I just got back from a longish visit with the many friends and family we have in Montana and North Dakota...I had a great time but was kind of a whirlwind tour. Spent some time on the Sperry Horse Ranch (wife's cousins) who have over one-hundred horses. The Sperrys are 100% pure country...they are true and some of the best people I have ever known. It was amazing that so many of the people out there were coming up with places for me to ride a bike, but I didn't bring a bike on this trip. Instead I rode many horses...that's not a typo - I have a horse-crazed wife who owns 6-horses and my past is loaded with a fair amount of horse riding and training...yep I have a soft-spot for horses too.I came home disappointed that nothing has changed...the Idaho redneck Hickabillies still think it's fun to run me down with their monster trucks (2 times on this ride these Idaho butt-winks forced me to the very edge of the road - an this was in Washington)...beyond that, the L-C Valley still smells like Hell, looks like Hell, and is hot as Hell. With the 100+ temps I am convinced this demonic place is truly the Gateway to Hell (just like they proudly advertise here).
With the sub-inferno temps further parching the already ultracrispy-ready-for-a-massive-friggin-fire-sun-bleached landscape I ventured out to higher cooler ground.
I drove to the Asotin Creek Trailhead in the Subi...yeah I shamefully drove the 20ish miles of treeless-hot-convection-oven-canyon that I normally ride...believe me it was worth the gas for the ride through the cool forest that waited.
The scenery is almost fall-like up near the trailhead...I typically don't see this kind of color until the latter part of August (early fall)...just another indicator of how crispy-dry it is out there.
I rode up another new route around Cape Horn that I have been wanting to explore. Hmmm...looks like I found the Dead-Horse Trail ....
