Day 8 continued - Grimes Pass
I took the express route through here last time. This time, I decided to slow things down a little and concentrate more on scenery than making corners. This cool little pullout is close to the start and makes for a great place to take a break, enjoy the river and get the gopro ready.
The power of mother nature never ceases to amaze me.
Unfortunately, I did not have my gopro facing high enough. The in-flight photos turned out ok but not as good as they could have been. Still, what a remarkable experience to ride through such a rugged canyon high above the Payette river.
Riding the pass from the east starts with a dense cover of trees.
The trees slowly become sparse and rocks plentiful.
The Payette River comes into view.
The river descends further down the canyon as I start my climb over Grimes pass.
Until you cannot see it anymore...
I am not sure if those are saw teeth or bear teeth. Maybe some one here knows.
On the decent, the river comes back into view.
Exiting the pass near Banks the scenery becomes picturesque again.
Both times that I have turned north onto Idaho-55, I have instantly regretted using all my battery power for the gopro. While this road is heavily traveled, the Payette river is intense and provides miles upon miles of raging white water. However, there is so much vehicular traffic that passing is almost impossible. This makes for a real slow grind all the way to McCall.
At McCall, I took a much needed lunch break at a convenience store. The temperature was approaching 90 which reminded me I better put sun screen on or else. After hanging out for a half hour or so, I continued towards my next destination - Joseph, Oregon. Before that, I passed through a mostly hot and featureless area I suspect is home to many Nez Perce, which is terribly sad.
I eventually joined up with the Snake River in Hells Canyon. Just like everywhere else that has the word "hells" in it, it was hot hot. My ambient air sensor showed 101 which made me wonder why I came this way. However, cooler air blowing off the Snake River helped keep things mostly reasonable. Still, I was hot and a little tired at this point and did not feel like stopping. The road hugged the cliffs on the Idaho side making for some serious leaning and a little puckering too. Eventually, I crossed over the river into Oregon and continued following it for some distance. I wish I had stopped and taken some photos but it was just too hot. Taking a bath in my sweat just wasn't in the cards.
A short distance later, I started my way up the Wallowa Mountain loop wondering if it would allow me passage all the way into Joseph. It would be a real drag if I had to circle back around through LaGrande. Fortunately, the road was nicely paved and after some elevation gain, the heat started to subside. I thought the view would be better along the loop but I was hemmed in by trees most of the time so it was difficult gauge most elevation gain.
The real magic of the Wallowa valley came into view as I stepped down towards the town of Joseph. This is the only place in the United States I have ever seen that looks like an Alpine wonderland. I was blown away by the view of the lake and mountains that surrounded it. Through my studies of Chief Joseph and the rest of the Nez Perce, I had always imagined this area would be beautiful, but I really had no idea until now.
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