Daily Twaddle

We just took a trip to Idaho to ride the Hiawatha Trail. The trail spans 15 miles through ten tunnels and seven high steel trestles. The Forest Service transformed part of the railroad grade into this “rail-trail” by removing the tracks.

The big tunnel spans 1.7 miles of cold pitch-black darkness dripping with moisture flanked by 12-inch deep gutters. The only source of light shines from each biker’s headlight to create the illusion of highway cars at night.

After the big tunnel, the route snakes through some of the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen. Roch stopped at each interpretive sign to read the history along the trail. The trail has a slight downward grade the whole way down with an optional bus ride back to the top.

Our leisurely ride lasted about three and a half hours and when we reached the bottom we decided that the trek to the top would be too much for one day. I secretly dreaded the ride back up, but I blamed Tara for having to get home early.

I had a great time. The trip left me wondering what other fun adventures lurk just around the corner.

Hiawatha Trail - Tips For Success

1 - Bring a bright head light.
2 - Get a fender.
3 - Bring a raincoat for the big tunnel.
4 - Keep your skin away from the shrubbery.
5 - Stop to read the interpretive signs.
6 - Pee at the ski lodge.
7 - Bring cash.

Find out more about the Hiawatha Trail

View more of my photos

Last night Roch and I went for a nice evening bike ride. Some volunteers created the “Trail of Discovery” on city property that runs for miles through forest, creeks, and the overabundant wildlife.

The deer take up the sides of the trail, sometimes they’re in the middle of the trail. They get annoying, but usually stroll away when they catch wind of our approach. I can make a cool noise that sounds like their warning call. It’s a mix between a “woosh” and “fe-ew.” I actually suck at it - it only worked once for me. At the time, one of the deer in the group repeated my noise which made all the deer run away. It was cool. But I like making the noise even if it just gets them to look up at me curiously now.

On the trail last night, Roch noticed an animal a few yards ahead of us. A moose? Or is it just a horse? Roch stopped me long before I noticed her standing in the distance. He’s more observant. He made some whistling noises to get the animal to look up… and then she clumsily strolled towards the creek. She was a huge moose!

Well… it’s calf-season and I’d like to go without a trampling… so, rather than provoke a protective mother, we just turned around and went home.

A moose!

More than 400 acres of forest is on fire just a few miles from me. Crazy huh? Well, I guess fires happen every year - we get blue skies just at the end of Spring between April showers and May fires. But, this fire is awfully close. I have to dust a layer of ash off all the furniture - and a layer of dog hair because my dog is shedding.

This picture was taken around 10:30pm (22:30 for you 24-hour clock folks) so it’s rather hard to make out the details. But, the red stuff is fire and the black stuff is forest. Wild huh? (click the image for a larger view)

We’re planning on renting a house next Tuesday two miles up Tin Cup… I hope it’s still there when we move! But rest assured, I’m fine and most of the residents of Darby are fine - I don’t think anyone has lost their home. And the Forest Service seems to have the fire under control now. Hopefully we have a cold, wet winter to prevent fires next year.