A High Country Ride on the Historic Hiawatha Trail

To be honest, it was their turn. Most of Lori's family lives in Utah so when we gather, that's where we go. For two of the family members, Lori and her brother Jon, we have a long drive or flight to get there. Having said that, we have visited Jon, Lisa and their family a couple of times over the decades in Tennessee. They had not made it to Montana, granted an even farther journey for them, but when they finally did, we took advantage. They needed to experience a real Montana adventure so we took them 90 miles west of home to the Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Bike Trail. 

I had ridden the trail three or four different times previously. On one outing, I took Lori and a camera there during my TV days where I shot, edited and produced a story about it. (See the video below to learn about the trail's amazing history.) My most recent visits were to serve as a volunteer for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. That's a pretty cool story as well, but is one for another day.

I was a little worried about Lori because she was still healing from the broken bone in her left foot from our trip to Italy. We thought it may be easier for her and less stressful on her foot if we could get her set up with a recumbent bicycle so that's exactly what we did after checking in at Lookout Pass Ski Resort. We got one for Lisa as well. Jon, his son Jake and I all went with traditional mountain bikes. I brought my own.

Just to set the scene, the Hiawatha Trail covers 15 miles and runs along an old railroad grade with seven trestles and ten tunnels, the first of which is 1.66 miles long. It's in the middle of that tunnel where work crews from Idaho met crews from Montana when it was built between 1906 and 1911. The then-railroad line played an integral part in helping people escape the Big Burn, a massive 1910 wildfire that took lives, destroyed communities and burned some three million acres of forestland. (Again, check out my old TV story to learn more about that.) 

The halfway point

It's just a little moist in that first tunnel

No really, it turns you into a splattered (but enjoyable) mess

Given the slight downhill grade, it is not a grueling ride but hey, it's still 15 miles. So, exerting that much energy makes your body eventually scream, "I need protein! Feed me!" Our meals were simple and carried on our backs in backpacks. I went with a most satisfying ham and cheddar cheese sandwich with mustard on white bread, a bag (or maybe two) of sour cream Sun Chips, a couple of small Kit Kat candy bars and an apple. It was much-needed, energy-boosting and satisfying.

We spent the rest of the day laughing, seeing wildlife, soaking in the amazing scenery and history, and enjoying each other's company in the Montana-Idaho high country.

Once back home, we capped the evening around the fire pit with s'more smorgasbord of options including Hershey's chocolate bars, Reese's peanut butter cups, York peppermint patties, Ghirardelli caramel and chocolate squares, Andes mint chocolate and Mounds dark chocolate treats.