The cinnamon rolls were to die for but possibly not the best food for a big climb. Having two time zones in the one state is a bit weird and it was hard to decide which one to run by – we chose “mountain time” to get off early. Having cruised down the Salmon River for 20km we were confronted with a 14km, 900m switchback hill to climb. Think of the zigzag near Kalamunda times 3 or 4. Sunshine helped us on the climb which for any hill junky was fantastic. For those who felt like complaining, meeting two fellow trans American cyclists on hybrid bikes towing carts with all their camping gear was a sobering moment.
The 30km descent into the next valley was accompanied by heavy rain making this a tricky time to stay upright at 40kph. Once this was completed the rain stopped (thanks Idaho) and we completed the day riding up the Clearwater River close to part of the old Lewis and Clark expedition trail (1803 to 1806). This was a 125km day finished off in a hot tub at the River Dance Lodge.
Except for the rain (and the hill for some) this was another excellent day – 9/10.