After my nice rest in the Sun Valley area, it was hard to get going today, especially since I knew I would climb constantly for 48 miles, the first 42 relatively gentle (2200 feet) and the last 6, hard climbing (1500 feet).
The first 26 miles were mostly along the Wood River Cycleway, passing hundreds and hundreds of mansions and McMansions. That Idaho has allowed this kind of strip development for so many miles is really a shame, and it makes the ride around Lake Tahoe seem like more of a wildnerness ride (more than half the Tahoe shoreline is preserved). This is what happens with the lack of growth controls, and poor zoning. And this morning the traffic was tailing back for 20 miles as the workers were heading up to Ketchum and Sun Valley. At least Aspen got a car pool lane when they widened their highway.
Oh Idaho, Idaho, red state living on the taxpayers in blue states. There is a big water battle going on between the Mormon farmers on the Snake River plain and the rich folks of Blaine County. Seems like the Big Wood River is getting used more and more for watering laws and golf courses, and in Idaho, water for farmers is enshrined in law. So the farmers are trying to take the water.
Grossly subsidized water, as it turns out. Who would have guessed that Idaho uses 60% of the water for irrigation that much larger California does? And pays about a tenth as much for it? And produces only one eighth the value of farm products? Who subsidizes it? The big bad federal government that everyone hates here. Hmnm.....how do you spell cognitive dissonance on such a grand scale? Why are the federal taxpayers subsidizing marginal farming operations in a state that regularly goes 65% GOP and rants and raves about the waste in Washington. Oh Idaho, you need a good spanking from the federal government, just like the farmers did in California. And these farmers hardly produce anything (potatoes and alfalfa being cheap crops), so their political and economic power would be quite small. Let's save the Idaho salmon!
Finally breaking free of the suburban sprawl at mile 26, you enter the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
What the Wood River Valley looked like 30 years ago
A quick stop at the Visitor Center to get a map, figure out the water stops for today, chat with the lovely volunteers, and eat my first sandwich. The rest of the ride was really lovely, classic Idaho mountain scenery, but the Highway 75 corridor seems heavily developed for a National Forest, with many summer home colonies, at large camping areas, and a lot of roads. Turns out this part of the Forest was full of mines in the 19th century, so it's a challenge to manage the land. (As I learned from the Bethina and Frank Church Scenic Overlook interpretive signs).
At mile 42 the big steep part of the climb started, and I was really starting to flag, despite having eaten a ton of calories. Seems like you can't get enough carbs on a day like today. Then my back tired started losing air, and wobbling, so I had to stop and change tubes. Didn't find the leak on the road, and when I did find the leak at the end of the day, it was in a funny place on the inside of the tube. Probably damage from the old wheel....tube discarded.
Rolling through the mountains
A lovely spot to change a tube
I noticed some smoke on my climb, and it was starting to affect my lungs, along with the altitude. A bit later the wind shifted to the south and the smoke cleared a bit. Turns out there's a big fire northwest of me, and it's been burning for a couple of days.
After changing the tube, it was another 35 mins or so to Galena Summit, at 8701 ft, the highest I will be on my bicycle on this trip. It was great to be at the top, but I was still feeling pretty tired.
The top!
A short mile down, and you come upon the overlook dedicated to Bethina and Frank Church. Frank Church was a liberal Democratic Senator from Idaho back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and one of his main legislative achievements was saving this part of Idaho from development. He is the only Democratic ever re-elected to the Senate from Idaho, and served for 24 years. As you can see from the pictures, he was very successful in preserving the Sawtooths, and it's nice to see him honored in this way. (Some of you might recall that he also reined in the CIA and FBI in the 70s, after their last set of egregious abuses of American civil liberties). All in all, I felt like it was a great tribute to a remarkable man and his wife, who continues her work in conservation (and she's a Michigan alum!).
What hath Frank Church wrought (nary a house in view)
20 mins of descending into a stiff headwind convinced me that going the additional 24 miles to Stanley was foolish, and I stopped at the Smiley Creek lodge. All the rooms and teepees were taken, so it's a camping night for me. Nice showers, a nice restaurant, and WiFi! I'll be asleep early tonight, as I have a long day tomorrow too, about 80 miles down the Salmon River to Challis.
We were in Stanley Idaho for a wedding a long while back. Really beautiful territory there, once you get past the sprawl of Boise. Nice commentary on the hypocrisy of the anti-tax anti-government folks totally spoiling their arguments by accepting taxpayer funded government assistance. Oh, the Irony.
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