Riding the Salmon River upstream, from Challis westward to Stanley, is another beautiful ride.
However, after a good night’s sleep, and a hearty breakfast, I headed downstream, eastward along the Salmon River, to re-enter the Pahsimeroi River Valley.
The mountains south of Challis are chocolate colored, much unlike the gray granite color of the mountains seen farther south in the Big Lost Range.
Traveling farther downstream the road rises, affording some beautiful elevated views of the Salmon River.
Further downstream I spied a beautiful farm nestled south of the river, which had a wonderful view to the east.
Arriving at the confluence of the Pahsimeroi and Salmon Rivers, I turned south. This time I took a route that closely paralleled the Lemhi Range, to the east.
While traveling south, enjoying my view of the mountains, I discovered a beautiful trail that left the highway and ascended into the Lemhi Range. I checked my GPS and saw that this trail ascended to approximately 8,000 feet above sea level, almost 4,000 feet above the valley floor.
This is one of the reasons I love dual sport motorcycles; I decided to explore the trail.
I rode up the trail about a hundred yards, and hid my J.C. Whitney travel trunk in the sagebrush.
Reaching the top of the trail, I was rewarded with beautiful views of the mountains, and the valley to the south.
At this point, the trail descended to the south. Therefore, I backtracked down the trail to retrieve my travel trunk, and enjoy the views I had neglected while ascending.
On the way back down I stopped to explore an abandoned cabin I had passed near the summit; it was a mining cabin filled with core samples taken from the mountain.
The irrigated land in the valley below stood out in stark contrast to the native sagebrush.
The Lemhi mountains are quite steep, and rockslides occupy large areas of the slopes.
Because I had passed it earlier, I knew the farmhouse on the mountain below was actually elevated quite a bit above the valley; however, you would not likely recognize that fact from this elevation.
I continued to descend into the valley, and retrieved my travel trunk at the bottom of the trail.
In my next installment I will continue my report as I ride the length of the Lemhi Range, and exit the valley near Howe, Idaho.
Spud