Usually, we post about adventures abroad. Over the last few days, Ed and I have experienced interesting domestic travel — riding the 84-mile Weiser River Trail from New Meadow, Idaho to Weiser, Idaho. Never mind that we’d never heard of either town. We learned about this adventure during a moonlight dinner at Galena Lodge last winter when we sat next to a couple who had ridden this trail. It sounded cool, so we put it on our to do list

An Ambitious Mountain Bike Ride

We rode the trail over a two-day period with an overnight stop. Jan had not traveled on her bike with her overnight necessities on board since 1977 when she rode across Europe with Barb Knopes, her dear friend and college roommate. Although Ed had ridden RAGBRAI across Iowa with Jan eight times, he had never “lugged” his gear. Jan retrofitted an old bike pack for her mountain bike and Ed purchased a small pack for his mountain bike. We had our bikes tuned up and purchased a few accessories, including cool “mountain bike” shirts (au revoir spandex jerseys) from a “Club Ride”, a local Ketchum company.

While researching the trip, we noted the geography. The abandoned rail right of way had been transformed to a gravel bike path with 1,855 feet in altitude change from north to south. (While the data seemed important it barely mattered. Over 84 miles, this means that you descend 240 feet per mile with an average grade of about 5%–later we were told is that 5% overall grade is typical for old railroad lines.)

We drove four hours from Ketchum to Weiser, ID (population 5,000) and checked into the modest State Street Motel.

The room was spacious and clean– better than it looked from the outside. Later, we had dinner at Judy’s Weiser In–yes, that is how it is spelled–and enjoyed it. We dined on steak with mushrooms and splurged for the Ravenswood Zinfandel. The price was right!

Day 1: New Meadow to Cambridge

On Thursday morning, we had breakfast at a local diner, and at 8:30 am, our pre-arranged driver, Ron, picked us up to transport us to the top of the trail at New Meadow. Ron drove us in an immaculate Suburban, and we were somewhat surprised to learn that he was a retired Boeing delivery engineering manager from Seattle. He currently lives in Council Idaho (population 900) and has invested in several local businesses around town, including an RV Park. 

He dropped us off at the trailhead, and we were off! The Weiser River Trail (WRT) opened in 1998 after the Union Pacific Railroad retired the freight line and conveyed ownership of the rail-bed to a non-profit, Friends of the Weiser River Trail. It’s Idaho’s longest rail-trail.

We knew we were in for a challenge when we saw our first mileage marker, which was artistically made from railroad spikes. Yikes, we had only gone a few miles. 81 to go!

The first 20 miles were glorious. We traveled mostly downhill through a forest of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir. The trail surface ranged from gravel to lush loam with pine needles. We crossed some of the 58 trestles along the trail.

Observing Damage from Flooding

We were warned in advance that two of the trestles were out of commission, as they had been washed away by recent flooding. This one had seen better days! Ron estimated that repair will cost $30K. He said that the Friends of the Trail will be seeking grants to help pay for the repair. Luckily, signs marked the trail detours.

In Council, we learned more about the history of the trail and saw pictures of the train that carried lumber on the tracks from the early 1900s.

Over the two days, we saw only three people riding on the trail. One was a local who started at the same time as we did. He whooshed by us on the only moderately technical segment of the trail–a  downhill gravel switchback which Ron had warned us about. The other two riders were a couple from Spokane who liked riding the trail so much that they rode North to South and then turned around and rode South to North!  We saw them as they were riding their return leg. They snapped our picture.

Adventures in a Double Wide!

Halfway down the trail, we stayed at the Mundo HotSprings, where we had reserved the “Pool House”. It turned out to be a double-wide mobile home overlooking a pool filled with water from the local hot spring. 

The best part about the Pool House was that we could use the pool after all the other day guests had left. So, around 9 pm, we soaked in the pool, restoring our biking muscles and watching the stars appear. The bed was comfy and we slept soundly.

Day 2:  Riding From Cambridge to Weiser

In the morning, we biked one mile to Cambridge (population 300)–a one STOP-sign town and enjoyed a delightful breakfast. This was our second breakfast for two for under $20 including tip. The scene in Cambridge–and many scenes during the trip–reminded us of small-town Iowa, where all the elderly locals come in for coffee at the local diner.

We looked a little out of place in our bike helmets, and an older resident asked, “Where are you from?” When we said, “California”, he asked, “How are you going to get back there?” We assured him that we weren’t planning on riding all the way back, given that we had only two days worth of supplies on our bikes.

After Cambridge, we stopped in Midvale. It took us a few moments to realize that Midvale stood for Midvalley. Duh! There was a charming general store where we bought food for lunch. The American Legion Hall was quaint and colorful.

No Cell Coverage and No Water

During the next stretch, we encountered a 20-mile pristine trail that followed the Weiser River. We were warned in advance that we’d be in the wilderness in the high desert canyon. Because of the long stretches of wilderness, we needed to be self sufficient. Ed had a flat tire and we nearly ran out of water in one stretch, despite bringing Camelbacks and supplemental water bottles. 

We knew we were making progress when the sign post indicated that we only had 37 miles to go.

Along the trail, we encountered a variety of obstructions — bear scat, horse poop, cow patties, a fallen tree, boulders, and an animal skeleton and lots of farm gates.

The surface ranged from sand to rock to gravel to black dirt to pine needles. We had to keep an eye out for these variations.  Before we started, a trail veteran told us that 42 miles of gravel riding on a mountain bike is a lot to do in a day. Given our experience riding road bike centuries, etc., we didn’t completely internalize this advice. After riding the Weiser River Trail, we have to agree–40 miles on a nearly flat gravel path on a heavy mountain bike with gear requires a lot of hard pedaling; the rough surface impedes coasting or freewheeling. Continuous pedaling is essential, especially into the wind which blew in our faces during most of our ride. We were happy to take a break on the frequent benches on the trail.

The Weiser River Trail goes through a valley that’s a haven for wildlife. We saw Snowy Egrets, Idaho Cliff Swallows, and other birds. Sometimes, the sounds of our bike tires on the gravel path would disturb a covey of quail, and they would all fly out of a bush. Even the grazing cows seemed to notice us, as they would turn their heads and look at us as we rode by. We thought they might be counting the riders. We encountered a few horses lingering along the trail. Also, we heard there may be (friendly) bears, but we didn’t see any.

At the 80th mile, we saw that the trail paralleled the road. So, we opted for the smooth surface of the road that headed towards Weiser. 

We rode back to the motel where our car was parked. Our odometer registered that we had logged 86.42 miles in the saddle.

The Weiser River Trail is a great ride. We were impressed with the maintenance of the trial — especially since it’s done by volunteers. We appreciated all the efforts of the Friends of the Weiser River Trail and have now become members. The signs were excellent and everyone we encountered was friendly and hospitable. The Fall weather was glorious. We felt fortunate to be able to discover and explore this part of rural Idaho

On the way back to Ketchum, we spent two nights in McCall, ID. The scenery around Payette Lake was beautiful. And, we enjoyed being off the saddle!

If you want to ride the Weiser River Trail (or go to McCall) , let us know, and we can provide more details.