Trip End- From the guy who didn't make it

Okay, so I'm Tallahassee waiting to get an audience with one of the local orthopedic gods. Apparently, if I hadn't seen an orthopedic specialist in Boise, I would have seen somebody a week ago. But, since I did. they have to "review my case" before scheduling an appointment. What, are they trying to get their stories straight? It's frickin' broken, I'm guessing anybody can see that from a cell phone picture taken surreptitiously in Boise. Do they think I photo shopped it?

So far, all my research (high quality Internet, of course), leads me to believe that surgery is the absolute worst solution because, it seems like 9 times out of 10, they screw the plate into a nerve. So, unless somebody tells me without surgery I'll never play lead guitar again (does it matter that I can't play it now?), I'm prepared to live with one shoulder a couple of inches shorter than the other (Hunter's words of wisdom: "You don't have any tailored clothes")

Day 12- Last day back to Idaho City

The boys take the short ride in to Crouch. From Crouch into Idaho City is the least scenic of the route, with two steep climbs on good, but dusty dirt roads. The boys are hot and tired reaching Idaho City after climbs of 1,800 and 900 ft. And so the boys most excellent adventure comes to an end.

Herding Sheep

 Jorge Hiking

 Placeville, ID

 

Day 11- Boiling Springs to Tie Creek

 Leave Boiling Springs and tackle the first, and toughest, of today's two climbs, up to an unnamed summit at 5,500 ft. Some more downhill and then back up to Trail Creek Summit at 5,019 and back down to the last camp at Tie Creek about 7 miles short of Crouch.

Jorge Fishing (We don't need no stinkin license!)

 A sad sight, Johnny's empty bottle of Sailor Jerry

Day 10- McCall to Boiling Springs

As planned for revised finish, the boys SAG from McCall to Cascades, then start riding from Cascades to Boiling Springs. The route starts along Lake Cascade and then across the flat Cascade Valley.

Cascade Lake

 Cascade Valley

Another climb of 1,500 ft, brings them up to East Mountain at 6,200 ft. Then a nice downhill to camp at Boiling Springs at 4,000 ft.

The Boys contaminating Boiling Springs

Day 9- Warm Lake to McCall

Morning at Warm Lake

 

The boys leave Warm Lake after breakfast at the Lodge. Alan and Bill climb 1,300 ft. to the top of Big Creek Summit at 6,594 ft. then take the SAG to McCall and a very upscale Holiday Inn Express. Alan adds a little drama to the day by leaving his Dopp Kit in Warm Springs, having to drive back to retrieve it.

The plan for tomorrow, Thursday, is to SAG the 30 miles to Cascades and then ride the 34 miles to Boiling Springs campground. (Have you noticed how everything in this frozen tundra is either "warm" or "hot" or, now, "boiling"?) Then, divide the 60 miles remaining back to Idaho City between Friday and Saturday. And then the long drive home to Tallahassee begins Sunday. They should be off-grid until Saturday and even Idaho City is not much of a grid as they only get cell service because of the two repeaters at the Visitor Center and the hotel.

 

Day 8- Deadwood River to Warm Springs

Another cold morning, another late start, though I suspect the boys are getting fatigued, since the temperature is a little warmer but the start a little later. Start the day with a moderate climb up and over Deadwood Summit at 6,840 ft., followed by some downhill and then a brutal climb to Warm Lake Summit at 7,290 ft. They are rewarded by a descent of 2,500 ft. over the next 6 miles to Warm Lake. They have a late lunch at the North Shore Lodge where they are told the route they are supposed to take from there is closed by road crews digging culverts. They decide to spend the night at the lodge and then bike/drive to McCall the next day.

Warm Lake

Day 7- Frozen Florida Boys

Again the boys awaken to temperatures in the 20's, forcing another late start. If you're wondering about the desire to get an early start, it is to maximize the amount of daylight you have to get to the next camp. Just in case. To double their pleasure, there are two climbs today: Cape Horn Summit at 7,306 ft. and Deer Creek Pass at 6,483 ft.

After 48 miles they camp by the Deadwood River. Bill and Jorge, apparently having higher standards of personal hygiene than Alan or Bubba, clean up in the icy cold river, Bill submerging himself on purpose, Jorge accidentally. If Billy were there, he would have been happily floating in it.

Day 6- Pole Creek to Sheep Trail

It may be hard for us southerners to grasp, but it is already freezing in parts of Idaho. Real freezing, like in morning temperatures in the 20's at elevation. Not only is it really hard to get up out of your little goose down cocoon, it's even harder to add more wind chill by getting on the bike. Because of this, the boys get a late start of 10:00 and head towards Redfish Lake and Stanley.

Redfish Lake

 Bubba on the road to Stanley

After lunch in Stanley, Bubba and Alan head off in the truck to pick up Jorge in Idaho City, were he headed after dropping me off at the airport in Boise. Bill heads up the trail by himself, but manages to take a wrong turn and is now headed the wrong way up the mountain. As a Sloth, this is not "getting lost" but just wanting to add miles to get a "real workout". He swallows his manly pride and asks directions of a couple in a pickup truck, who very kindly take him to camp. I'm sure he rewards them by sharing my rum. At least I can be some good in absentia.

Day 5- Big climbs and nice lodges

The boys head north on State Road 75 out of Ketchum for 8 miles, then catch the 19 mile well groomed Harriman Trail to the Galena lodge for lunch.

Good thing they got a hearty lunch, as there is a hard climb up an old wagon trail toll road which is now basically single track to the top of Galena Summit at 8,703 ft. The first picture shows the natural beauty of the surrounding area:

On closer examination, we see that small yellow dot on the right side of picture is Hunter engaged in the advanced mountain biking techniques mastered by all Sloths!

And the final shot shows the triumphant Sloth, master of his mountain home. 

 I'm assuming they make the scheduled camp at Pole Creek.

 

Day 4- From the riders

Continuing the blog from the point where I fly home to recover and the boys continue on. These entries are edited to enhance Hunter's "concise" narrative style. While I recover in the Lift Tower, Bill and Alan clean their bikes and get massages. Bubba elects to not clean his bike, since he hasn't used it yet, so he and Jorge decide to hike the 4.5 mile Bald Mountain trail which climbs 3,400 feet to the top of 9,150 Bald Mountain. They opt to take the chair lift down to save what's left of their knees.

While Bill is cleaning his bike, he discovers a chain link that is broken on one side, so rides into town to get it fixed. Also, he sees a doctor and gets an x-ray of his arm, since he had run in to a cross rail on the way into Ketchum and is experiencing sharp pain with some movements of his left arm. Everything looks okay. He may have hit the rail after seeing this moose sighted on the way into Ketchum:

After coming to no agreement on dinner, Jorge and Bubba head into town for Mexican and Alan, Bill and I have pizza delivered.

 

 

Day 2-6: Headed Home

Jorge and I meet up with the riders in Ketchum Thursday, 9/4, as planned and find this rustic hotel, the Lift Tower, run by a wonderful character named Betty. She is brusque and opinionated but genuinely concerned about my well-being. She puts us off of the over-priced, over-rated restaurants recommended by the people in Boise and on to some excellent local spots. The lift out front was built in 1939, found in pieces in 1987 and reconstructed and restored. It was the fourth chairlift in the world.

 

 

After a remarkably painful night, I start to re-think my plan to continue the trip. I’ve discovered one of the more painful things to do is get in and out of Jorge’s car, something I realize I will be doing repeatedly over the next several days. I’m also imaging the fun of sitting in said car as it traverses miles and miles of back-country washboard. It slowly dawns on me that the prudent thing to do would be to fly back to Tallahassee, although the thing that weighs heaviest is that this leaves Hunter to drive my truck the 2,400 miles back home solo.  He tries to assure me this is no problem.

So I decide to fly home from Boise on Sunday as, obviously, there would be no one available to pick me up at the airport on a game-day Saturday. Jorge and I head back to Boise Saturday morning as the remaining boys head north towards Stanley. Turns out that Boise State is playing Colorado State that night so Jorge drops me at the hotel and goes off to witness that gawd-awful blue field himself. I try to occupy myself with some football on TV, the Noles on the smart phone and some opiates.

Jorge drops me off at the Boise airport the next morning at zero-dark-thirty and heads back to the hotel to sleep some more before hooking up with the truck in Idaho City and then the riders near Smiley Creek. I take a one hour flight to Salt Lake City and change planes (the wheelchair bit is kind of nice) for a 2-1/2 flight to Atlanta and then the fun begins. After 4 hours of sitting on airport chairs, wheel chairs and airplane seats, I finally make it home so I can sleep in yet another chair.

So my journey ends appropriate to its start. From here on I will try to facilitate postings from the boys as I get them.     

Day 2- An Inauspicious Start

Tuesday morning was a chilly 40 degrees, clear and spectacular. Walked to a nice little breakfast spot where the waitress hadn't shown up yet so the regulars were filling in. Great breakfast and more than even a Sloth could eat. We get on the bikes finally and head up towards Rabbit Creek Pass, good gravel surface and the climb is "manageable". When we reach the top, Jorge and Bubba show up in Jorge's car, not the support truck. They can't get it started. I send them back down to find the portable jumper battery in the truck bed.
Alan, Bill and I now head down the mountain, again what appears a manageable decent. So roughly 17 miles into the first day, I hit a small patch of loose gravel in a turn and slide out, going down hard on my left shoulder, hip and head. Let me stress yet again the importance of helmets, as I might not be writing this now without one, as it is seriously cracked. Thankfully, Hunter is behind me (usually nobody is behind me!) and gets me and my bike off the road. Its obvious that things are not good. Hunter is worried about a concussion, but I can remember things okay (which is also unusual). Also fortunate, a nice retired couple appears in a Jeep and agrees to take me back to Idaho City to meet up with Jorge and Bubba. We find them in the truck (at least one problem solved) and Jorge and I take his car to Boise for medical assistance and Bubba heads back up the trail to find Alan and Bill.
We find a great urgent care place and the end result is the X-ray Tech saying "That's one of the best clavicle breaks I've ever seen!". We get referred to an Orthopedic Surgeon for the next morning, some pain meds and a hotel for two nights.
Orthopedic guys give two options: non-arthroscopic surgery to put a plate on it or do nothing and let it heal on it's own. After much discussion, it seems you would only do the surgery if you were young and really active, or if you care that you will likely end up with a bump on your shoulder. Due to the fact that none of those apply to me and my fundamental aversion to surgery (not to mention my even more fundamental cheapness), I opt to do nothing. So we load up on more pain meds an decide to meet up with the boys in Ketchum on Thursday to follow them on the remainder of the course with two support vehicles, one for me and one for the boys. Speaking of support, I want to give a big shout out to my man Jorge for his above and beyond support the last two days. The picture below speaks volumes!

Day- 1: Idaho City Lodge

Well, after two 12 hour days through Texas Utah and Idaho we finally arrived at the Idaho City Lodge. The place is rustic, to say the least. Team Cube was late, so things were hectic. In the morning we have breakfast and head up Rabbit Creek Pass. will be off the grid for probably 3 days. weather is cold but spectacular