Day 19: Sunday, April 23

We left Riggins this morning and continued along the Salmon River. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Unfortunately, it was also windy, and this is now our third day in a row with prevailing head winds.



























We rode over several smaller hills before we got to White Bird Hill. The route took us through the Nez Perce National Historic Park. Old White Bird Hill Road involved about 8 miles of steep switchbacks. This is certainly the toughest pass that we have crossed so far. (In the picture below on the left you can see the grade of the new bypass carved into the mountain.)

We camped tonight in the city of Grangeville at the Lion's Club Park. On the way into Grangeville, Shayne found a wallet with about $25 in cash without any identification. So, we gorged ourselves at a nice, little Mexican restaurant. Looking at my odometer, we are close to 1,000 miles from Portland tonight. The strong head winds are really starting to take its toll, so we are considering taking a zero day when we get to Missoula.

Day 18: Saturday, April 22

This morning we rode into the wind the whole way into New Meadows. We stopped at a grocery store to restock and eat some breakfast and while we were there we met a gentleman named Archie. We talked with him for a little while about our trip, and he offered to buy us dinner in Riggins, a town about 40 miles up the road that we would be going through. However, the wind was going to make us earn Archie's offer. For over an hour we crept along at 5 or 6 mph. Below, on the left, is the view ahead as we left New Meadows, and on the right are some flags showing the wind that we were heading straight into.









Thankfully, we soon dropped into a canyon (and away from most of the wind) as we followed the Little Salmon River.


















We made it to Riggins and, sure enough, Archie had called ahead to a diner that he frequented. So I enjoyed some delicious pork chops, compliments of Archie. (Thanks Archie!) Tonight we are camped at the County Fair Grounds in the town of Riggins.

Day 17: Friday, April 21

We crossed another pass first thing this morning. That wasn't too difficult, but then we battled head winds all the way to Cambridge. Unfortunately, Shayne got another flat somewhere between Cambridge and Council. Today we rode about 58 miles, and now we are camped in the National Forest somewhere between Council and New Meadows. We will have another climb first thing tomorrow morning, but according to the elevation profile, we should spend the rest of the day coasting downhill (from over 4,000 feet to below 2,000.)

Day 16: Thursday, April 20

We crossed into Idaho this afternoon! Unfortunately, there wasn't a big "Welcome to Idaho" sign there to greet us, but we were thrilled none the less. After over 800 miles in Oregon, we have finally crossed our first state line. There was one pretty steep pass right as we left Richland this morning. We stopped to check out Hell's Canyon, but the trail only goes through the back corner of the park, so we weren't able to see any of it. However, the route took us parallel to the Snake River for about 11 miles.

















Riding on the road, any biker will tell you the importance of watching the white stripe to make sure you are out of the way of traffic. Today I had an idea to take a picture from the perspective of the white stripe. Perhaps, if it turns out, I will take pictures like this from all across the US.
We crossed into Idaho near the Brownlee Dam.
This part of Idaho is in the Mountain Time Zone. However, we didn't change our watches since we will be crossing back into the Pacific Time Zone in the northern part of Idaho within two to three days. We have set up camp about two miles into Idaho overlooking the Brownlee Reservoir.

Day 15: Wednesday, April 19

We spent most of this morning doing our laundry and running errands around town since Baker City will be the last big city we will be going through for a little while. In the afternoon we rode 45 miles to Richland where we have set up camp. Tomorrow we hope to check out Hell's Canyon in the morning and then cross over into Idaho. Shayne and I have begun to joke that Oregon is the state that never ends.

Day 14: Tuesday, April 18

We definitely made the right decision to stay in Prairie City last night. When I woke up this morning, it was about 20 degrees, however, the rest of the day was sunny and warm. There was a huge caravan monument on the climb up the first pass that we stopped to check out.

We took our time, but we made it over all three passes today: Dixie (5,277 feet), Tipton (5,124 feet), and Sumpter (5,082 feet.)

Tonight we are at a campground in Baker City after riding over 70 miles today. This marks the completion of the second section of maps! We plan on waking up early tomorrow and we should be able to make it into Idaho. If not tomorrow, then definitely by Thursday.

Day 13: Monday, April 17

We woke up to freezing temperatures and snow this morning. We spent over an hour at a McDonald's in John Day hoping to wait it out. The clouds broke for a little while, however it continued to snow off and on throughout the morning. We stopped by the Ranger Station in Prairie City, about 15 miles from John Day, and they said they were expecting snow and freezing temperatures the rest of today. However tomorrow's forecast was much brighter and warmer so we decided to spend the rest of today and tonight here in Prairie City. We are camping at the Depot County Park, where they have some historic buildings and an old train car.