Day 10 - August 9: Grangeville ID - Riggins ID

51 miles.  2753 feet up, 4345 feet down.

Well, this would almost classify as a rolling rest day before our real rest day.  Snack table and map meeting weren't until 8; it almost felt decadent to stay in bed that long!  Since we were pretty much off the main highway where all the roadwork was until mile 23, we would be good to ride that.  And - in my opinion - that was the best part of the ride anyway.  

First up - 2.5 pretty quiet miles on US 95 before we turned onto Old Hwy 95.

Over the next six miles we climbed about 1000 feet up to White Bird Summit.  It was a lovely climb - gentle and quiet.  And - I knew (from TA1) what lay ahead on the other side...........

We started down what would eventually be 3000 feet of descent - wheeee.......  First up - White Bird Summit Overlook about a mile on.

There's our road.

And way off to the right is the road we're not on - the "new" US 95.  

We did have to go back on the main highway for about a mile at mile 10, but we turned back onto old 95 at mile 11. 

Or at least we were supposed to.  Apparently a number of women missed the turn and stayed on the new highway most of the way down.  Too bad for them - they missed a spectacular descent on quiet switchbacks and instead had to contend with busy traffic on a less than ideal road surface as there was major construction/re-paving on the main highway.  Here's some pics from the old US 95 descent.

I love, love, love that section of the ride.  I have such good memories of it as a climb on TA1.  The descent didn't disappoint except that it went by too quickly!

Then into the quaint little town of White Bird.

Our first glimpse of the Salmon River.  The Salmon River is also known as "The River of No Return".  It flows for 425 miles through central Idaho, draining a rugged, thinly populated watershed of 14,000 square miles.  The river drops more than 7,000 feet from its headwaters (near Galena Summit) to its confluence with the Snake River.  Measured at White Bird, its average discharge is 11,060 cfs.  The Salmon River is the longest undammed river in the contiguous US.  Excluding Alaska, the Salmon River is the longest river system contained entirely within a single US state.  The Salmon River canyons are some of the deepest in the US, surpassing the Grand Canyon and second only to the Snake River's Hells Canyon, nearby on the Idaho-Oregon border.  

I spotted an osprey nest on top the bridge, but couldn't get a great look at it.  It did look like were three (no so) little ones in the nest.  

And then our day was effectively over at about 23 miles.  Road construction the rest of the way in to Riggins, so they fed us snacks and loaded up both vans to shuttle us in.  We're all staying in the Salmon Rapids Lodge.  I've stayed here before, on TA1.  Most people stayed across the street at a smaller motel, but they put the birthday people and a few others over here to live it up.  It's a lovely hotel right on the river.  I think my rest day tomorrow will consist of a brief stroll and then lots of resting in and around the hotel.  Another hot day in store................

The Ride:

Garmin:  37.88 km.  1131 feet up, 3045 feet down.

RWGPS:  38.4 km.  429 m up, 1016 m down.

Temperature range:  20C - 33C

The Route:

Riggins ID.  Population 419

Riggins is also in Idaho county (as was Grangeville).  It is nestled deep in a canyon at the confluence of the Salmon and Little Salmon rivers.  It is a hub for outdoor activities in North Central Idaho, such as rafting, kayaking, fishing, and hunting.  In 2000, about 25% of the population lived below the poverty line.