We never get up early enough, and then sometimes someone comes by to talk...which is what happened this morning. A man close to our age stopped by (I thought it was the ranger telling us we hadn't paid enough) to chat. He works for the fish and game commission, and he was out there for a week to fish. He told us about all the different kinds of salmon, how each kind travels upstream different distances to spawn, etc. He also told us that the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers have only half the water they normally have this time of year due to two weather systems, one El Nino, and one that comes more from the north (Japan to Alaska and down). It caused warmer weather in the spring, and the rains melted the snow in the mountains much earlier than usual. He said those two weather systems occur at the same time. A really nice guy.
We did finally get going, and we had much the same type of scenery we had yesterday, but we were now riding along the Lochsa River, gradually climbing since we were approaching Lolo Pass. We had decided to stay at Lochsa Lodge tonight so we could tackle the pass early in the day tomorrow. We were able to camp on the grounds of the lodge and buy a (lovely) shower ( towel, soap, and shampoo included!) for $5. Trips like this do make one appreciate simple pleasures! Also camping there were three men, each biking alone, Keith, Gunnar, and Scott. They were following the Transam route, so they were going over Lolo Pass, then turning south. We hadn't encountered many bikers, so we were happy to see them. (By the way, Keith, if you read this, please contact us (Dave Kass is on Facebook). We'd like to hear how your trip is going.)
No comments:
Post a Comment