Today, finally, I think I got my “air” back and got acclimated to higher elevation and boy did it feel good to feel zippy again!
We left Stanley unfortunately without leftover pizza in our bags but instead, leftover Buff Chick Wings which aren’t a bad sub, and had Fir Creek Campground as a tentative stopping place for the day.
Since we hit Fir Creek early about 3pm we decided to push on to Deer Flat Campground.
Again, the scenery dazzles us. Over most every rise and around every corner we stop to admire it.
However, the road surface on the climbs and descents between Stanley and McCall (our next town) is horrendous with a lot of washboarding, deep sand with a few ratchet rocks and ruts to maneuver around. This makes for much slower going on a bike. We crawl up climbs and have to slowly descend down the other side being careful to keep the bikes upright.
About 15 miles in we stopped to chat with National Forest Service (NSF) Ranger Kayla, hoping we could get an update on wildfires as smoke is still visible.
She didn’t have any answers for us on that question but was eager to answer others we had, you know since we are “Googleless” out here. Plus, she’s from Seymour, Indiana and you know midwesterners… we like to help and chat it up.
She’s on Range Duty and part of her job is to ensure fencing and other conditions are ready for open grazing.
She said the area we are in is known as the Stanley Basin and water is abundant. When I mentioned we haven’t seen as much wildlife as we expected, not only here in the Boise National Forest but also in the Sawtooth, she said that animals seem to migrate away when the seasonal people come. In the off season more deer, pronghorn, elk and even wolverine can be seen. There is even a lone wolf that likes to patrol the area.
In the winter, snow is deep and easily covers the fence line and the area is easily accessible by snowmobile. Visualizing winter, it must be a wonderland.
We did see more pronghorn, some deer, pairs of sand hill cranes and Kayla wasn’t wrong about water in the Stanley Basin.
One of these days I’m going to make a list of all the things I would need to learn if I ever solo bike packed. Not only does Tom do his share of “camp chores” he keeps the bikes field serviced, takes the lead on navigation and so many other things that I don’t take for granted. Plus he carries the leftovers on his bike.
Looking forward to more jaw dropping scenery… ratchet road surface… well maybe not so much.😂
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Keep Calm and Pedal On 