In It For The Long Haul

The scenery has been beautiful, but one of the things you realize about train travel, is that if you have any kind of need other than your basic meals, you really don't have any options. There are no convenience stores near train stops that you can get in and out of in four minutes!

T has been feeling nauseous. Yesterday, we thought maybe it was motion sickness. That wasn't it...she was gifted Dramamine from another passenger, but it didn't really help. After I got really sick last night, we realized that it was probably something we ate on the train.

Here are the things we will always be sure to bring along on an overnight train trip...

1. A liter or two of 7-Up
2. Saltines and pretzels
3. Dramamine
4. Your favorite ultralight down throw (like the awesome ones you can get at Costco right now) and pillow.
5. Something to throw up in just in case there isn't a plastic bag lining the bathroom trash. Maybe something like a gallon sized ZipLoc bag; it's nice to be able to seal a barf bag.

After the trip, T was diagnosed with Celiac disease, which was the cause of her discomfort.

LaCrosse, WI Amtrak Station

Big Sky

This morning we woke up to the Big Sky of Montana. After breakfast, we took a quick jump off of the train in Whitefish to get a few laps in.

If you haven't ridden the Amtrak before, you'll always want to take advantage of the stops—even if they're only for a couple of minutes. the good news is that if you're in a sleeper car, there's always somebody getting on or off. You do have to stay nearby, because if you don't get on the train when they call "All Aboard," you may find that the train has left without you!

We've seen some pretty amazing scenery this morning. The fall foliage just East of East Glacier was particularly beautiful.

For some reason, I have never seen clean train windows. Which is a a shame; the reason we take the train is for the views. This time, it occurred to me that I could clean the windows myself...and WOW what a difference. It is so amazing...definitely tip worthy for future train travellers.

Red Cap Service

We did a lot of research for our Katy Trail trip, and were really having a hard time figuring out how we would get to the start of the trail in an affordable way.

Having folding bikes makes everything a little bit easier because it opens up a couple of options for us. First we can take these bikes on Amtrak as luggage, including our bus segment from Eugene to Portland. Secondly, these will fit in the back of a regular sized car, which we will be renting in Missouri to drive from Warrensburg to Clinton ($35—less than taking the Greyhound!).

If you get a sleeper car when traveling on Amtrak, make sure you talk with your agent about the Red Cap service that's available. It was great to have somebody meet us at our bus andr transfer all of our bags and bicycles to our sleeper car for us.

We had no idea that this was even possible until the lady at the Eugene Amtrak station told us about it. She was so kind and set everything up ahead of time for us; when we arrived in Portland, Craig was there to greet us with his electric cart. He took the bags; we got to take a walk and then relax in the Sleeper Car passenger lounge with a beverage.

On Our Way

Today marks the beginning of our journey, leaving Eugene, Oregon and heading to Chicago on the Amtrak.

Yes, we do have a lot of bags! Our gear consists of two bicycles in the large bags, one giant suitcase full of bicycle gear, two panniers full of bicycle gear, a suitcase for our time in Chicago, and two backpacks with everything that we might need for our two nights aboard Amtrak. Thank goodness for our neighbors and their Toyota RAV, you can fit anything into one of those cars!

It feels a little weird to be going on a trip at the end of September. I've always worked in public education, so vacations during this time of year have always been off-limits. But this year I requested to go to a part-time status, which allows for taking unpaid time off during the school year.

Katy Trail Adventure

We like a good challenge, so when we heard about the Katy Trail, it was immediately added to our list of potential bikepacking adventures. We live in Oregon and I work for a school district, meaning that travel times are limited and it would take some doing to get out there. We also knew that doing the trail between June and August was not an option because we are not accustomed to the humidity.

In our 50s, we decided that we only have so many September/Octobers left in life, so decided to tackle the trail this year. We had so much fun on our Weiser River Trail ride in Idaho this past May, that we decided to go for it, bought our Amtrak tickets (while still on the trail!) and started planning our journey.

We knew that we wanted to keep our costs low and the best way to do that was to stay out of hotels and restaurants. That's not to say that we didn't eat out or that we didn't enjoy a bed along the way...but we did try to focus on being self sufficient and enjoy the people and places along the way. But, avoiding those hotels and restaurants also means gear. Fully loaded, we figure that we were carrying between 15-20 pounds on our bikes, which included spare tubes, tools, camping gear, clothes, food for the week, and various other items. Being ultra lightweight backpackers (but not minimalists), we are careful about what we bring and I'm pleased to say that we used everything we brought with the exception of tools and spare tubes.

We do not have a "need for speed" and we approach our trips as an opportunity to learn about local history, visit museums, enjoy local beverages, and so forth, which all requires that you know the times that places are open and adjust your riding schedule accordingly. We also know that all trips require extra off trail riding, so what is planned as a 35-40 mile day generally becomes a 40-50 mile day and that we need a day to rest, do laundry, and so forth about every three days.

In our initial research, we were somewhat dismayed to find that the information on the Katy Trail web site to be fairly outdated and the reports regarding camping left us a little worried. But having learned from our Weiser River Trail ride that little towns are friendly, generally have parks, and if you figure out who to ask, you will find that there are nice places to camp out along the way.

The following posts outline our trip, including where we stayed and how we were able to ride the trail one-way without the use of a shuttle.

Happy trails!

• Katy Trail Day 1: Clinton to Sedalia
• Katy Trail Day 2: Sedalia to Boonville
• Katy Trail Day 3: Boonville to Hartsburg
• Katy Trail Day 4: Hartsburg to Jefferson City
• Katy Trail Day 5: Jefferson City to Hermann
• Katy Trail Day 6: Hermann to Augusta
• Katy Trail Day 7: Augusta to Machens (and back to St Charles)
• Transportation: To & From the Katy Trail
• Katy Trail Bikepacking Map

Gearing Up: Our Dahon Folding Bicycles

On our upcoming Katy Trail adventure, we will be riding our Dahon D7 folding bicycles — I ride this flashy orange model and T rides the silver Mariner — both have seven gears. For some reason, people seem to think that these are for commuting around town...but they are actually pretty awesome for long distance riding. Although these are rated as "street" bikes, we have ridden them on gravel rails to trails with no problems.

Riding the Weiser River Trail in Idaho last May (2018), I think I spent most of the trip in gears 1-3. It was a fantastic experience, with our total miles around 180 or so. Most of the gravel was pretty thin, though there were areas where there were rocks on the trail and in some spots cattle had crossed the trail, which made for an incredibly bumpy ride (think dried mud with hoof indentations). We rode north first (uphill); on our way back we pretty much had a headwind, so we pedaled just about the entire time.

We were self contained, carrying all of our camping gear, though we did splurge for a night in a bed and breakfast along the way.

Welcome to our Adventures

This fall marks the beginning of a new chapter in life - the transition from full time employee to a .8FTE. Meaning that we have now entered into our new "part time" position of adventurers at large.

Adventure #1: Rails & Trails. Follow us to learn more about how we are spending this new time in our lives.

2018 Weiser River Rail Trail Bike Adventure

I'm writing this as I sit on the porch of our hostel at Mundo Hot Springs. It’s around 2 o’clock on May 9, 2018.

We began our journey on Saturday, May 3 at 6:00am, driving from Eugene, Oregon to our hotel in Ontario, Oregon. This is our first Prius bicycle trip...gear and folding bikes all in the Prius! And we haven't even refilled the tank!

Our journey on the Weiser River Rail Trail began in Weiser, Idaho with a destination of New Meadows, Idaho, and then biking back to our starting point. This was our first trip with Colt and Christy who were on a tandem bike and whizzed ahead of us on the trail reporting obstacles and wildlife sightings.

Ready to roll!

The smooth part of the trail.

Trail Map

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Weiser to Midvale City Park

This was a first — we camped in a city park with no campsites where we just pitched our tent in the grass in the middle of a tiny little town! It was fairly quiet even though it was next to Hwy 95. We had to contact the city in advance basically to ensure that they turned off the sprinklers at night! We cleaned up ok in the small public bathroom and cooked a quick meal. We were happy to have the little market across from us where we bought carrots, Pringles, and Fig Newtons. The area was well lit at night as there was an outdoor ice and vending machines. Always look for light posts before pitching your tent.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Midvale to Council RV Park

Wonderful RV park with a grassy field for tents of some fantastic pizza (the Triple S pizza at Shy’s) a couple blocks away! Ron was our host, although the camping was pretty much self-serve. Good news: they had a washer and dryer!!

44°39'43.5"N 116°31'34.0"W

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Council to Hartland Bed & Breakfast, New Meadows

Arrived tired and happy at the Hartland Bed and Breakfast, located in an historic old house. Our host Rory let us know that the railroad museum was open the very night we were visiting (it is open just one night/year), so we headed over there after a great dinner of brisket, slaw and cornbread at The Intersection.

The first three days of our ride were all uphill and all tough for different reasons: sun, sand, gravel and some of your basic hills (hills were part of the detour around the Tamarack Mill and the others were after we finished the trail and had to find our way on various side roads, to Hwy 95, and on to our bed and breakfast). My happy moment was when I asked Rory at check in if there was anyone in town who could give us a ride to the south side of the mill in the morning, and HE OFFERED!!

We had a nice evening — 100 year old dust and very soft antique sheets. Our host provided a great breakfast...homemade quiche with lots of veggies, potato latkes with onions and garlic, and fruit. Rory delivered us + bikes to the trail promptly at 8:25am and we were pedaling by 8:30am. We were very happy to avoid the repeat ride on the highway and the hills around the mill.

North of Council, ID

Northernmost town on our route!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

New Meadows to Mundo Hot Springs, Cambridge
After riding about 35 miles and a soak in the Mundo Hot Springs, I enjoyed the last bit of sunshine as the sun went down behind the thunder clouds. Colt and Christy stayed in a house at Mundo Hot Springs where we all relaxed that evening. We had planned to camp out, but with thunder clouds looming, we were happy to find that there was also a small hostel available for bikers, so we opted for that over the campsite...$120 more, but it provided a microwave for breakfast and a quick turn around for tomorrow's early start. Funny story though, there wasn’t enough power to run the microwave, so we ended up using our camp stove!! Tomorrow will be our longest day — hopefully all down hill.

Dry beds in the hostel.

Bike parking

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Cambridge to Weiser, Idaho

We woke up happy and dry as it had rained pretty hard overnight. Knowing that we had a long day ahead of us, we got up nice and early and started pedaling as soon as it was light enough to ride, leaving about 6:20am. Light was particularly important for spotting pot holes...if you didn’t see them, they would get you in the end!

Although the trail was downhill, I think we pedaled all but about 100 yards. Headwinds, wet silt, and gravel. Hard but fun. We stopped for a breakfast of pancakes and french toast in Midvale, ID around 8:00am and were back on the trail by 9:00am — there is nothing fast about Idaho! Two other rests, one around mile 21.7 and the other at mile 11 (Presley) where we had lunch. That last 10 miles was pretty slow — strong headwind and we were really tired.

Colt and Christy hit the pavement, which started about a block from our cars. They were so sweet to wait for us to all ride to the end of the trail together. That said, the “end” was really another mile into town and they graciously went with me while Therese stayed behind unpacking her bike and recording our final arrival at the Weiser River Trailhead.

End of the trail.

Reflections

Trail Thoughts
It was a grand adventure and gave us an opportunity to try some things out.

• Gear was awesome and worked well.
• Camping in a city park felt safe.
• Bike shorts...bring a second pair and don’t wear undies.
• Colt & Christy were fantastic and easy travel companions.

Wildlife
We saw a wide range of birds and mammals.

• Wolf. Ran across a remote section of the trail in front of me. About 100’ away. NOT a coyote, fox or dog.
• Grizzy. Christy saw it. Had the hump! We saw the fresh scat!
• Killdeer. Acting injured to keep us away from its four eggs which it had laid in the gravel on the side of the trail.
• Snake. Lynn yelled, Therese fell off her bike!

Food
So the pizza place in Council, Idaho was amazing. The Triple S pizza at Shy’s. So good. Maybe we were just hungry?

• Having a fresh sandwich on the trail was a great change. Buy as you go on future trips.
• Pringles travel well on a bike.
• RC Cola tastes great!
• Skip the freeze dried eggs!
• Bagels with chocolate peanut butter are always good.

Things to Bring

Future trips should include...

• Chain oil!
• Raincoat (good windblock for early morning rides)
• Dog spray
• Small USB battery; skip the solar charger

Solar Power: Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger

Part of the joy of our trips is documenting where we go using the Gaia GPS app. But, this requires that our iPhones be on all day long. The app warns that if you are in low battery mode, it may not work properly. The solution? Charge on the go.

So I did some reading and settled on the Anker 15W Dual USB Solar Charger, which was available through Amazon. I ordered it, and took it on my first trip only to find that it did not work. Not one to mess around, I returned it and indicated that I did not want a replacement.

Would you believe that a couple of weeks later, Anker contacted me and offered to send me one for free if I was interested? I said yes, it arrived, and it went on our backpacking trip to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada.

Remember, we are ultra lightweight backpackers...for example, our packs, with water weighed in at 21.5 lbs for a 7-day trip. So, when we opt for a "luxury item," it had better be worth its weight.

The Anker weighed in at a whopping 13.9 ounces, but did exactly what I needed. I simply kept it attached to the top of my pack and plugged into my phone as we hiked each day. I was able to take all of the photos I wanted and save our tracks on Gaia GPS.

Note: I always keep it in airplane mode because searching for a signal in remote areas drains the battery.

Five stars all the way on this device!

Update: My Pixel 2 would not charge with this solar charger. 

Image from Amazon

Days 33 & 34: Grand Teton NP to Home!

Idaho

Day 33: 08/02/12 Grand Teton NP to Three Island Crossing Campground, ID

7:53am - 5:40pm / Distance 354 mi
Min Alt 5322 ft / Max 9572 ft

Stopped in Jackson for some fancy donuts (not review worthy) and then headed for the EBR-1 Nuclear Museum! Arrived about 1:30 and had a terrific tour.

Drove past Craters of the Moon NM and then on to Three Island Crossing. It is so nice to drive the back roads when we can. Arrived at the campground and by 6:15 Lynn was giving the tent trailer a good thorough cleaning.

We enjoyed a quiet evening and a spectacular moonrise while imagining the travelers along the Oregon Trail. We had a great night of sleep.

Oregon

Day 34: 08/02/12 Three Island Crossing, ID to Eugene!

8:30am - 5:40pm / Distance 354 mi

Gained an hour. Phew. Stopped at the Starlite Cafe in Vale, OR for breakfast treats and had Thai food at the Elk Horn Cafe in Burns. Oh so good.

What a wonderful trip this has been. So many things learned, people met, and miles traveled.

Days 31 & 32: 7/30 & 7/31/12 Grand Teton NP

7/30/12 Lizard Creek Campground, Grand Teton National Park

We had a nicely busy day today. Lynn served Therese a breakfast of scrambled eggs and potatoes in the tent trailer and then we took a drive down to the bike path where rode our bikes 16 miles on the Teton Park bike path to Jenny Lake. After our ride, we went to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center and took a hike on the Murie Ranch Trail.

7/31/12 Lizard Creek Campground, Grand Teton National Park

Today we drove over to Coulter Bay and hiked around on the Lakeshore Trail.