2023-06-11 Coeur d'Alene Trail - Day

2023-06-11 Coeur d'Alene Trail - Day - 4

June 11, 2023

Louise and I stopped at Jack in the Box for breakfast (it was under-whelming) and were out of Sandpoint by 9:30. We arrived at Plummer around 11:00 and found the 'trail head' parking area. It took awhile to get the bikes organized, and I had to circle back just after we started - to make sure the van was locked, but we were on the trail by 11:30. We were doing the first section of the Coeur d'Alene Trail which is a 70 Mile (115km) paved bike path.

We did the first section, from Plummer to Harrison. It was beautiful. The first 12km was all down hill, as we cut through the side of a deep gorge along an old railway track. We then went through a State park, over a cycling bridge, and then followed the shore of the Chatcolet lake to Harrison. All along the shore were piers and boat slips, but the cabins were well back and much higher, mostly out of site. (Likely because the trail used to be a railway track). From the bridge, we could also see a bunch of floating cabins.... There were lots of people on the trail, young and old, with probably 75% e-bikes.

Harrison is a charming little town with a marina, a large bike shop, a rental store, and a few pubs. We had lunch at One Shot Charlies, which was a pub just up from the waterfront. We sat on the deck overlooking the marina.

I mentioned that the first 12K was all downhill. Well guess what, the last 12K was all up hill. Like doing an FTP test. It wasn't really steep, but it was steep enough. Of course I was stubborn enough not to turn on my e-bike. Louise says I am just being silly; but while it wasn't fun, it was a great workout!

Overall, it was a great ride. I thought the first part was even more spectacular than the one from Cranbrook to Kimberly, but Louise disagrees. Either way we both put the ride in our top ten that we have done in North America!

From Plumber we took a cross-country route to Tri-Cities. It was a really interesting drive, going through many very small towns and through some amazing country side! At one point there were green wheat (or maybe barley) fields for as far as we could see. It isn't like in Alberta where everything is divided into quarter sections. These fields went on for miles and miles (10's of miles). Then suddenly we were in desert with very rough terrain and the rock outcroppings which are typical of the Gorge. Then suddenly we were back to wheat and canola fields. The roads were full of curves and fun to drive. I wish I had been on my motorcycle!

We arrived at our hotel in Richland just before 6:00. We went to the pool but the sun was starting to dip below the buildings so it was a bit cool, and the jacuzzi wasn't hot, so we didn't stay.

We went to the Hotel lounge for supper and sat on a patio overlooking the river, watching families and people walking/biking/skate boarding, and jogging back and forth on the river front trail (our cycling destination tomorrow). We had a fabulous meal and really enjoyed the perfect evening - just the right temperature, no bugs, and great scenery!