ManifestDestiny2010Redux: 6/16 Cooper's Pass

We woke up and cooked pancakes over an open flame and discovered that a raccoon had torn a hole in our boxed wine. We used the restrooms at the park facilities, and spotted a very attractive grandma jogger, and made our way back onto the trail of the Coeur d'Alene and burned some sweet grass. We crossed Chatcolet bike bridge and road along the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"We took the advice of a friendly Ranger on the Trail and stoped in the Snake Pit in Enaville. In the Old Brothel we warmed up on Hot Buttered Rum and filled our stomaches. As we met a friendly dog, we name Aslan, who followed us for a few miles down the path. I don't think I have ever seen a happier dog as he trotted beside us."

Our original plan was to take the Couer d'Alene river Road up to Thompson Pass from Enanville but Will looked on his Iphone and found a "shorter" route that had us staying on the bike path for longer. I was cautious and voted against the new route and Pete agreed with me. Will and Goody wanted to take the new route so we tossed a coin to see which way we would take. Fate lead us down the new route so we got back on the bike path which now followed I-90 and was less scenic than before. We took Idaho 4 from Wallace, ID (the Center of the Universe) over the Couer D'Alene Mountains, the northernmost part of the Bitterroot range. We travelled up Burke Canyon, home of silver mine wars back in the late 19th century. We went past old ghost towns of Woodland Park, Webb, Gem, Frisco,Black Bear, Burke, and Mace, which featured a few old homes and barking dogs. Burke Canyon is very narrow and the Tiger Hotel in Burke has a stream, a road and a railroad that runs through it. We found a sign that warned that the road was closed for bridge repair. We decided to go on ahead and see if the road was still passable and were happy to discover that the closed bridge was in fact a very passable two foot wide wooden bridge over a bubbling mountain creek. The road soon sloped up to over 10% grade with many large rocks jutting out of the dirt. Finding a passable route through the rocky maze was an all consuming mental task. It was the most challenging riding I have done. It was an extreme effort to maintain in my lowest gear riding out of the saddle. The bumpy ride ripped one of my panniers and caused Pete to snap a chain. Soon the road leveled out and we checked our physical map and discovered we were headed up Cooper's Pass 5802 ft. At the snake pit earlier we had failed to recognize that the "shorter" route included this pass instead of Thompsons Pass 4852 ft. We had no option but to press forward as night approached. The road remained passable until the very top where we hiked through the snow. We geared up and descended in the night on roads with over a 17% decline. We had to stop to give our hands a rest from braking so much and let our rims cool down. We made it back to Thompson Pass Road with 15 miles to ride to the town. We rode silently for 7 miles without seeing a car until we saw the neon lights of a bar, the Wild Coyote, where we stopped for some comfort. We walked and in and were delightedly greeted by the proprietor Wayne and a business man from Texas with his wife. We drank merrily and impressed the locals and visitors alike with our insane biking feats. The businessman assured us that cap and trade works but what Obama wants to do isn't cap and trade. He was very adamant about this. He promised us a Power Point if we were interested. We talked with Wayne the proprietor and local sage, his wife(whose name escapes me), and the bartender on many topics including American history, the meaning of life, and using everyday herbs to increase vitality and treat diseases including cancer. Wayne owned a trailer park across the street and allowed us to stay the night. It was one of the craziest days off my life.

Aliens are here

Will reads, Dan is confused, Pete smiles.

I retrieve the sweet grass from my bike. We had received the sweet grass as a gift the previous day and were told by a Couer D'Alene tribesman to burn it each day for good luck. It seemed to work.

Riding over Lake Chatcolet

This is not the best way to waterproof a pannier. n00b.

We ate at the Snake Pit in Enaville

We met a dog and named him Aslan outside the Snake Pit. He ran with us for a long while until we had to leave him behind. It seemed like he wanted to follow us the rest of the way.