Our take on Idaho so far is that it is an amazing place with beautiful mountains and friendly people. It might be the most underrated state! We walked through Kalispel and Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis ancestral lands.
Day 48 – PNT Mile 956.8 – Lookout Mountain
We got started nice and early again today — still trying to beat the heat. In late morning we arrived at Upper Priest Lake where we planned on doing some swimming. The lake was huge, had sandy beaches, and the water was perfect! We met a fun group of three people who live nearby and were canoeing and camping at the lake. We chatted with them for a while, and then they showed us their canoe. It had a motor! Maybe we should think about getting one of those for when we arrive at the Columbia… all this human powered travel is tiring! They were super fun to talk to, and they shared several fun stories about wildlife and the area. In the afternoon we climbed Lookout Mountain. It was a painful ascent, but at the top the views and sunset made it completely worthwhile! Also, there were huckleberries the entire climb up, so they served as a nice distraction. For dinner we ate taco pasta while watching the sun set. It was probably our most beautiful evening on the trail so far. Idaho knows how to give visitors a warm welcome!! -T
Day 49 – PNT Mile 974.5 – The Bushwhack
Last night we heard wolves howling in the distance. Cool!! Today we had a six mile bushwhack. We have been a bit uncertain about it for a few days, as we weren’t sure how much it would slow us down. We heard reports from other hikers in our hiking app saying it took them anywhere between four and eight hours to cover those six miles. It was quite a challenge, but we found a surprise in the middle… a rock waterside!! Thanks to Iguana and Chubby Bunny for the heads up! We took a long lunch break at the waterside and had tons of fun sliding down the rocks into the pool. They were pretty slick and we got moving pretty quick. It was tons of fun! At lunch Tim realized our spork is missing. We ended up eating lunch and dinner with two tent stakes as chop sticks. The bushwhack definitely tired us out and slowed us down. Both of our legs are all cut up and raw feeling from all the bushes and stuff rubbing against them. I guess that’s the downside to shorts. Tim also stung by a bee during the bush m bushwhack. -R
Day 50 – PNT Mile 997.4 – Bonners Ferry
Because of yesterday’s bushwhack we were camped farther from our resupply town than hoped. We woke up with 23 miles to cover before the post office closed at 4:30. We started hiking early and were very efficient. The trail took us along a mountain-top ridge that was absolutely gorgeous. We are in the Selkirk mountains, which just might be the most underrated mountains in America. They’re beautiful!! We constantly commented that it would be very fun to come back some day and do a shorter trip in the Selkirks — a trip with time to explore lakes, climb on rocks, and maybe even go fishing, instead of the walk-walk-walk that is our usual routine. We made it down to the highway at 3:30 and got a hitch into town without much trouble. We got to ride in the back of a pickup truck for 15 miles! In town we accomplished our usual routine of post office, restaurant, and grocery shopping. We had an extra stop at the Best Western hotel to pick up new shoes. We ordered from a store that doesn’t ship USPS, and the post office won’t hold UPS mail, so we talked to Best Western and they said they’d hold the package for us to pick up. We didn’t stay there though… we found an RV park in town with cheap spots for tenting. The price was right, but more importantly we just enjoy sleeping outside during our trips. They did have showers though — that was important! Tomorrow I will get up very early to have several work meetings on Germany time (9 hours ahead). For dinner #1 we had Beyond burgers from a restaurant. Dinner #2 was Thai salad, chips, guacamole, bagels with cream “cheese”, and cookies from the grocery store. Yum! -T
What an amazing adventure!! Stay safe out there. Those are killer sunsets.
Idaho is a gourges state we live in Sandpoint I never get tired of looking at the mountains or the beautiful Lake lots of wildlife
Once again a big thanks for sharing your story, really enjoy following your adventures. A real treat to see you two with so much positive energy and outlook. The world needs more people like you two…….
Tim and Renee, please post some more pictures of the Idaho pan Handle.
So Bushwhacking? Is the trail actually non existent that often? I had heard that the PNT was part of the national trail system but did not realize how much of it seems to be an orienting nightmare? How much is existing trails versus say single track and dirt logging roads etc…Sounds like it is still in a transition period.
Back in 1979 my brother and I hiked the PCT when it was still a mixed hodgepodge of dirt roads and faint single tracks that faded away all the time and many times you were traversing private property and indian reservation in the southern desert. We didn’t have GPS back then and using a Compass and topo map was a challenge for an 18 year old just out of high school. Not as established as it is now. Is there a plan to maintain and establish the PNT or is that the same as the PCT, 20-30 years in the making?
I love following your journey and am so glad you loved Northern Idaho! I agree, it’s incredibly underrated. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Selkirks and have done a few short backpacking trips along the ridge line. It’s a lot of bushwhacking and slow-moving, but so beautiful. I’d definitely recommend you come back and spend more time up there!
Absolutely! Thanks 😊