The fun never stops... this is my 4th weekend in a row of trying something new in our area.
While up at NORBA a few weeks ago I met a gal from my club and we had a fifteen minute intense
bonding conversation while watching the mountain cross races. Between [censored] about the club we
seemed to find a common energy level and agreed to go out on some search and discover missions in
the Idaho Panhandle.
She brought a friend and she, her buddy, Mr.Penny and myself met up at the Bead Lake trail head,
smack on the ID/WA border. This is a ride we've both heard off as really fine, and we are
excited to get going. Which way? The guide book suggests a loop, we've heard of people doing and
out and back... we opt for the loop just because that is our preference. 8 miles up an easy FR
grade. The views are awesome... there are unseasonable banks of fog filling the river valley
which is very scenic, and a coat of haze from regional fires grays the views. The two miles
down, the guys are bombing
it... she and I seem to have the same attitude about high speed fr downhills... a little more
cautious. I'm the odometer watcher for the trail head turnoff.
And there's the turnoff. Quick lunch break, and then we drop into the forest: the entrance to the
trail is an enticing grassy band, with a brown dirt narrow trail. Slowly but steadily we roll
through a piney forest on sweet smooth dirt. Down the rolling switch backs, and suddenly we are in a
verdant cedar forest, replete with large stately trees, ferns, devil's club and a burbling creek.
This rapidly turns into a mindblowing cool experience as we pedal along through this forest, again
on a trail surface to die for, stopping every now and then to admire the scenery. Oh, and it's a
steady rolling downhill grade too. ;-) Eventually we come out on the edge of the lake, where the
trail is cut into the side of the hill. For the next few miles, we alternate between dappled sun and
side cut , and then returning to the cedars in the drainages as the trail contours around the lake
shore. This is one of those one that you don't want to go too fast because it's so cool.
She and I are right on par as riding pals, and the two guys are just ahead. The trail starts to
finish up with a steady climb up through the cedars, and then all of a sudden we are done, 7 miles
of the lake shore under our wheels.
I have some photos, those will be put up later as I'm sing my kids computer... mine had "total
catastrophic failure" with a friend CPU & motherbaord. I have to convince him to let me install some
stuff so I can up load my pix... penny