September 2, 2024—I wanted to ride the Route of the Hiawatha since first hearing about it a year ago. It’s a 15-mile ride along the abandoned Milwaukie Road rail line that ran through the Bitterroot Mountains in northern Idaho. The route takes bike riders through nine tunnels and over seven trestles. The longest tunnel is the 1.6-mile-long Taft Tunnel, requiring cyclists to have a bright bike light; the Kelly Creek trestle at 220 ft. high and 850 ft. long is the tallest and longest trestle on the trail. From the trail, riders are treated to spectacular views of forested mountains, deep valleys, and views of other trestles along the route.
The trail is open from late May to mid-September, so my ride was planned two weeks prior to the trail closure for the year.
Before setting out on the trail, there was a major concern to consider before I even left my house for the Route of the Hiawatha.
To Rent or Bring My Own Bike
My original plan was to bring my hybrid bike on the trail. However, after reading comments from others on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes Facebook group who had ridden the trail before me, I decided it might be better to rent a bike. A friend who had ridden the trail in July told me that she and her partner wished they had rented bikes. She mentioned they would rent bikes if they rode the trail again. The reason she recommended I rent a bike was because the paint on her bike frame got chipped from riding the trail. The unpaved trail consists of loose gravel, dirt, and mud, all of which do a number on gears, brakes, and bike frames. It’s also wet in the Taft Tunnel. People often come away from the ride coated with mud. Knowing this might be the outcome of my ride, I decided it would be best to rent a bike and bring along thermal leg warmers I could slip off after the ride to minimize the amount of mud on my legs.
After deciding to rent a bike, my next biggest decision was where to rent it. Cycle Haus, located in Harrison, is close to Heyburn State Park where I was staying, and they have Trek bikes that are well maintained. They also provide a shuttle service to Taft, Montana. From there, cyclists ride two miles downhill to the Route of the Hiawatha trailhead—of course this means having to ride two miles uphill on the way back. At $100, they are more expensive than the alternative: rental bikes from Lookout Pass Ski Resort. Add in the cost of the trail pass and shuttle service from Pearson to Roland and the cost jumps to $135. Cyclists can choose to ride the trail back to the starting point and skip the shuttle cost. It’s a 2-percent uphill grade to Roland where the shuttle stops. All cyclists must ride back through the Taft Tunnel regardless of if you rent a bike from Cycle Haus, Lookout Pass Ski Resort, or bring your own.
I heard from several on Facebook that the bikes from Lookout Pass Ski Resort are not in the best condition, so I called the resort to inquire about that. The individual on the other end of the phone told me the bike mechanics try to keep the bikes in good working condition, but the trail conditions are hard on the bikes—comments that further convinced me it was best to rent rather than use my own bike. The resort’s bikes are only $45. Getting to the trail required driving 96 miles from Heyburn State Park to the East Portal trailhead, which roundtrip would cost me approximately $33 in gas, and I would still need to purchase the required trail permit and a seat on the shuttle unless I chose to ride back uphill to the start. When I did the math, I wound up saving only $22 renting from Lookout Pass Ski Resort. Was saving $22 worth it? The answer to that question would depend on the reliability of the bike I rented.
The more important question was whether it was better renting or bringing my own bike? I decided the cost of renting was a better choice than beating my bike up and then having to spend hours cleaning caked-on mud and dirt from my bike’s frame, derailleurs, and disc brakes, then re-lubricating the chain.
I decided to rent from Lookout Pass Ski Resort, not because I wanted to save $22, but because I planned to ride today, and Cycle Haus doesn’t run their shuttle on Mondays. Also, their shuttle makes several stops on the way to and from the trailhead, stopping in Kellogg and Wallace to pick up and drop off people, and they only have one departure time at 4 p.m. from the trailhead for the return to Harrison. I didn’t want to stand around for hours waiting to catch the shuttle and then arrive back at my campsite near dusk. My decision meant driving to the trail, but I could get there when I wanted and leave when I wanted. Driving instead of taking the Cycle Haus shuttle would allow me to arrive back at camp at a reasonable time.
The Ride
I arrived at the East Portal trailhead after stopping at Lookout Pass Ski Resort to pick up my rental bike. I tested the bike before picking it up. It seemed to function just fine. The bike came with a light, but at 400 lumens, I didn’t think it was powerful enough, so I mounted my 1,100-lumens light I brought with me onto the bike.
No sooner did I start down the Route of the Hiawatha than I found myself entering the Taft Tunnel. I was glad I chose to bring along my bike light. The light brightly illuminated the trail in the vast darkness.
Water dripped profusely from the tunnel’s ceiling and walls. Culverts alongside the trail in the tunnel carried large amounts of water out of the tunnel. As I rode along, my light illuminated sprays of water coming off the bike’s front tire. I could only imagine what was coming off the back wheel. After nearly riding two miles in the dark, I exited the tunnel and was greeted by a vista of mountains before me. My ride had started in Montana, but I was now in Idaho.
Immediately upon exiting the tunnel, I found myself sharing the trail with vehicles for about 2.5 miles. The road is used by shuttles buses and by those who choose to skip riding through the tunnel, perhaps to keep from getting muddy. For me, riding through the tunnel was the highlight of the ride and why I had come to ride the Route of the Hiawatha in the first place.
I encountered the next tunnel about two miles farther down the trail.
At the Moss Creek trailhead, the shared section of the trail end and I found myself on the non-motorized trail.
I would go through two more tunnels before crossing my first trestle. The first trestle I came to was the Small Creek Trestle. From that trestle, I was able to look upon other trestles in the distance I would later cross.
Various pull-outs along the way gave me spectacular views of mountains, valleys, and other trestles. While I didn’t see much wildlife—a few squirrels and birds—the views and experiences riding through tunnels and over trestles were what I considered the draw and highlight of this trail. Six trestles and five tunnels later, I found myself in Pearson, the end point and where I would catch the shuttle back up the mountains to Roland.
In Pearson, there is a vendor selling hot dogs and other snacks. There are also restrooms.
The shuttle dropped me off at West Portal there is Roland. I retrieved my bike from the shuttle trailer and headed back up through the Taft Tunnel.
The ride back through the tunnel seemed wetter than the ride down through the tunnel. I would discover once I exited the tunnel and finished my ride how right I was. Once I got back to my truck, I discovered that I was more coated in mud from the ride back through the tunnel than from my earlier trip through the tunnel. I had a streak of mud that ran clear up my back and onto my helmet. Had I not been wearing my helmet, it would be safe to say I would have had mud in my hair. I had forgotten to close my fanny pack after retrieving some snacks from it while waiting for the shuttle, and now the inside of my pack and the food inside it was coated in mud. My water bottle was so covered in mud I couldn’t drink from it.
After completing the ride, I was glad I had made the decision to rent a bike instead of using my nice hybrid bike. I returned the bike to Lookout Pass Ski Resort and left for Plummer, stopping first in historic Wallace.
Historic Wallace
Since I chose to drive to the Route of the Hiawatha, I had some time available to stop and visit historic Wallace. The town got its start in 1884 after gold was discovered just north of the future townsite in 1882. Silver was also discovered in the area. This made Wallace an important mining town.
The early history of Wallace involved legal disputes between the U.S. General Land Office, Colonel Wallace (the town’s namesake), the townsfolk, and a Sioux half-breed who owned the original scrip to the land on which the town was illegally sited. The legal issues would be resolved several years later after first being filed in 1888.
Many of the historic buildings are still in existence, which is why I chose to visit the town of 791 residents (according to the 2020 U.S. census). I couldn’t stay long, as it would take me nearly two hours to get back to the campground. I took a few pictures of the town before getting back onto the freeway and driving to Plummer.
My Last Night
When I arrived back at the campground, I discovered that I was one of only four campers left in the campground. Perhaps tonight I would get a decent night’s sleep without hearing other campers making noises.
I also thought about trying to get another bike ride back out the Anderson Lake tomorrow before breaking camp and driving home. I was still hoping to get photos of moose up close. However, I weighed the likelihood of seeing moose up close and decided, in the end, to forego the bike ride. I had a long drive ahead of me and a kayak to clean up when I got home. I worried that I would get home too late to clean up the boat.
The weather forecast had called for a chance of rain and thunderstorms. Fortunately, I dodged a bullet, The only weather I experienced was being woken to the sounds of the wind and dropping pinecones.
Comments