Author: jake idaho

I am retiring after working forty years in the parks and recreation field. I have lived and played in the Inland Pacific Northwest for the past 18 years and would like to share some of the best outdoor experiences I have discovered and hopefully many more ones in the near future.

Swan Lake and the Coeur d’Alene River.

For the first time in a decade, I kayaked to and through Swan Lake in the Chain of Lakes near Medimont Idaho.

I started my journey at the Rainey Hill Boat Launch on Medicine Lake in Medimont. This very basic launch is perfect for launching kayaks.

As soon as I left the boat launch, I turned right and passed under a small road bridge and entered an amazing winding channel that connects Medicine Lake to the river.

The channel is less than half a mile long, but it is a beautiful half mile. Just before it empties into the Coeur d’Alene River, the channel passes under an old railroad bridge that is now a bike trail bridge.

The Coeur d’Alene River downstream of Cataldo has almost no current during the summer months. Wind direction is a bigger factor than water flow. The main river channel is realitively wide and deep.

On weekends this river supports a lot of recreational boat traffic. Today I was on it over two hours and was passed by a total of four boats. That’s traffic I can live with.

Just downstream of Medimont, I checked out a small gap in the river bank that allowed me to explore a marshland between the river and Cave Lake. The bike trail also separated the wetland from the lake.

I thought the small aquatic plants made a fascinating pattern. It was extremely peaceful in the still waters.

Before I left the marshland, I took another photo looking back towards Medimont. The row of trees on the right is on the berm created by the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s and the small hill surrounded by lakes, wetlands and the river is presumably what Medimont is named for.

After enjoying exploring the marshland for a while, I headed back to the cut in the river bank to resume my trip down the river. Across the way are the bulls near the east end of the lake I was heading towards, but first I had to go all the way to the west end of the lake to get to the outlet channel.

It took well over an hour paddling downstream but against the wind to get to the channel that connected the river to Swan Lake but it was a scenic ride.

Finally I made it to the outlet for Swan Lake and covered the quarter mile that led to open water. There was a heron rookery near the outlet. You could tell from the stand of trees that all died from being covered in the birds waste.

Their were a lot of these birds, I just wish I could have gotten a better picture of them. They don’t like to pose.

The south side of the lake is very weedy. the north shore has the deeper water and is at the base of some impressive rocky cliffs. There is not a single house on the lake.

Swan Lake is sizable. I’m guessing its about six or seven hundred acres and maybe a mile across. It’s big enough for the wind to generate decent waves but I’m glad I choose this trip over a return to Pend Oreille today. The waves on this lake just made for a workout, not a near death experience.

The far shore on the north side looked interesting with several big coves and rock formations, but that’s were the rougher water was so I stayed “in the weeds” on the south side.

There is an island in Swan lake that I later found out is privately owned. I headed towards it and saw that it was not posted and I needed a place for a quick break. I can only hope the land owners would tolerate a kayaker seeking refuge here. I’m guessing that they use it for a camping spot.

It is a beautiful spot. The area between the island and the south shore of the lake is covered in thick aquatic grasses and looks to be too thick to paddle a kayak through. I had to go around the north end of the island.

This is the north end of the island. There was more water to the east so that’s were I headed next. The wind really picked up at this time.

I hugged the edge of the weed line to avoid the waves. At the east end of the lake there is a short (maybe one thousand foot) slough that is well worth exploring.

The slough is fascinating. I only wish that it was a lot longer. To me it was obvious that this was once the main river channel.

Instead of the middle of the flood plain, this slough was located right at the bottom of the bluffs descending from the mountains to the north. I only wish that there was a way to portage the kayak across the nearby river bank to the river itself saving a return trip through Swan Lake. It would make for an interesting loop as the slough ended not that far downstream from Medimont.

So I paddled back the same way I came for a five hour trip. Recrossing the lake in the face of a building west wind was a grind. At least I had a tail wind on the river back to Medimont. Later I found out that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game owns a piece of property (parcel number 48N02W290100) that would allow for a portage between the east end of the slough and the river. I’m thinking about lobbying them to do just that. A kayak “loop” would be awesome.

I’ve never met anyone else who has ever kayaked on Swan Lake. This is truly a hidden gem, over shadowed by more popular and/or accessible water bodies. The water clarity was good, the scenery amazing and the length of the trip made it quite a workout. The trip had a little bit of everything.

The Fish Lake Trail

The Fish Lake Trail is a nine mile former railroad line that was acquired and converted in to a bike trail by the City of Spokane. It ends about one mile before Fish Lake, but the trail starts again at this point. However it is called the Columbia Plateau Trail from that point on. Are you confused yet? Good, we wouldn’t want that.

The trail starts just west of downtown Spokane at a trailhead off of Government Way under a couple of impressive railroad bridges in a really sketchy neighborhood. I’ve never had a problem here, but let’s just say I’m relieved every time I return to my intact vehicle.

Apparently that is Latah Junction above the trail, the place were the mainlines to Pasco and Wenatchee split.

Immediately after leaving the trailhead, you cross a bridge over Interstate 90 with an stunning view of downtown Spokane.

The first mile of the trail is between busy highway US-195 and an area experiencing rapid construction of much needed residential developments. For the most part they look like nice neighborhoods. Fortunately much of the trail through this stretch is located in a deep cut, screening riders from both.

The basalt rock formations and thick vegetation make the place seem more remote than it is.

Just over one mile in, the urban landscape ends and the trail takes on a more rural flavor. It’s hard to believe that this is only three miles from downtown. The traffic noise fades as the trail slowly curves away from US-195.

This is one of the very few road crossings on the trail. There’s not a lot of traffic to worry about on the ride.

The trail slowly curves towards the west. At this point it passes through an area that was effected by a recent wildfire. Wildfires suddenly seem to be a reocuring theme in many of my recent posts.

Since the prevailing summer winds here are out of the southwest, in addition to a headwind you are climbing a one percent grade. The good news is that you’re paying it forward. The return trip is all downhill and usually with a tailwind.

At a place called Marshall, the trail crosses under this impressive bridge. Two active railroad lines also pass under the bridge. For much of the length of the trail, it is sandwiched between two active railroad lines.

One of the other railroad lines passes over the trail here. One good thing about the Fish lake Trail is there is a lot of railroad infrastructure to admire.

And you get to see trains! Hey, that might be my brother grinding it up the high side heading towards Pasco.

The further you get from Spokane, the emptier the countryside gets. Towards the end of the trail it passes through this little valley.

The trail is just over nine miles long and the last mile and a half of that is a dead end. It is possible to back track to the last road crossing and ride on very bikable roads the three miles of so to the beginning of the Columbia Plateau Trail the first four miles or so of which is paved.

So here is the end. Two active lines cross each other just past this point making a safe passage impossible. Spokane would like to extend the trail, but bridging this gap would be prohibitively expensive.

It has been a couple of years since I rode this trail. The good is how easy it is to access, the true scenic beauty of the trail and for the most part a good surface. The bad is that its only nine miles long and the trailhead is in a bad part of town. When I get a chance, I’ll ride the gap from the end to the Columbia Plateau Trail and create an updated post with added material.

Lake Pend Oreille, Kayaking Farragut State Park to Lakeview

Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay) is an amazing body of water. It is Idaho’s largest lake and the fifth deepest lake in the United States. The lake is easily accessible from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane. During World Wat II, a naval training center was built on the south end of the lake. Farragut Navy Base is now Farragut State Park, the most popular park in Idaho.

Today I launched at Farragut State Park at the Eagle Bay Boat Ramp. About half a mile further on the park entrance road is a nice overlook. My destination for the day is the far shore almost dead center but I was going to cross the bay and follow the shoreline.

I checked the weather forecast carefully before I headed to the lake. The forecast called for very light winds. This is a big lake and I’ve had a couple of bad experiences over the years due to the wind rapidly picking up. At the start of my paddle as I crossed Idlewilde Bay heading towards the base of Bernard Peak the water was a lot rougher than I would like.

There were quite a few sail boats out and I briefly considered turning around. I’m glad I didn’t.

Just as I rounded the point in to the main body of the lake, the winds died down. I spent the next half hour skirting the base of the cliffs below Bernard Peak on an almost glass surface.

Bernard Peak dominates the south end of the lake. A serious wildfire raced through the forest from the beach to the ridge top a coup[le of years ago. I happened to be hiking on a nearby mountain that day and spent a couple of hours watching the air borne efforts to contain (unsuccessfully) the blaze.

About an hour in to the trip, I took a break on one of the very few beaches along the shore. Most of the shoreline is a rocky cliff side. This spot is a popular place for people to land and sometimes camp. It was probably a camper that started the wildfire a couple of years ago.

The mountain on the left side of this photo is Cape Horn just north of Bayview and Farragut State Park. My goal is on the right side of the photo.

I snapped this picture from the beach looking up the mountain. That is a lot of dead wood.

Looking north across about twelve miles and twelve hundred feet of water, about 300 feet deeper than Lake Michigan. Some of the mountains on the north end of the lake reach seven thousand feet, five thousand above the lake.

After leaving the beach, I continued following the shoreline east and then northeast. The rocky cliffs across the way are a favorite place for local mountain goats. I’ve seen them there several times while kayaking this section of the shore.

I paddled past this abandoned industrial site. I believe that they used to mine lime here and ship it across the lake to Bayview as part of a process to make concrete. The site is called Concrete on old maps.

Most of the eastern shore of lake Pend Oreille is National Forest land and open to the public. This old mine site is an exception. It is heavily posted and landing here is prohibited.

If you just have to check out an old mine site there is another one about one mile past Lakeview. I visited this place last year and these two pictures are from that trip.

My trip to Lakeview and back took about four and a half hours. Continuing to this old mine site would have added over an hour to the trip. Maybe some other time.

After Concrete and just before Lakeview there is one more must see. In this basalt wall there is a little crack that needs to be checked out.

Most boaters never notice this opening as unless you’re very close to the shore, it’s hard to see. They couldn’t fit through it anyway but I can.

At the tiny community of Lakeview, there are public docks and a dirt boat ramp. It is a good place to stop for a rest and stretch your legs. This is looking back across the lake towards Bayview.

Now it was time to head back. Of course I couldn’t resist paddling through the slot again. I did see several Bald Eagles and a mountain goat during the trip, but the photos didn’t do them justice.

Four and a half hours later I was back at the Eagle Bay Boat Ramp. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

My journey only covered a small area of the southern most part of this lake. Other trips for future posts include Garfield Bay to the islands near Hope and paddling the Clark Fork Delta.

Spokane River Centennial Trail update. New Pavement!

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about the Spokane River Centennial Trail, specifically the first fourteen miles and how it was going to be closed for the summer for a much needed rebuilding. Well they finished the project much sooner than originally scheduled so I checked out the results.

I rode the entire section out and back plus three and a half miles each way on the North Idaho Centennial Trail so I could get to the new pavement from my house. Here’s the trail at the Harvard Road bridge.

It was really nice pedaling on a smooth surface after all of these years. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

I did notice about a dozen Lime Scooters abandoned along the trail. I’m not sure why these things are even allowed on the trail. I’m not a fan of E-bikes either. They are consistently misused by many of the knuckleheads that drive them.

Since I started riding on this trail seventeen years ago many improvements have been made to it.

It’s always a thrill to watch trains pass over the trail.

Now if we can get the first four miles of the trail on the Idaho side of the state-line rebuilt. Actually I heard that this might be in the works as the local managing agencies are working with the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation to secure a grant for this project. Let’s hope this happens.

Antione Peak Conservation Area, the Emerald Necklace and Summit.

The Antione Peak Conservation Area is an over one thousand acre preserve owned and managed by Spokane County. It is located on the north side of Spokane Valley and has three easily accessible trailheads. Today I hiked the entire length of the Emerald Necklace Trail with a side trip to the summit.

I started my hike at the West Trailhead off of Brevier Road. From the parking lot there is a clear view across the Peone Prairie of Mt. Spokane, the highest point in the county.

As soon as you leave the trailhead, you find your self in the “tall grass”. It appears that this part of the preserve was pasture or farmland in the not too distant past.

The trail system is very easy to follow and well maintained. At this point you’re less than a mile from the edge of suburbia but it feels like another world.

The old fields were carpeted with wildflowers.

As I gained elevation, the views opened up. To the south is the urban area of Spokane and to the west and south are views of the rural areas outside of town.

After less than a mile, the trail enters a more forested area dominated by open Ponderosa Pine habitat. This one appears to have grown out of a rock.

This part of the trail skirts to the south of the ridge line and summit. The south side of the ridges are also the sunny side.

A view looking up the hill on a clear cool sunny day.

Signage along the trail is very good. If you come to a fork with an unmarked trail it is not part of the trail system. After a little more than two miles, the Emerald Necklace Trail intersects the Summit Trail east of the peak. If you take the Summit Trail downhill, it leads to another trailhead.

A couple of weeks ago, I walked the loop from the Canfield Gulch Trail and came across this small pond.

On that trip I also came across a small moose. It is surprising how often I cross paths with these animals. I even see them swimming in the lakes when I’m paddling my kayak.

On the backside or in this case the north side of the ridge the habitat is dominated by fir trees and thicker shrubs limiting the views. In this opening there is a nice view of nearby Rathdrum Mountain in Idaho.

This little guy didn’t seem fazed by me walking past his stump.

Another opening along the trail revealed a nice view of the Peone Prairie. This area of farmland is on the way to Green Bluff, a local agri-tourist area.

The Emerald Necklace eventually reconnects to the Summit Trail and a short hike uphill gets you to the high point. Of course there’s a communication tower or more like three of them at the top.

The summit is partially forested and you have to walk around to see the views. This one is looking across the valley towards Mica Peak Idaho, AKA Signal Point.

On the way back to the trailhead I got to enjoy the meadows covered in wildflowers again. It was a very enjoyable and relatively easy hike. I estimate I got in about six miles with maybe seven hundred feet of elevation gain. It was a nice way to spend the last day of my first month of retirement.

After completing my hike, I headed over to a friends house to watch the Stanley Cup Finals. As the sunset, I noticed they have a nice view of Antione Peak from their backyard.

Spokane County has several very nice conservation areas, many of which I have hiked. Unlike state owned sites, Spokane County does not require a pass or permit. I plan on visiting some of these places this summer and hope to share my experiences hiking on them.

Bonnie Lake Washington

Today I returned to Bonnie Lake for the third time ever. This fascinating lake is located on the edge of the Palouse Prairie and the Channel Scablands about an hour south of Spokane between Rosalia and Cheney. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

I drove from Rosalia through Malden and Pine City to most aptly named Hole in the Ground Road. This is the ‘Hole in the Ground’. The gravel road lead me to a basalt canyon that as is typical in the region, runs from the northeast to southwest as is generally accepted did the flood waters when the ice dams broke creating the Channel Scablands.

Bonnie Lake shares this canyon with it’s much larger sibling, Rock lake. I posted photos of Rock Lake when I hiked a section of the Palouse Cascade Trail a couple on months ago. Unlike Rock Lake, Bonnie Lake is a destination for kayakers as well as fishermen.

The only access to Bonnie Lake is from a primitive boat launch suitable for kayaks and very small fishing boats where Hole in the Ground Road crosses the small creek that flows out of Bonnie Lake towards Rock Lake.

The winding and in places very narrow water way passes through active cattle ranches. It’s kind of fun to watch the cattle watching you.

In places the water way is a glorified ditch. In addition to cattle, the bird life is amazing, especially Red Wing Blackbirds. I tried to get a good photo of them, but paddling the narrow channel took all of my concentration.

While zig zagging up the stream, I was treated to views of the basalt canyon rim including a fairly impressive arch.

Here’s a better view. maybe someday the proto arch on the right will break through too. A double arch would be very cool.

As you approach the lake the stream widens a little. I watched turtles bail off logs and rocks and marmots ‘rock chucks’ scramble through the basalt boulders at the base of the cliffs.

The ride through the channel is one of the highlights of this paddle. It’s maybe a little over a mile from the bridge to open water and in my opinion the most enjoyable part of the trip.

When you get to the lake itself you are are surrounded by impressive basalt cliffs.

After entering the lake if you stay to the left or west side, you pass a long section of undercut cliffs that are the home to a huge population of swallows. They make their nests in the crevasses of the basalt walls. There must have been close to a thousand nests on this short stretch.

The lake opens up and after a while I was exposed to the prevailing winds. I was looking for a safe harbor.

Around one more point there is a granite island in the middle of a basalt canyon. This place is owned by the State of Washington and is the only public property on the lake. The rest of the shoreline is owned by cattle ranches and is posted.

This is a great place to land and stretch your legs. I’m guessing the island is less than ten acres, but because of the topography and complex shoreline it can take a while to explore.

The channel between the island and the west side of the canyon usually has some of the flattest water on the lake, a welcomed respite from the waves.

There are lots of informal trails on the island and several places that people have used to camp. Unfortunately since my last visit a few years ago, someone managed to burn down most of the trees on the island. Since there’s no evidence of wildfires around the canyon I can only assume that the island fire was started by people either camping or picknicing on the island.

My original plan was to kayak all the way to the north end of the lake and then up the creek that feeds it as far as I could make it, unfortunately the weather had other ideas. As soon as I left the island the winds picked up and created white caps on the lake. Such is life in the Channel Scablands. I called it good and fought the wind back to the bridge.

I didn’t get any photos of the white caps because I was too busy trying to paddle back. I did snap one just before I returned to the ramp with my rig in the back ground.

On the way back, I checked out Steptoe Butte. It seems like a joke to have a small mountain in the middle of a thousand square miles of farmland, but that’s pretty much what it is.

I used my Discover Pass which was probably a wash with the extra fuel I used for this detour. It does give you a perspective on how amazing the Palouse Prairie is when it comes to farming. The sign at the county line proudly informs you that Withman County is the nations leading wheat growing county.

At least I can see the mountains close to my house from here.

Bonnie Lake is a completely different experience from my usual kayaking on our lakes in North Idaho. It is much more remote and the scenery is unique. It is in the same canyon as Rock Lake. The drive each way from my base in Post Falls is about ninety minutes.

North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River Road Trip, Day Two.

Yesterday I drove over Fourth of July Pass to explore the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. My primary goal was to combine a couple of bike rides on the public roadways that follow the river with maybe a short hike or two and an overnight stay at one of the National Forest Service campgrounds along the way. The first day, I rode the Old River Road from the Bumblebee Cutoff to The Coeur d’Alene River Road “Forest Road 9” and took a side trip to Shadow and Fern Falls. Todays plan was to ride another section of the river road here signed as Forest Road #208, this time from my campground to the end of the pavement and back and maybe check out an old fire lookout tower.

It was still very cool when I started the ride at 7:30 AM, so I had to wear a pull over. Without gloves my hands were numb the first few miles. Just north of Kit Price the roadway passes by some pretty cool overhanging rocks.

The road follows the river upstream towards a place called McGee. For much of the way the river is right next to the road. Early in the morning there was very little vehicle traffic to contend with.

The roadway crosses the river several times. At most of these crossings there were fly fishermen trying their luck. I was on the lookout for moose but didn’t come across any today. Across this bridge You can see a large area of the forest that burned down a few years ago. Stand replacement fires are a natural part of the environment in the Northern Rockies, however they have become much more common due to human caused fires in the past century. This one was human caused.

Sometimes the results of wildfires are the creation of meadows along the river.

Even the largest of trees aren’t immune from becoming ghostly skeletons due to fire. This one was particularly eye catching. Within a couple of more miles, I was no longer in an area that experienced a recent wildfire.

Along the way I rode past numerous back water channels off of the river. Places like this are prime moose habitat and believe me I was looking hard for one to snap a photo of. I see them so often that a friend of mine told me they must be my spirit animal. Not today however.

There are big views in this big country. As on my other ride, traffic was very manageable, however it did build a little towards the end of the ride as it being a Friday, lots of folks were heading out to the woods for the weekend. It might be a little busy for bike riding on summer weekends.

Towards the last few miles of my ride, this prominent feature dominated the landscape. I believe this might be Sion Kop Rock, a well known landmark.

At sixteen miles I called it good. I would liked to have made it to the end of the pavement, but I had a deadline on when I had to be back to the campground and didn’t want to push it. I turned around just short of the trailhead for the Coeur d’Alene River Recreational Trail, a place I visited years ago. It was a nice place to take an early fall hike. This picture is from that visit many years ago.

On the way back I detoured though the other two campgrounds to check them out. Big Hank and Devils Elbow both had sites that back up to the river, but I liked the one I got at Kit Price better. I ended up with a thirty two mile ride by the time I got back to my campsite and it was just an hour before check out time. Another party had the site reserved later that day.

If you can make it on a weekday or on a shoulder season weekend this is a great bicycle ride. Between riding the Old River Road and this one, I was in for sixty miles in two days on a hybrid trail bike. I would not recommend that anyone try to ride the ten miles or so on Forest Road 9 from the end to Old River Road to where traffic thins back out at around the Shoshone Work Camp. It’s just too busy and has higher speed traffic.

So I met my goal of two scenic bike rides and was still feeling energetic so I decided to try and drive to the Little Guard Lookout Tower. Apparently it is possible to reserve this facility for overnight camping The sign said it was a ten mile drive up the ridge on Forest Road 602. The first five miles or so were in excellent shape having been recently graded. Above that even though the Forest Service had just bladed the road, it got a little rough. My biggest concern on the upper four miles was the lack of pull outs to allow oncoming traffic to pass and I didn’t see much any place wide enough to turn my truck around if it got really bad.

At about nine miles in I finally came to a place with lots of room and coincidentally met a Forest Service employee on a side by side, the first vehicle I passed the whole way. He stopped me to let me know one more was heading down hill and I explained that I was planning to stop here and walk the rest of the way. He said that since I had stumbled right to the trailhead for the Shoshone Ridge Trail and that I liked hiking, I should take that much more scenic route instead.

Sometimes with free advice you get what you pay for but the man was right. The trailhead sits at about 5500 above sea level and the views are outstanding.

Most of the trail follows a high ridge with a very gentle incline and lots of open views of the surrounding mountains.

Looking back across the Coeur d’Alene River (the north fork) valley I could see a nearby snow capped mountain. My best guess is that it was Grizzly Mountain in the middle of the Coeur d’Alene National Forest.

Most of the trail was routed just below and to the west of a very pronounced ridge. Above it loomed large rock formations.

I was on the lookout for wildlife but only managed to scare up one whitetail and a momma grouse. I had the trail completely to myself and was surprised at how well it was maintained.

The trail headed towards Bennett Peak, a 6200 foot tall mountain on the ridge. The trail ended up skirting around this prominence as it gradually climbed up the ridge.

This is the view of Bennett Peak after you pass it on the way to Sentinel Peak. There was still snow in places, but none across the trail.

When you finally crest the ridge you can see the mountains towards the east and south. In the distance are the St. Joe and Bitterroot Mountains.

At the top of Sentinel Peak which sits at about 6100 feet, there is an incredible view of the Cabinet Mountains with little Sentinel in the foreground. I could clearly see A Peak and Snowshoe Peak in Montana as well Scotchman Mountain, the highest peak on the Idaho side all still covered in snow.

Here is where I turned back. As soon as I did, I noticed the first sign or marker of any kind on the entire trail. It let me know I had 3.3 miles to go to get back to the trailhead. Overall it was a very scenic trail with about a six hundred foot elevation gain and a very mild grade except for the last couple hundred yards.

I ended up completing a seven and a half mile hike after a thirty two mile bike ride. After some challenging driving back to the pavement, I still had well over an hour on the highways until I was back in what passes for me as my base camp in Coeur d’Alene. Not a bad way to wrap up a two day trip.

North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River Road Trip Day One.

I drove over Fourth of July Pass to explore the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. My primary goal was to combine a couple of bike rides on the public roadways that follow the river with maybe a short hike or two and an overnight stay at one of the National Forest Service campgrounds along the way. On the way I stopped at the Fernan Ranger Station in Coeur d’Alene right off I-90 to pick up maps. I ended up buying my lifetime America the Beautiful pass as well. Turns out you get fifty percent off on Forest Service campgrounds too. It should more than pay for itself this year.

My first stop was near the intersection of Forest Road 209 (the Bumblebee Cutoff) and Old River Road near Kingston. I parked in a large parking area that is usually full on summer weekends as it’s used by those floating the river, a very popular past time on this stretch of water. This morning the lot was empty.

I biked a fourteen mile stretch of the road, out and back. Old River Road is across the river from Forest Road 9, which is the main route used to access all of the recreational opportunities in the region, therefore it gets much less traffic.

The first part of the road goes through a rural area and the first ten miles are paved, well kind of. There are a lot of pot holes and patch jobs on the road. I pedaled pass a couple of cattle ranches along the way and lots of private RV spots on the river. Most of the riverside property is flood plain and can only be used for recreational lots.

I rode past some pretty cool abandoned builds along the way and enjoyed a surprise appearance from the wild kingdom.

Turns out there’s a herd of elk that live in the area and they put on a show. While I was taking these photos several motorist stopped to admire them as well.

The elk didn’t seem to be too concerned with folks staying in their automobiles, but a man on a bicycle was another story altogether. They seemed much more concerned about me. I guess they’re used to cars and don’t have any idea what’s inside of them.

After a few miles, the scenery changed to more woods and cliffs than fields and cabins. They’re some pretty dramatic rock formations along this stretch.

The almost continuous views of the river are very beautiful with a different perspective around every bend.

Traffic on this road is very light and for the most part low speed. The road on this side of the river is mostly used by locals. I encountered one other cyclist. Lots of folks parked in pull outs along the road to try their luck at fly fishing and I did see a couple of drift boats floating the river.

After ten miles, the road turns in to a gravel road for a four mile stretch. Even though it is one of the best maintained gravel roads I’ve ever ridden a bike on, you still need to watch out for larger rocks. I rode my hybrid with skinnier tires and had no problems.

About half way through the unpaved section I came across this oopsy. As the son of a friend of mine once said, “it’s okay dad, we all make mistakes”. Hopefully they got help and got their car unstuck without dropping it into the river later that day.

Right next to the road there were a couple of the largest Western Red Cedars I’ve ever seen. The first was along the paved section at the entrance to a drive way. This monster was along the wilder unpaved section.

Here’s my bike next to it for perspective. I wonder how these giants managed to avoid getting cut or burned down all these years. They’re easily accessible. Now that they’re this large they are probably too big to be harvested since all of the lumber mills have retooled over the decades to process much smaller logs. I hope they stay here a long time to be appreciated by future generations.

I didn’t know what to expect out of this ride other than knowing it followed the river and it seemed ridable based on the traffic I saw. The whole ride was a pleasant experience.

The final mile of the road before it ends on heavily traveled Forest Road 9 is paved. This section seemed to be a popular spot for the locals to swim and was my place to turn around and enjoy the scenery from a new direction.

On the way back I stopped at the other giant cedar and posed my bike next to it also. It was hard to say which was bigger.

I rode through the farm area again and again saw one of the elk. Twenty eight miles and almost three hours later I was back at my trailhead.

I imagine that on summer weekends even this road across the river from the “busy” one gets enough traffic to make cycling it more of a challenge, but on weekdays and on the shoulder season when it’s too cool to float the river, I would give this ride two thumbs up. It felt like I found another bike trail with the low traffic, awesome scenery and ridable surfaces.

Now it was time to load the bike up and find a campsite. I headed to the Kit Price campground about twelve miles north of Pritchard. It’s the first of three formal campgrounds heading north towards the end of the paved road.

I selected and paid for my site and thanks to the America the Beautiful Pass it was half price. I got one that backed up to the river and this view. Before I set up camp I had just enough time for a side trip.

It had been well over a decade since I visited Shadow and Fern Falls. These waterfalls are a four and a half mile drive up a very challenging forest road gets you to a small parking area. A very short hike and you’re at Fern Falls, the smaller of the two.

Another short hike up a gentle switchback brings you to Shadow Falls with it’s twenty five foot drop. The falls are small but very scenic. The drive not so much. The road was in terrible shape. Recent gully washers created as you would expect, gully’s in the road bed and one of the mudholes was as deep as my running boards. My other rig is a Subaru which I highly recommend, usually. I’m glad I brought the truck this time. I don’t think the Forester would have made it. It doesn’t have the clearance.

A closer view of Shadow Falls. Since I spent the effort to get there, I wanted to enjoy the view for a bit. At least I knew how far I had to travel to get back down to get back to the pavement and I did get to test out the 4 wheel drive on my truck.

Now it was time to set up camp while enjoying the sunset. I spent a little time planning the next days adventure before I called it an evening.

I was a successful day. I did find a worthy bike ride for the future as I’m starting to get redundant with my rides on the local paved bike trails and now that I’ve seen Shadow and Fern Falls again, I think I’m good. I was looking forward to what tomorrow had in store.

Qemilin Park Revisited, in to the Burn Zone.

I headed out to one of my go to local places to stretch my legs. I have posted about this gem of a hike recently and just wanted to visit again. When I got there, I discovered that all of the barricades and signs around the area that was effected by a wildfire last summer had been removed. I had to check out the “burn zone”.

Last summer a wildfire driven by extreme southwest winds exploded into a stand replacement event and expanded to about eighty acres in Qemilin Park before it was contained. The smoke plum dominated the sky on my way home from work that day to the point that I called one of my kids who lives south of the river to make sure it wasn’t close to her.

Heroic efforts by local wildland fire fighters contained the inferno almost completely within the boundaries of the Post Falls Community Forest saving numerous private residences located just outside.

That came at a cost. Resources had to be pulled from a major wildfire in the Hayden Creek and Chilco Mountains area where no one lives. That is why I can’t hike North Chilco Mountain this year. My hiking verses someone’s entire life is a small price to pay. Dozens if not over a hundred houses are just outside the “burn zone”.

This is what’s left of the Avatar Tree. This giant ponderosa pine has been on the ground as long as I have hiked Qemilin Park. It had it’s own tag on Google Maps. I measured it out to be over one hundred and twenty feet tall before it fell many years ago. The trail passed right by it and it was a place lots of folks snapped photos.

The grasses and forbs are already coming back. A few trees in the middle of the “burn zone” due to tiny variations in the topography survived. It will be interesting to see if some day they will grow in to forest giants due to the lack of competition.

I hiked up to the “hanging ponds” to see how they were effected. Obviously water bodies aren’t “killed” or burned down by wildfire, but the views have definitely changed.

The staff of the City of Post Falls has been very busy cutting down and bucking up hazard trees along the trail so that the public can safely access the site. Based on what I saw, they probably cut down over a hundred trees, mostly those directly over the trail. Thanks guys.

It started to rain on me while I was checking out the “hanging ponds”. I came across this place about fifteen years ago while hiking with my oldest daughter. At the time we were technically trespassing. I was delighted when years later my home town acquired the site and opened it up to the public.

These isolated wetlands/ponds sit at the top of a bluff over a hundred feet above the canyon right next to them. They are a true local hidden gem. The trail is just far enough away that most people walk right by them without ever knowing they’re there.

The view may have changed but it is still beautiful. I’ve always hated the term “the land was destroyed” when news outlets describe the results of a wildfire in the woods. The land has not been destroyed, only changed. Just because we don’t like the results doesn’t mean it is lost forever.

On my hike, I noticed that the City of Post Falls had very recently completed significant fuel reduction projects to mitigate the possibility of catastrophic wildfires in the future. This involves thinning the forest and getting rid of ladder fuels that that can turn a minor ground fire in to one that endangers people and property. This will pay dividends in the future.

Some plants benefit from the fire. In places there was an explosion of wildflowers.

It will be interesting to check in over the years to see how the “burn zone” recovers. This is a rock formation just outside of it that I have photographed before. Today I discovered that the granite column on the left had fractured and much of it had collapsed. Nothing, even granite last forever.

No matter what, Qemilin Park/the Post Falls Community Forest will always be a special place. It is an amazing place to explore and it’s only ten minutes from my house. God bless North Idaho and Post Falls.

Camas Prairie Road Trip, Day Two, Lawyer Creek, Cottonwood and Cold Spring Canyon.

I took a two day trip to explore the Camas Prairie and specifically the old route of the Camas Prairie Railroad. The Camas Prairie is south of Lewiston Idaho. Yesterday I hiked from Rubens to Lapawi Canyon.

The previous evening, I did a reconnaissance in search of a likely place to park so I could hike a section of the rail easement that had some of these tall trestles in vain. Most of the farm roads that crossed the rail line were one lane gravel roads with ditches on either side. However I did locate a number of impressive bridges. That narrowed my search down.

Finally the next morning I found a place. Visible enough from the main highway to check the probability of vandalism to my rig and far enough off the main road to make it look like I might be a farmer checking his fields all without blocking access for others. The only rails I saw on this hike were embedded in one of the few paved local roads in the area.

The hike started with open views of the Camas Prairie farmland while it slowly curved away from US-95. The highway for the most park stays within a mile to the east of the railroad easement making this section much less remote than yesterdays hike down Lapawi Canyon.

After a short walk, I came to my first trestle. Looked like an easy walk but looks can be deceiving.

This turned out to be the old trestle over Old US-95. It had to be one hundred feet high and much longer than it first appeared. There was no metal plating one this bridge and it looked like it had been abandoned much longer than those I crossed yesterday.

A lot of the wood was rotten, some of the ties loose or missing and the structure creaked and moaned under the weight of a full grown man. There’s no way it would support a train ever again. For the first, but not last time I was unnerved by the crossing. I was kind of surprised that it has not been removed as a safety hazard to the road below.

When I got to the other side I got a better view of the true size of the trestle. The good news was I made it across. The bad news was it wasn’t practical to bypass it on the way back so I was going to have to do it again.

Next I followed the rail easement through shallow cuts and small embankments with stunning views of wild flowers and farmland.

Further down the line, I came across a partially removed trestle. I guess it was the end of the line for me on this hike.

Well it turned out this trestle was bypassed years ago when the line was still active. The actual easement followed a newer embankment around the site.

Another cut through the rocks was next. The trail passes through open ponderosa pine forest here on the way to the next goal.

Here is the start of Lawyer Creek Canyon trestle. It doesn’t look like it from here but the bridge is 1500 feet long and almost 300 feet above the canyon.

Although this bridge looked to be in much better shape than the Old US-95 bridge, I opted to only walk out the first hundred feet or so to just before it opened up out of the forest. The bridge is highly visible from the highway and by now I was more worried about having to recross the first bridge.

I did manage to get under the south end of the bridge to admire the construction. The trestle continues in to the distance far outside of the forested area in the photograph.

I turned around and retraced my path to my rig. Crossing back over the Old US-95 trestle was a little scary but uneventful. Now it was time to explore the area.

I drove through Cottonwood and explored some of the back roads west of that town. I came across the St. Gertrude Monastery. This has to be one of the most unique buildings around. The view of the old monastery is partially blocked by over landscaping and ugly newer buildings but still worth a look.

The end of the pavement brought me to Kuetterville and this amazing chapel. Holy Cross Church was an unexpected sight out in the middle of farmland.

On the way back towards the town of Cottonwood, I was treated to this amazing view across the Camas Prairie towards the Seven Devils Mountains in the Hells Canyon Recreation Area. I last visited this area a couple of years ago and it’s about time for a return visit.

The Camas Prairie sits on a relatively high plateau (plus or minus 4000 feet) partially surrounded by the deep valleys of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers which are about 1000 feet above sea level. It feels like it’s own little world up here and kind of like stepping back in time half a century, and that’s in a good way.

I wasn’t done exploring the Camas Railroad so I drove back to Craigmont to try and find another quiet section of the easement to walk. About three miles northwest of town, I found a place to park off the road next to a crossing with the old easement.

Again I walked through small railroad cuts in the landscape bracket by rolling farmland. I figured I had about two more hours to kill before I drove back to Post Falls. I didn’t know what I’d find but hoped that whatever it was that it would be worth the effort.

Around the next corner was just about the prettiest view I could have imagined.

I even flushed out a couple of white tail deer.

Past another bend or two I found myself at the east side of the Cold Creek Canyon trestle. This bridge was much bigger than I expected and in similar condition to the Old US-95 bridge. I decided to cross it anyway.

It was definitely an adventure. I always wanted to check out some of these engineering marvels. After this trip I think I’m good now.

On the far-side I was able to get a better perspective on just how big this bridge really is. The timberwork is amazing. Parts of this old rail line were used in the Charles Bronson movie, Breakhart Pass.

I walked about another mile on the other side and found this old speed limit sign. I came to the only place in my trip that the old railroad easement was blocked a little further so I turned back and again crossed the Cold Creek Canyon trestle.

This time after I made it across, I descended a little way down the canyon to appreciate the timberwork from below.

Now it was time to return home. I made the nearly three hour drive back down Lapawi Canyon, through Lewiston Idaho, up the Lewiston Grade, through the Palouse Prairie and back to Coeur d’Alene. I’ve always been fascinated with abandoned railroads. After this trip I’m thinking maybe some bigger mountain hikes might be in order.