55 miles today, totaling 541. First 8.5 miles was in Washington State, where I crossed over to Idaho from Clarkston, WA to Loiuston, ID.

I got a decaf coffee at one of those drive through coffee stands and posted yesterday’s blog. I also picked up some groceries at Albertsons and continued on my way. There are two routes east from Louiston, a fast one with heavy traffic and a bicycle friendly one. That was a no brainer for me, even though the bicycle friendly route is an extra 18 miles. What I didn’t count on was the climb of 2300 feet in eight miles to get up to the campground. I made many stops to hydrate, eat and rest in those eight miles. I walked a bit also to use some different muscles or at least the same muscles differently. That had to be the most difficult climb, so far.

I was lucky as I got the last campsite at Winchester Lake State Park. Because I had no vehicle, it only cost me 17$. Before I left the check in gate,  two people approached me,  the first guy was interested in what I was doing and asked some questions like how much does your rig weigh.  I told him I think it weighs about 80 pounds.
The second person wanted to know what route I was riding.  That question confused me for a second, as most people don’t know about the Adventure Cycling Association routes. She had done the Northern Tier a few years ago with a group of six people.  The route I’m riding, is a mix of the Loius and Clark Trail, the Northern Tier, the Lakes, and some of my own routing in Wisconsin and Massachusetts, which I haven’t completely figured out. It always nice to chat with a fellow adventurer.

I might be able to cover some extra miles tomorrow as I get to go down the hill I climbed this afternoon and it looks pretty level after that.

A neighboring camper just came over and said he was so impressed with what I’m doing and gave me a portion of his shrimp gumbo.  Jeff said he is from Mississippi.  The gumbo really hit the spot.  Those kind people always  make me choke up a bit.

One thing I’m really missing from home is my home made popcorn. I’m not going to pack a Whirley-popper on this trip, like I did to D2R2 a few years ago. Jiffy Pop is always burnt, maybe I can figure something else out.

Internet is a bit dodgy here, this may or may not get posted tomorrow.