I did wear my shield type eye glasses for screaming descents on Imperial Gulch today. Wind and object protection. Smoke is back with AQI of 79. My eyes have become sensitive perhaps.

Yesterday was a rest day to adjust my schedule to Steve so we can ride together instead of mixing off rest days.

Project today was to shampoo the carpet on the floor in the van. Drove into Bellevue to Atkins grocery and rented a rug doctor plus cleaner. Drove back to Steve’s for electricity. I filled tanks accordingly then hit the go switch. Some places received full effect of machine graded to no cleaning as the cabinets blocked the machine, and others I could not keep the carpet down. I did put too much water in spots. The van is too cramped. I learned that the professionals with their equipment is the trick. Drove back to store and returned the machine.

Drove to Chip’s shop for a visit. He allows no casual occupancy in his shop. We visited socially distanced till a customer broke our conversation.

Spent the night in Steve’s driveway and visited while sitting around his fireplace.

Which leads to today’s eye burner. We drove out to Greenhorn Gulch TH for the Greenhorn Imperial gulch loop. Fall day, light weight wool long sleeve jersey comfortable. Grunt climb up Greenhorn which was burned over several years ago killing almost all the trees which have become snags which become fallen logs across the trail, clearing with chain saw is continuous. Motorcycles are allowed on these trails, they carry chainsaws as do paid sawyers. Just on going need to clear.

The trails cut thru scattered aspen groves like above that are regrowth, conifers are scattered at best. Arrive at junction of Imperial which climbs traversing big open faces.

Tread here is gravel size loose which stays more in place on turns. At the top of this piece of trail is a screamer, then a traversing climb to a high point then drop the post for the final tight corner descent to van.

Aspen were in various stages of shedding summer growth from bright green to bare branches. Aspen go to their gold, or rarely orange, hang for a short while then wind blows them off their birth hold. My recall of the most spectacular aspen turn is still Touch of Gold above Steamboat.

These mountains are mountains (duh). What about them? Completely visible, bare rock, steep. Old legacy hiking trails for the most part holding up real well compliments to designers and builders. The descents on Imperial could be ridden up as a nonlocal rider did, the point is the grade is of that steepness. Descending, as we did, just adds gasoline to the fire as gravity pulling and wheels rolling we sped downward as our heart rates remain elevated as in climbing but without muscle effort. Swoosh. Fast and edgy. Old legacy trails with sections rebuilt favoring mountain biking. Just smiling. Eyes were wide open and focused. I have ridden these trails many times over my visits here. I chose not to stop and take pics as when I was new to the trails. Such wide open spaces on earn your turns trails, no shuttlers. Shared with dirt bikers whose numbers exceeded the mountain bikers we encountered.

Back down to Steve’s for the night and make tomorrow’s ride plan.

Frost whitened the fall killed plants in the camp spot. Didn’t drop to forecast 23. Furnace is a pleasure. Fixed bfast etc then drove further up the river to the Fisher Creek TH. Actually it’s named Williams which is the descent but the climb is up Fisher. Clear blue skies with a faint tinge of smoke. Steve arrived as did Chip and Bob. Kirk and brother Tony joined. Chilly as the sun is still behind ridge. I wore a short sleeve long underwear underneath a light weight wool jersey and a wind shirt. I wore knee warmers and knee socks. The ride starts out on the highway and we cleared the ridge for full exposure to sunshine. Took off layers down the way. Route turns onto Fisher creek rode, a FS road. Gravel single track which wends its way up the creek drainage then it raises abruptly for a blow up climb. Steve has defined cleaning as its OK to stop for a gasper and you ride all of it. Walking makes it a dirty make. Age affected. Fair enough. The sought after single track is at the top. A forest fire years before I first rode this trail left darkened standing remnants.

Kitty litter is skittish, it moves underneath.

But the best was ahead as the tread was under trees for firmer woods dirt. The descents down Williams creek are screamers: so fast at at a sharp edge of control. I hit 25mph somewhere. Scary fast, tread is not smooth like Phils. Long downhill sections.

Aspen have turned and leaves are falling.

The 4 of us rode this last year almost to the day and the pedal times were 3 mins difference. I hung at the TH after they left. Amazing again for strength of internet. I drove up and over Galena summit which is up and twisty then down and twisty. I turned up Prairie creek for a sleep spot. The mountains here are mountains.

Today Steve and I rode a piece of what is called the trade route out of Oregon gulch TH.

I am staying in Steve’s driveway S of Bellevue. Visited earlier this evening siting around a fire in a chimera(?). wood smoke from a close up fire smells different from the smoke from the big fires. Bed time.

For me a joy is being able to ride right from where I sent the night. At McCall I had been staying at Bear basin on lookout road. There are former social 2 wheel tracks that can connect to Bear basin system trails. Years ago there wasn’t a gate at the basin TH through which I used to access several sleep spots. It’s gated now but ATVs go around. I pedaled from my spot taking a main track that joined the Bear basin system, trails are compacted into a small area with many signed intersections. I got on the system and just wandered, sometimes checking Trailforks at intersections. I just wandered. Tight trails. I rode a connector that took me to a resource extraction rd. At the intersection I studied TF seeing a spur track that would connect me back to Ditch Witch. Road dropped down drainage, coasting picked up speed. I kept a sharp eye for the track on my left. After a ways radar said that I had gone too far down, The spur was nonexistent. What was enjoyed coasting turned the smile downside requiring a pedal hump back up. At my pedal speed I had time to really look for that track. Track was never there. Rejoined the system. Lots of work was spent on these trails.

Fallen tree over trail created a go around.

Last fall the FS carried out a prescribed burn in the woods above the basin, they used like drop torches to really get a good ground fire going. Smoke then drove me away. This year, the next growing season, ground plants came back form what I can see. Regrowth.

AQI was unhealthy which blocks out the sun and giving the appearance of pending rain which never comes. To me the light tells me to pack a rain coat. But there is no rain. However, later back inside the van one sprinkle then another, then a few more, then no more drops. Hang on, several minutes later nature got serious for several minutes dropping rain hearing contact on the van roof. Encouraging but short lived. Rest of night was dry. Forecast called for precip, I heeded their forecast by putting the cover over my bike. When rain fell I smiled at my preparation.

Today was drive day to Stanley for a Fisher Creek ride tomorrow. Steve is coming up to join. I bought groceries, filtered water for drinking water, then 5 gals of city water for sink water. Headed Down Payette river on RT 55. Road construction down a ways created maybe a 15 min wait. At Couch I turned up a fork of Payette river. Scenic drive from what I was able to divert my eyes from the twisty narrow 2 lane rd. Reader board at Couch read expect delay because of forest fire on rt 21. At a check point well outside the fire perimeter traffic was stopped my direction waiting for pilot car. Bit longer wait. Pilot car lead us down the highway and thru the fire that had jumped the road. Lots of acres, much of what I could see was meadow grass burn and burned dead lodgepoles. Pilot car reached the far side check point. Rolled into Stanley then turned right heading up the Salmon river. Stopping place tonight is in the Red Fish lake overflow camping which is undeveloped land with fire rings designating camping spots. Right on the shore of the river. No fee. Up towards Stanley rain fell enough to turn windshield wiper on slow. Didn’t last. Fire danger is mostly high or very high. I passed a developed camp ground where at 2 camp sites fires were burning. Campfires and rain are foreign during these times.

Temps are dropping, 23 is forecasted low for Stanley. The furnace isn’t keeping me consistently warm as it does not always ignite when thermostat calls for heat. It will light which turns on the green led and burn for maybe 10 seconds then shuts off. The red diode blinks which require switching the control knob on and off several times which starts the restart which fails to start. I switch the control off shortly after restart then wait for minutes then turn it on and it seems to always to start. Control switch is over my head when in bed, the location of both me and the control switch keeps furnace burning.

23 degrees, coldest this fall. Still wearing shorts and sandals.

Smoke is disappearing such that I am no longer in the fleeing mode. Ground cover plants are wearing their fall colors, haven’t noticed aspen in gold. I have not created a route or destination. No place calls me for revisit. In my first road atlas I highlight roads I have driven on, empty ares might attract me. I have pretty well covered Idaho:

From here I will move on to Sun Valley for a visit. Might catch peak aspen. I could chase fall colors? Aspen loose their leaves so quickly. Undecided. Bend’s air is back to green.

I am parked near Red Fish lake which has a resort plus public places. I am maybe 15 miles out of Stanley yet I am getting 3 bar 4G signal.

So far this year I have pedaled 2420 miles on 150 rides.