Climbing Up Lemhi Pass

The sky was gorgeous.

The stream valley beautiful & peaceful. 

Other than a couple of trucks going up, and two motorcycles coming down, nobody on the road. Five easy miles of warm-up, then three miles of steep. I mean steep. 

I stopped at this horseshoe turn for a breather & snack break. 

Almost there! 

Time to celebrate! Crossing the divide from ID Columbia River drainage to MT and the Missouri River drainage.  This passage was a long time tribal trail and became a stagecoach route between Red Rock MT and Salmon ID. Lewis came ahead with three others to scout the way and stood here on the divide Aug 12, 1805. He still had hopes to run a river on the west side and called it "portage hill". 

This is looking back down the last stretch. The grade was a lot like Adams St for you Lakeside folks...except gravel surface and a lot longer! Thanks to my friends bringing up my rear panniers in the car, I was able to make the climb without walking.  If I'd had all the weight, the last half mile would have been a long push of bike & gear.