Month: October 2024

We grabbed groceries and fuel in Sandpoint and made our way to the Idaho BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route). The Idaho BDR consists of twisty mountain roads. The weather was sunny and clear and we just enjoyed meandering through the beautiful countryside.

We made our way to Wallace, which was a cool old town founded in 1884. From there, the road took us next to the St. Joe river and through many tunnels. The road here was not bad and could be traveled by any vehicle.

We continued on and the trail brought us up narrow winding mountain roads. We found a great little spot to camp and hung out for an extra day. We enjoyed the sunshine and were happy to be able to use our outdoor shower and just enjoy sitting still.

After relaxing  for a day, we continued on and crossed Grandad Bridge. The reservoir was huge and neat to see. We hit a road closed sign and decided we should find an alternate route.

We turned off on a logging road and ended up taking a few wrong turns. We finally came out by the main road but had to squeeze around a barrier. Thank goodness we could fit because going back would’ve taken a while.

We continued on what is called the Lolo Trail Corridor. In 1805, Lewis and Clark traveled this 120 mile leg through the Bitterroot Mountains. They followed the Lolo Trail, an ancient travel route of the Nez Perce Indians.

It is the site of many historic events and carries the memories of hundreds of years of American Indian use. It was humbling to read the informative signs on display and to be traveling through sacred lands.

The BDR would take us from Idaho into Lolo, Montana. We took advantage of being so close to Missoula and had ordered some Amazon things to a locker on the south end of Missoula. We picked up those packages and then headed back to Lolo to the Lolo Peak Brewing Company to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. It doesn’t feel like it’s been 25 years! I can still remember taking off on our 2 week honeymoon! We’ve always made sure to go away for our anniversary every year, no matter how busy life or work was at the time. We really had no idea this is where we would be 25 years later and we love it! It took a lot of hard work, dreaming, goal setting, and working together and we are so excited for the next 25 years!

We stayed at a campground just south of Lolo after our anniversary celebration and then headed south, still following the BDR. The next section on the BDR is also known as the Magruder Corridor.

This is a trail Craig has known about for a long time and has been on our list of adventure routes to do. It wasn’t any different from the rest of the BDR except there were more burn areas. Idaho tends to have a lot of forest fires and it was evident as we traveled through these areas.

We came across a 4×4 only trail that would lead us to Burnt Knob Lookout. It looked rocky and steep so Craig was all about it. We slowly made our way up and were happy we took the time to make the trek. The views were awesome!

We continued on and as we were coming out of the mountains, it was harder to find a spot to camp. We found a small little pull off and set up camp. We were completely set up, when Craig realized there was a tent set up back in the woods. And shortly after a truck pulled in.

We apologized for encroaching on his space but he had no problem at all with us being there. We said goodnight and went to bed. The next morning we formally met Doug. He is from Ohio and had just lost his dad this past summer. He had tears in his eyes as he explained that he was out here trying to figure out how to live life more free. His dad was an outdoorsman and he was out here just trying to figure things out. We shared our story, gave him a hug and wished him well in his journey.

The entire BDR was beautiful but when it brought us down by the Salmon River, we were so happy. This area is gorgeous and peaceful. We found a great little spot on the river and settled in. We walked the beach, yes there are beaches in Idaho, and enjoyed the scenery all around us.

I had done a little reading about others that had traveled the BDR and found an article about some dirt bike riders that had recently completed it. They highly recommended a stop in Yellow Pine at The Corner Pub. Apparently the chef is originally from Portland, Oregon and makes some amazing dishes. We skipped breakfast because we were so excited to have an awesome lunch at The Corner.

Little did we know our day would go a little sideways. We drove endless narrow shelf roads for most of the day which really slowed us down. We were finally at Elk Summit Pass on our way down to  Yellow Pine when we came to a road closed sign. It was kinda podunk, it had rocks holding it up and it was written on cardboard with a marker. We really had no choice but to keep going forward. We were low on gas and didn’t think we could make it back to Warren. We continued down the mountain and ended up clearing 3 trees off the road.

The smoke was thick and the wind was crazy. When we were cutting out the last tree, we looked down and saw a white truck heading toward Yellow Pine. We figured we would just follow them. We caught up to them and realized it was Fire personnel. They were getting out of the truck cutting away trees as well. They were a crew that had been called in to help with the fire and didn’t know much about the area. They didn’t think there was gas in Yellowpine but said we were safe to head that way.

We finally made it into Yellow Pine and to the general store that had premium gas only at $9 a gallon. We needed it so there was nothing we could do. By this time it was around 5 pm and we hadn’t eaten much so we headed to The Corner Pub. They don’t even offer menus, it’s just what the chef is making that day. We had the option for a brisket sandwich or tacos, carne asada tacos or a hamburger. I opted for the brisket tacos and Craig got the carne asada tacos. They were both so good!

It was a fun laid back atmosphere and we ended up sitting at the bar with John. He works for a fish hatchery and invited us to see how he tags juvenile salmon to track. We didn’t get out there in time Saturday morning to see any fish but we did get to see the setup and he explained the process.

At this point, we were still on the BDR but would cut it short due to the smoke. We made our way to Wisdom, Montana and were happy to pay $20 to dry camp and have access to the best bathhouse we’ve been in yet.

On Sunday we made our way to Helena and met up with our friend Lance. Craig had hired Lance years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. He found his way out to Montana a couple years ago and recently got married. It was fun to catch up with him and learn a little bit more about the area.

We continued on and found a free campground for the night. We had a couple of days to kill as we wait for friends to fly into Bozeman this week. We ended up in Three Forks to do laundry and Craig got his hair trimmed. We went to Bridger Brewery for lunch and then Sawdust & Steel Brewing. We played a few games of bingo and were happy to both win! It was a fun night. There is not much for camping in this area so we ended up at a rest area for the night. Never our favorite but it works when we have no other options.

We went into Bozeman to do a few chores and then headed south out of town to find some dispersed camping. We found a nice little spot after a pretty drive.

Today we’ll be headed back into town while we wait for our friends to fly in! It’s going to be a great time and we’re excited to see faces from home.

Off to party with friends…

Once we got into Washington, we headed to the grocery store to replace the eggs the border patrol took from us. It was pretty early so we stopped in Blaine for a great breakfast at a small place called Monte’s. Then we headed to see my good friend Stacy who lives in Birch Bay. Stacy was my roommate for 10 weeks at the National Forensic Academy back in 2009. We’ve only seen each other a handful of times since then but every time feels like we never miss a beat. She had to go to work after we arrived, but I was able to get laundry done and Craig did an oil change and tire rotation. We appreciate all our friends who have let us park in their driveways and use their facilities. It’s always a huge help for us and we can’t thank them enough.

We went to Beach Dog brewing and had dinner and beers Friday night with Stacy, her husband, Frank, and one of their daughters. It was so great to catch up with them and hope it won’t be another 4 years before we see them again.

After leaving Stacy’s house Saturday morning, we made our way to Bellingham and grabbed more groceries and were so happy to be able to get some things we couldn’t find in Canada. Then we headed to US 20 and headed east until we found a little place to boondock up a mountain road.

The drive along US 20 is beautiful and we were happy for a clear day. As the day went on, we noticed it getting overcast and then we were smelling smoke.

We were hoping to spend some time around the Diablo Lake area but found the campgrounds and iOverlander spots in that area were closed due to a fire on Ruby Mountain. We ended up staying at the Bridge Creek Trailhead- Pacific Crest Trail South hoping not to get kicked out.

We made our way to Mazama and stopped in at the Mazama Public House for a beer. We sat at the rail and had a great time. The bartenders were chatty and there was a local couple next to us that gave us some great recommendations of things to do in the area. One was to drive up to Hart’s Pass.

We headed up to Hart’s pass which was a beautiful drive. This drive intersects with the Pacific Crest Trail. We met a very tired young man who asked if we were heading back into town that night. We told him we weren’t but asked how we could help. He said he had run out of food so we packed up some trail mix and gave him some protein bars. Hopefully he was able to catch a ride. We stayed at the parking area at the top and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

We headed back down the next morning and soon ran across another hiker looking for a ride into town. He had done a segment of the PCT over 5 days. I rode in the camper for the 18 miles back to Mazama. He was so thankful and we were so happy to help.

We stayed on US 20 and made our way to Idaho. We wanted to drive the Idaho BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route) which we could pick up in Sandpoint. I wanted to watch a basketball game so we headed down another forest service road. Because Starlink requires an unobstructed sky, we chose a nice open spot instead of a spot tucked into the woods. It was hot and sunny when we arrived.

Around 5, it suddenly got darker and the wind picked up. We heard thunder and lightning and then trees cracking and falling. It came in so fast! Craig got a short video before our camper door slammed shut and we could hear the dust & dirt hitting the side of the camper. It was over pretty quickly but that was probably the scariest winds we’ve been in although we never felt like we were in danger.

We heard a bike on the road and then it stopped. Shortly after, Peter, who was on the bike, was pushing his bike toward our camp. He was drenched and looked so tired. He had been able to get around a couple trees but his tires were going flat. Craig was able to pump us his tires and he tried to call his wife using our wifi without success. He took off and we hoped he would make it home safely. Soon after, 2 high school boys were walking up to our campsite. They were in a Toyota truck and were stuck between two downed trees, unable to get out.

They also used our wifi to call home to let their parents know they were safe. Craig got his chainsaw and got to work. In the meantime, Peter came back stating the road was completely blocked by trees. After giving them protein bars and water, all the boys took off to clear the road with just a battery powered chainsaw. I sat watching my game since I would be of no help.

They were gone longer than I liked but finally I saw truck lights and the boys had brought Craig back with Peter following. Craig had used up all the batteries he had for the chainsaw and there was nothing more he could do. There was a crew following behind the guys pulling trees off of the road because they had big trucks scheduled to be on that road in the morning. They had continued when the boys brought Craig back.

The boys and Peter took back off and we were hoping they would make it home safely. We texted them asking to let us know when they arrived home safely. We knew the boys would stick with Peter so when we got a text that they were home safely we were relieved. In the morning, Peter texted to let us know that a road crew had cleared the last of the road so that is how they were able to get out. They had lost power and cell service so that is why he was unable to get a hold of his wife or text us back that night. He also had lost his gloves, which we found and met up with him in town to return them. It was quite the event and we are thankful that everyone got home safely.

Off to the Idaho BDR…