Photos: Bob Brown, Colleen Duncan
Jerry Knowles, Sally Kronoff
Plummer Trailhead, west end of trail. Left to Right; Rod Henderson, Sally Kronoff, Pam Sergent, Colleen Duncan, Jerry & Ronna Knowles.
Tony Abruzzo and I were planning to return to the George S. Mickelson Bike Trail (Black Hills, SD) again this fall. Tony’s total knee replacement changed those plans.
With Fall fast approaching and a change in plans needed, I decided to move the bike trip to northern Idaho. Molly Deardorff’s article about the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes (PWC News), made for an easy decision.
A much shorter drive (1800 fewer miles) and the opportunity to see Moose quickly filled our rental house. September 21st we headed east in bright sunshine with visions of Moose in our heads.
By early afternoon everyone was on hand with the exception of Beth Harter who would show up mid week. Dinner at a local restaurant with a short discussion after dinner and we were ready.
Our rental house was located on the west side of Lake Coeur d’Alene a short drive to the Plummer Trailhead. From Plummer it is a nine mile ride downhill to a impressive bridge that crosses the lake. I would estimate this bridge crossing at a minimum 1/4 mile. Once on the east side of the lake it is another 6 mile ride up the lake shore to the town of Harrison.
Harrison is a great place to have lunch! It is the start of the portion of the trail that runs 30 + miles on mostly flat ground, adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene River with many wet land areas. Harrison would be a very good location to stage future trips as it is more centrally located.
The ride from Harrison to Cataldo Trailhead on I-90 is flat and the most beautiful section of the trail. You are riding adjacent to the Coeur d’Alene Rive and many wet land areas. Wildlife is abundant with opportunities to see bear, birds, and moose. Several of us rode this section of the trail twice because of the beauty. Once you reach I-90 you have two additional miles of trail which is very nice before you breakout into open country. Here the trail runs adjacent to the freeway 20+ miles to Mullan. It is best to ride this section of the trail downhill from Mullan to Cataldo. From the East end of the trail you ride thru many towns; Wallace, Silverton, Kellogg, and Smelterville.
After our first day of riding the trail we developed a routine which carried through the rest of the week. At the end of the day we would return to our rental house and have dinner. After dinner we would clean up the kitchen and plan for the next days ride. Each day the mix of people would change and the segments of the trail rode would be different. One day several people stayed at the rental and played in the lake.
Tony Abruzzo and I have structured these trips to be relaxed without a fixed schedule. Everyone can go at their own pace, some people rode more than fifty miles per day, while others rode as little as fifteen. One person who expected to ride five miles every other day road seventy-four miles over our five days on the trail.
After four days riding the Trail of the Coeu d’Alens we headed for the Hiawatha Trail. On Saturday (September 26th) our last night in our rental, we drove to Look Out Pass. Here we purchased our trail ticket and shuttle bus pass. The Coeur d’Alene trail has no fee, while the Hiawatha cost $9/day, plus $9 for the shuttle.
The Hiawatha Trail winds downhill for fifteen miles passing through ten tunnels and over seven high trestles. When you reach the bottom you get in a shuttle bus and return to the top of the trail. The first tunnel is 1.7 miles in length.
Unlike the Coeu d’Alens trail the Hiawatha is not paved and the surface is slightly rough gravel. You need helmets and headlamps! During the summer the shuttle runs seven days per week, but in the fall its schedule is cut back to weekends.
We found that northern Idaho is a great place to visit in the fall, every day was sunny and warm. With eight people sharing the cost of food and lodging the per person cost was approximately $40/night.
Everybody had a great time and we are planning a fall bike trip for next year. The current vision is spending approximately one week at the 109 mile long George S. Mickelson trail in South Dakota then another week in northern Idaho on the return trip home. We are having a planning meeting at Tony Abruzzo’s house on November 21st starting at 6 pm. Our major focus will be planning for our Spring Canyonlands trip, we will also take a little time to discuss the fall bike trip.
If you are interested in relaxed trips with a flexible schedule consider our spring Canyonlands hike or the fall bike trip (For info. call 360-871-5754).
This trip report submitted by the Admin on 11/29/2009
To view Bob's original PDF trip report click the link below. Please keep in mind that these large pdfs may take a while to load.
PWC bike trip report sept 2009
