Last summer, Ben and a hearty group of guys rode their bikes 500 miles from Lewiston, Idaho to Ketchum. He emailed pictures and nightly explained the ride of the day, but only until we drove over Galena Pass between Ketchum and Stanley did I fully grasp what they accomplished. Galena Summit is 8701 feet in elevation - it is the highest paved road in Idaho. From Stanley they rode a punishing uphill grade for 6 miles to the summit. Ben recalls thinking the first curve ahead was the summit, but DK came along in the van and told him he had a LONG way to go. Once they got to the top, they then had to be careful not to burn out their brakes for the 10 mile downhill rush!
Ben has been extolling the Sawtooth mountain range since his ride last summer. We started out early from Ketchum and headed north to drive to Stanley, in search of his favorite breakfast place of the trip and to see the Sawtooths for myself.
On our way to the top, we pulled off for the first hike of the day, to Titus Lake, near the headwaters of the Salmon River.
The wildflowers along the way were sparkling in the sun. Again, an "easy" hike that took us a good two hours to do.
We didn't linger too long because the Stanley Baking Company closes at 2 PM and there is always a line out the door, Ben warned. The mile and a half return to the car went fast. We drove to Stanley, just gasping in wonder at the views and landscape along the way. The Sawtooths are just gorgeous and the high desert floor was a watercolor fest of creamy buckwheat and coral paintbrush.
We got to the cafe in time and realized everyone in line would get fed... and well!
On our return we stopped for another hike - above Petit Lake. One more hour of hiking was enough for the feet, but not the soul. We will get back to the Sawtooths before the trip is over.
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Thanks for following! J