bunch of guys, and luck would have it that I can't scare up a
single female to go with. Carl the ti-man is available and it's a good thing because I won't know
anyone on this ride.
As we approach the mountains on our drive ink, first it's misty, then sprinkly. WE get to the lower
trailhead, and dang, if it's isn't big fat raindrops mixed with snow. The group is unanimous...we
got this far, we might as well ride. Instead of a 12 mile ride up the road to the upper trailhead,
we decide to shuttle it as we aren't THAT masochistic. We park about 8 miles up, in the gloppy
precipitation. The good old boys are out with their pickup trucks presumably hunting and they all
comments to make as we are gearing up in Gore-Tex, tights and whatever else we each are carrying.
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Four miles along the divide on a logging road, and then we drop onto the trail, after we wait for
Dave to come back, his dog had decided to hang out with some hunters that had food and fire
going...I think fondly on the AMB-UK photos from last week, minus the smokes.
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lousy photo.
Oh, my god... how to wax eloquent here. Even tho it's wet, a bit soft, we have ice chunks on our
coats, this has got to be one of the finer pieces of single track I've been on. A perfect grade,
with enough climbs interspersed that you don't feel you've cheated by shuttling a portion. The
trail rolls along the ridgeline, swoopy, turny, great strait line runs mixed up with twisty
through mossy pines and multi color undergrowth. No one is really flying: the wet trail is not a
familiar surface for most of us, so the pace is low-key. There's one hike a bike spot across an
old land slide:
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forest riding. Occasionally there is what would most likely be a view spot, but there's so much fog
and clouds who knows. As we lose elevation, it warms up a bit, and the rain stops, but it's still
damp in the forest. There are a few spots on the trail with perfect outcrops with little ledges on
theme to break up the hideous monotony of buff forest trail.... puts big smiles on our faces.
Nine miles of this... who could ask for more? If the weather is better next weekend, I"m going back
and taking the gang.
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penny