Day 59 - Near Lowell, ID

Well rested and full of life from my visit with Bob and his family I headed out of Missoula and onto route 12. My plan was to head up over Lolo pass and down along the Lochsa river for as far as I close as I could get to Kooskia a 147 miles away.

Route 12 started out flat leading me through forest and surrounding mountians. I began to climb the reasonable grade in the cool afternoon air and about half way decided to take lunch, sitting on a barrier and eating half of my footlong subway sandwich. With just a little more effort I was at the summit and had crossed into Idaho, the 13th state of the trip.

After refilling my water bottles at the rest stop I began a long beautiful decsent into the lush green valley bellow. The winding roadway carved into the mountian was visible far off in the distance. As I flew down I passed other bicyclists grinding their gears on their way up, a much tougher approach to the summit than my own.




The steep decsent yeilded to a more gradual one and the road began to follow the beautiful pristine Lochsa river. The shallow water of the river wound it's way over a rocky bed with dense national forrest surrounding it's shorline.




70 miles into my day I decided to take a break and hike up to the Jerry Johnson hotsprings. I traversed the river over a cable and wood suspension bridge and followed 1.5 mile long through the woods. Old cedars lined the way.majestic olde Cedar trees.

A good size pool contained by surrounding boulders sat next to a small stream. I put my bathing suit on and stepped into the 100 degree water, slowly submerging my limbs until I was comfortable sitting on the sandy floor of the pool. The water was cyrstal clear and without any sulfer smell and felt great on my overworked legs.




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