Thistle Adventure: Trail of the Coeur d'Alene

#1 - Plummer to Enaville

This 75 mile trail is a biking jewel. We rode it a few years ago and are back for a second go. Plummer and Mullan make up the bookends, with several historically interesting towns, and more beauty than we can describe, along the way. Because we are not yet bicycle fit for the season, we will take a few days to complete the ride. Plus we need to ride the trail both directions to rendezvous with Thistle. I50 miles it is!

We start in Plummer at a beautiful Coeur d'Alene Tribe war memorial...

The first miles of the trail are up and down through woodlands. Wild flowers are just coming on and we spot a couple favorites --Trillium and Shooting Star. After about eight miles the ride flattens out for a winding route through wetlands, sloughs, rivers and lakes. Along the way we cross an amazing bridge. See how it flattens out between up or down grades? Totally easy to ride a pretty steep incline...

There are birds galore and we've seen moose twice -- once yesterday and another today. The first viewing was far, far way. Can you see her? Way across the water, feeding on the edge...

The second viewing was pretty close to the trail...

We see lots of deer and elk along the trail and turtles. Turtles strung out on logs sunning themselves, and then turtles on the trail, like this guy...

A bit alarming are the environmental warning signs along the trail...

Back in the early mining days, the mines freely released heavy metals into the environment plus the rail line hauled heavy metals with little concern about spillage. And worse, the rail bed itself was built with mine tailings. Once the mining ended and the train stopped running, pollution issues came to the forefront.

In an unique agreement the Union Pacific Railroad, Federal Government, State of Idaho and Coeur d'Alene Tribe combined forces to mitigate the damage. Using asphalt and gravel barriers to isolate the metals, especially lead, the old track bed was covered and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene was born.

As we ride we enjoy spectacular scenery which mostly displaces our environmental unease.