Challis at an elevation of still around 5000 ft had the evening cool off nicely compared to the heat lower in the valley. The previous days ride had us turn in at a respectable hour and awakening the next morning before most. We dropped our tents and packed our gear with breakfast firmly on our minds back in town.
Bikes and bodies fueled we headed north on hwy 93 the 8 or 10 miles until Morgan Creek Road (FR 055). Morgan Creek Rd was another of my favorites with its consistent surface and open views. You would find yourself twisting through trees and then the road would open up in front of you with your obvious direction pointed towards the confluence of distant ridges.
The road at some point after cresting a summit turns into Panther Creek Rd. Panther Creek continues to drop elevation as it continues until the convergence of FR30 and the Salmon river. This elevation drop passes us by previous burn areas and into a more arid sub level with temperatures consistent with the topography. We all regroup at the FR30 intersect and then proceed along the Main Salmon and back onto pavement through Shoup and North Fork. I admit that this section of road into North Fork was quite fun while letting the KTM breath a bit.
It had become obvious to us that we needed to burn a few miles as we still needed to make it over the Magruder Corridor still today. Back on hwy 93 we continued north scrubbing the tires. We crossed into Montana and over Lost Trail Pass finally reaching Connor Cutoff.
With 100 miles still to cover over the Magruder we wasted no time and pressed forward. Red River Hot Springs would be our final destination … hopefully at a reasonable hour.
Pressing on …
The first part of the Magruder has us transitioning off pavement and then back on. This being common until we reach the 6500 ft Nez Perce Pass. From there the Magruder starts to take its own back into a primitive dirt track.
Back in Idaho…
…. to be continued