Another rest day, most in a row since my kidney laceration just about a year ago. No injury this time, just weather and wet trails where i happen to be.
Today I am south of Kimberly, ID @ Indian Springs TH for the 2nd night. Arrived here yesterday afternoon, trails were rideable but I elected to hike @ Bruneau SP back @ Mountain Home. 2 squalls have moved thru so far that dropped wet snow, nothing stuck down low, however a dusting visible is higher up. Tonight temp is forecast in 20s then highs upper 40s tomorrow for my ride.
I learned of Indian Springs from a response on MTBR asking for ride ideas. As I drove to Spoke and Wheel Bike shop the deja vu bells started going off. I remember the shop and the trail from a previous visit back long time ago. Mike @ the shop gave me a route map. Last night I camped @ a satellite TH among range cows. Now I am @ the official site on rolled gravel but more public. I am the tallest thing around until the electric transmission towers up on the hillside. sage & lava flows on the Snake River Plateau. Evil Kneviel attempted jumping the Snake River gorge @ Twin Falls.
The fork mount part of my bike rack for the Turner developed a crack in the weld and was propigating. yesterday @ Bruneau I had the rain cover over the bikes which acted like a wind block. Wind was strong enough that it was flexing the fork mount. Just a matter of time before weld failed. Picked 2 weld shops from the Twin Falls phone book. Scored @ the second shop and drove to the shop. Guy welded the piece for free. Great.
Yesterday I left my spot down by the river (Snake) and drove to Bruneau SP. I stopped @ the visitor center and read the exhibits therein. Several fossil exhibits of prehistoric horses. The Snake was the drainage for the Bonneville Lake floods, similar to the Lake Missoula flood flowing into Lake Coeur d’Alene & down the Spokane River to the Columbia. The Snake flows into the Columbia. Old lava flows in this part of the country.
North America’s tallest sand dune is in the park, something like 450′ high. I climbed to teh top and walked the ridge line for aways. Wind was blowing up slope creating a ground blizzard of sand only no cornice was formed but the sand avalanched point release style on the back side.
Sunday was a rainy windy day as i drove from Ontario, OR to Mountain Home. Boise was in the rain.
Winter is moving in and I need to get south of it b4 too long. Weather forecast is for drier & warmed weather for several days. Utah front range has winter storm warning. I plan on riding Fruita & Grand Junction then down to Moab before skirting the Big Ditch to ride Thunder Mountain again if snow free. Might make Hurricane b4 Thanksgiving.
Learned of trails @ Price, UT. I need to be careful as there are large animals that might like people, take a look:
Today I drove to Shoshone Falls Park on the Snake. I learned that Evil’s jump was 1 1/2 miles down stream. Tucked among the basalt rocks is an elk farm. A bull w/ an enormous rack was bedded down against a building 50′ from the road. Velvet still clung to several of his branches.
Almost all the snow has melted uphill from me. Desert sand drains well. Ride here tomorrow and then Utah bound.