It wasn’t the ride we had planned on last weekend but our Saturday ride was a great one nonetheless.
We had headed to Salmon, ID, to pre-run one of the trails the editors of Dirt Toys Magazine is going to guide during the upcoming Rally In The Pines (www.rallyinthepines.com) in July. But a persistent, heavy rain had literally dampened our spirits—and ride. So we visited with ride organizers Blake and Meg Allen for a while and then headed home.
As we drove south the rain stopped and the sun came out. No use in wasting a good day so we stopped in Tendoy, unloaded our new Honda Pioneer 1000 and drove the Lewis & Clark Back Country Byway, another one of the trails we’ll be guiding during the Rally in the Pines.
It’s not a difficult trail but it is spectacularly scenic as you gain elevation—Tendoy sits at 4,846 feet and we drove up to about 8,400 feet—and make your way to Lemhi Pass (7,373 feet) on the Continental Divide. There was plenty of new snow up high but nothing on the road. It was muddy though.
We made the entire loop and even took a few side roads/trails as we explored the area once traveled by Lewis & Clark. There is so much history in this area and there a number of stops/kiosks to explain that history.
“… we proceeded on to the top of the dividing ridge from which I discovered immence ranges of mountains still to the west of with their tops still partially covered with snow.” Captain Meriwether Lewis, August 12, 1805
It will be a great ride in July during the rally and we can’t wait to ride the area again. We will make a little bit better time crossing the mountains than Lewis & Clark did.
