Team Blueberry Rides The Route Of The Hiawatha
June 2008

The Route of the Hiawatha, one of the most scenic rail-to-trails, is located just off exit 5 on I-90 across the border from Idaho in Montana. We are excited to be able to do this trail because the last time we were in Northern Idaho to ride the trails we were too early in the season. The drive there from Caldwell, Idaho, where Becky's Mom lives, is scenic through forest and mountains. Our RV, The Turtle, occasionally loses pieces as we drive along and this trip is no different. This time the alternator decides to quit working in Cambridge, Idaho, a small town just north of Weiser, a small town just north of Payette, which is also a small town. You get the picture! How lucky for us that there is one garage in town, well sort of. The man who owns the shop just returned from Iraq and doesn't quite have his shop built. "The foundation will be poured next week," he tells us. Anyone who can fix Humvees should be able to fix our Turtle and he does!

Happily, we are on our way in a few hours. Night falls so we pull off the road to rest, but now our parking brake does not work! We decide to head for more level ground and end up in a rest area for the night. No worries. In the morning Louie fixes the brake by crawling under the Turtle and tightening things. We stop at Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area and pay $9.00 each for trail passes.

We arrive at the trailhead where winter still lingers as snow in the shady areas and prepare to enter the biggest of the 9 tunnels, nearly 2 miles long. It is dark, cold and spooky. Louie hollers, "Yahoo!" as we are eaten by the darkness. "Be sure to stay in the middle," one rider calls out. "I just fell in the ditch on the side!" The darkness soaks up our light. We strain to see. Our main light, sucked dry of lumens flickers out. We turn on our backup lights and grope our way through. Water drips onto our helmets as we burrow under the mountain into Idaho. Our tires slip through the mud. Finally we pop out the other side into sunlight right next to a sparkling water fall.

We continue on a nice hard packed gravel roadway for another couple of miles before entering the non-motorized trail section. Deep in the forest, mountains on all sides, we glide down a 2% grade, crossing 7 train trestles and 8 more tunnels. We take our time and read all the interpretive signs along the way. We meet up with some trail marshals who drive the motorized section and ride the non-motorized section from 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM.

We stop at the bottom for a picnic and then begin the ride back up. We could have taken the shuttle bus back up for another $9.00 apiece, but it is early and only a 2% grade so we decide to ride back. We are glad because in a couple of the tunnels we get to talk to a few deer that decide to come in and join us. When we arrive at the Taft tunnel, we are happy to find the trail marshals in their pickups driving back through the tunnel. We get to follow their taillights. In front of them is a family with young children. We stop part way through to allow Mom and Dad to pick up their daughter who fell into the ditch. Now covered in mud and quite unhappy, daughter is voicing her opinion about the trail in no uncertain terms. Back outside the tunnel at the RV we offer our shower to clean her up and put a smile back on her face.

We pile into the Turtle and head back Lookout Pass to spend the night. Our back window looks out over the mountains. We are warm, fed and happy.