GBC 2011 September 28th DAY 4

Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes (around 50 miles)

Today we will take a quick 30 minute shuttle ride to Plummer, ID to start at the beginning Trailhead of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene.

Here is a video with the first 12 miles of the trail from Plummer to Harrison

The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes is a gem. There are trailheads
along its lenth, each with display maps showing the highlights.
It passes through the historic town of Wallace, the simple
mobile home town of Osburn, the former mining towns of
Smelterville and Kellogg, and through the lakeside town of
Harrison. Some parts of the trail are busy and others are very
quiet. Mostly alone on the trail, there were times when we
shared it with cyclists, dog walkers, and inline skaters, but there
was never any congestion. (info found on http://www.roadslesstraveled.us/NIdaho.html)

We will end at the Old Mission Trailhead and have lunch!

The Hiawatha Trail...15 Miles one way

Depending how the day goes we might have an option to do the Hiawatha Trail this day also. Found on the Idaho/Montana border it is a 15 miles moutain bike trail. It has mixed reviews because of it not being challenging at all, but I heard the views are Stunning.

Here is just a little about the Trail. (Found on http://www.skilookout.com/hiawatha/)

This portion of the Olympian Hiawatha route has been called one of the most breathtaking scenic stretches of railroad in the country.

Winding through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, this 15-mile route crosses the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The Route of the Hiawatha is best known for the long, dark St. Paul Pass, or Taft Tunnel, which burrows for 1.66 miles under the Idaho/Montana state line.

With an incredible history beginning in 1906 of construction, hardships and calamities, unprecedented electrification, and of carrying passengers and freight from the Northwest to the Midwest, generations of railroaders kept the Milwaukee Road running until it finally went bankrupt in 1977. The last train west of Butte, Montana passed through in 1980. After that the line was abandoned.

With government funding and private donations, the rails were removed, and the construction of this spectacular wilderness bicycle and hiking trail was undertaken in 1997. The Idaho portion of the trail first opened for public use on May 29, 1998. The St. Paul Pass, or Taft Tunnel, was completed in May of 2001, and is now open for bike riding.

** We were going to check it out on our scouting trip, but when we went there it was covered with snow!!!!

Tonight we will walk to Crickets and eat....It is a local hotspot!