God Bowling

Easily the most exciting event of today is the spectacular thunderstorm going on everywhere outside my tent.

I went a little farther than planned today. Once I reached Lowell at about 11:00 am, it seemed a little too soon to stop. Every mile I get behind me, the shorter my ride to Lochsa Lodge (about 12 miles shy of Lolo Pass). Around 3:00 pm, I rolled into Wilderness Gateway Campground, set up the tent, went down to the river to clean clothes and myself, and was standing in the water, enjoying the sunshine, when I saw ominous clouds moving in. I hadn't had dinner yet, so I went back up and got the stove going and started some noodles while I made sure everything was out of water danger and that my rain fly was fully tied off everywhere it could be. I could hear thunder cracking as I monitored the noodles, and had no sooner gotten them out of the colander and back in the pot when the storm cut loose. My tent is designed to that the front of the fly creates a little porch. I sat cross-legged just inside the doorway and stirred the chicken and spices in as all hell broke loose outside. I was hoping the tent would prove to be watertight. This was my first chance to find out.

It's been about an hour now, and all my stuff is still dry, so it's looking good. I hope things dry out a bit by morning though. Of course the clothes I had hung up to dry are still out there, quite rinsed by now. Including my one pair of socks. I guess I could wear wet socks tomorrow if I had to, but I'd rather not. Anyway, very exciting. The ripping thunder and almost continuous light show, plus the sudden wind reminded me a bit of one night we spent in Belize, but then we were in a cabin. If I'm lucky, tomorrow night I'll get an open air cabin at Lochsa Lodge. It's only forty miles, but it's a climb to get there.

Highway 12, as advertised, is not the nicest place to ride a bike, but maybe because it's Sunday, traffic was very light. I saw only a handful of trucks and they were all going west.

There's some construction going on, and fortunately for me, the part they had completed was to grind the pavement smooth. From Kamiah to the start of the construction zone, I thought my teeth were going to fall out from all the rough pavement. It's also very tiring on the arms to ride out all those little jarring bumps. Once I got to the ground smooth section, it became easy riding again, though the shoulder that was, became soft gravel, so I had to ride in the lane and just be vigilant for traffic coming from behind at the same time as oncoming.

Still a lot of Lewis and Clark informational signs, which I take as an excuse to pull off and drink water while I read. I learned that "Lochsa" means "rough water" in Nez Perce, and that although the initial meetings between the natives and European explorers were cordial, in later years, that would go downhill as more and more people flowed in and the army worked to drive the Indians out. I was reading of the Lewis and Clark expedition's trek through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (where I am now). The going was so rough that they described it as "difficult and disheartening." I can understand the feeling a bit when I am slogging my way up a steep pitch, but I marvel at the conditions they survived.

Well, the rain is slowing a bit. I hope this means I can make a run to the bushes before sleepy time. I wonder what's on TV...