Blue Heaven

Slept well. Shoulder a bit sore. Nothing desperate, but I know I’ve done some damage. It’s tempting to say ‘what if’. What if I hadn’t stepped in that hole, what if I’d parked half a metre further away, what if …….. What if the bloody bike had fallen on me! Pretty lucky really.

It  got quite cool last light – must have been below zero. I was just conscious of being vaguely cold, but not enough that I could be bothered to get up and put more clothes on. It was still only 3 degrees when I broke camp and got on the road – the morning fire had been nice. There was quite a heavy dew and the end of my matteress and sleeping bag got a bit wet where they they touched the tent. They dried out quickly enough when some sun hit the valley though.

Bacon sandwiches, fruit and coffee for breakfast – love it. The Canadian bacon is cured in sugar and has a bit of a sweet taste. It’s nice and different to what I’m used to. But hey, that’s what I’m here for. Also bought along a stash of my Kopiko 3 in 1 coffee that I import from Malaysia. It’s nothing special – instant with milk powder and sugar already in it. Although I’m a coffee snob, I love it – it takes me back to Asia and is so handy for camping! Feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Think I’m going to get through the Idaho BDR a bit faster than anticipated. I hadn’t really checked the distance, but thought it was about 2,000 km. It’s suggested that it will take 9 days to ride it, but I suspect they are being very conservative – or, it gets very gnarly and difficult further on. That’s not been the case to date. There is a site dedicated to the Backcountry Discovery Route program that you will find here. It’s been put together largely for Americans who don’t have the opportunity for the big 2, 3 or 6 month trips that others are lucky enough to do. It also aims to connect states – the IDBDR connects Nevada and Canada. The rides are for people who want to get away for a week or two on their ‘duel sports’ bikes as they are called here. The whole system is sponsored by some pretty big hitters (Klim, Touratec, Big Twin Motorcycles) and is very well established. The routes largely cover the western and central states, but new ones are being developed every year. They take in the pick of the off-road riding in the areas they cover – absolutely ideal for someone like myself as all the good stuff is laid out on a platter. Butler Maps are also involved and produce GPS tracks and a very detailed paper map, all very, very well put together.

It’s going to be a bright sunny day – wonder what I’ll find out there?

The ride out of Teepee Creek and up to Spyglass Lookout and Grassy Hill was perfect. Firm brown clay that you could attack with confidence and a bit of pace, coupled with the usual loose rock and stone.  The views went for ever from the top, ruined a bit with haze from what I later discovered were some severe forest fires in central Idaho.

I came across a local cutting up a log that was over the road – perfect timing. He said he’d get a months firewood out of it and that he’d need enough for at least 6 over winter. The roads degenerated pretty quickly into the same loose, slippery, corrugated gravel I’d seen so much of the day before as I rode down into Wallace. This was an interesting historic town and I stopped for an early lunch. I got some WIFI and checked emails. Quite a few waiting for me and a lot of them work. They needed attending to, so spent a couple of hours in a bar and grill sorting through and responding to them. I fuelled up, grabbed some supplies and hit the road again. It was still pretty hot, so traveling along some rivers and through gorges was nice. I had a bit of respite on clay again, more gravel and then about 10 km of easily the toughest roads to date. It was very steep and covered in heavy rock, some of which was loose on the top and some still half buried. In between and on the sharp hairpins were big patches of bulldust. It was a matter of power and momentum – I seriously didn’t think I was going to get up a couple of the longest pinches. The map showed a lot of downhill for the next 100 km and plenty of switchbacks and twists n turns. I was heading to ‘The Blue Hut’ for the night and rounded a corner about 7.00 pm after about 260km for the day and there she was. A very, very blue hut.

The bunk house is privately owned but made available to the public. The deal is, you leave it in better shape than when you arrived and you take your rubbish with you. Pack it in, pack it out. It sleeps about 6, has running water, a wood stove, firewood and a donkey. This is a wood heater that warms up water running through it via a pipe. I seriously hadn’t expected a hot shower – it was glorious. Lots of comments in the guest book – I’ll add my own tomorrow. I’d bought a bit of steak, potatoes, onions and tomatoes, so fried them all up and washed it down with pure mountain water. I’d been on the pegs continually and the last 10 days of solid off-road riding was starting to take its toll. I was exhausted so climbed into the sleeping bag pretty early with the fire going and the hut as warm as toast. Thanks Bob and Kay.