Boise to Sun Valley

Now with more photos!

Cooking lunch in Lowman

What would turn out to be one of the lower passes we've done

Sawtooths

Looking back North from near the top of Galena Pass (those are some of the Sawtooths in the background)

On the way to Howe

DBO and the laundry at the skatepark

Fox next to the skatepark in Ketchum

The day out of Boise, we made something around 50 miles, which was a result of a late start, but also some pretty big hills on the way up into the Sawtooth Mountains. Boise was full of trees, but as soon as we left town on the bike path and headed toward Lucky Peak Reservoir we were back in the desert, and it was hot. Luckily, after a swim in the res. and a smaller pass, we were heading up and back into the trees. That night we slept at Ten Mile Creek about ten miles past Idaho City, which was gold country for a time, and still shows the marks of heavy mining. The Town itself was pretty funky with some older buildings that I guess were left over from its heyday. A sign said that Idaho City had the largest China Town next to San Francisco at one point. That point has passed.


As we climbed up into the mountains, the temperature cooled down, and the streams got even colder so we were happy to find Bonneville hot springs on the second night in the Sawtooths. A cashier at the Boise Co-Op had recommended that we stop there instead of Kirkam, which was about 12 miles North of Lowman, for "lot's of reasons", none of which she actually told me. But it turned out to be much nicer anyway, and the water was HOT. That day we didn't make many miles either, but there was one of the best descent of the trip so far. Then again, in the Sawtooths there have been plenty of great descents; the only trouble is that you have to ride up to the summits to get to them.


The next day, we went over our highest pass to that point, which was at 7200ft., and then the rest of the day was either downhill or very gently up, and we made good time. We passed through Stanley, stopping to resupply ourselves with snacks (we need the Mars candy company to sponsor us), and then continued on to Alturas Lake just North of Galena Summit. I wouldn't stay there again, but that's a long story, and overall it was pretty nice. The next day, we started up to the summit, and right away, we started seeing signs for the Sawtooth Century, so we were on the road with a bunch of other cyclists. Galena summit, was another high point for us at 8990ft, according to the AAA map. There was still snow on the ground around there, and from there on down in to Ketchum and Sun Valley, we were surrounded by peak that were topped in snow. It just happened that we arrived in town during the rhythm and ride festival, so we ended up going to see some free (for us) music on our first night in. We almost couldn't go anywhere in Ketchum without having to tell our story to someone who had toured in the past and had ideas about the best way to go to Yellowstone, or Jackson, or Bozeman, and the best place to camp (Corral Creek, and it was very good). On our second day in town, while we were drying our laundry next to the perfectly landscaped skatepark, Peter came over to talk to us, and he told us about the touring he had done back in the 70's on sew up tires, with 8 pounds of gear (he is a Ray Jardine fan). He told us when to get free food out of the compacter in back of Atkinson's, which someone else had told us was rated one of the most expensive grocery stores in the states. That was pretty much how Ketchum/Sun Valley was for us. Lots.
But it was great, we got the hookup and got to ride demo mountain bikes. They were Cannondales, and I don't know who designs those things, but they should try riding one sometime. Sketchy. I was wishing that Ibis had been doing their demo day up here too. That would have been right fine. We ate burgers. We slept on a path next to a gravel road. We rode on the bike path that runs from North of Ketchum to South of Bellevue.

We Saw these butterflies at a lodge that was closed in Lowman, Idaho. Freezing water in the Payette (South Fork, I think) River, Couscous and tasty bites for lunch, and super oxygenated water.