Hi folks! New to this sub with a question:
I’m planning to ride Bozeman to Seattle this September; have two weeks set aside for roughly 800miles, just in case. I’ve done tours but none this long and none solo. And never been to that part of the US (which is why I want to explore there)
Any riders from acquainted with WA,ID,MT that have pointers, suggestions, etc?
I’m looking to make it at a comfortable pace, solo, off of highways without getting eaten by a bear or running out of water.
Any constructive suggestion is appreciated.
by Yavimaya_younger
3 Comments
In September your biggest crux will be fires – breathing smoke and detouring around closures. There are major east-west rail-trail corridors you can take like the Palouse to Cascades trail across Washington and the Trail of the Couer d’Alenes, NorPac trail, Route of the Hiawathas, etc in Idaho.
Edit: You can pretty much just take the Great American Wheel Route, pending fire [https://bikepacking.com/gawr/](https://bikepacking.com/gawr/)
Bear spray and a Garmin Inreach (or equivalent).
Do you have your route settled? Post it on RideWithGPS or something and leave a link here when you have it planned out.
Douglas Creek Canyon in Central Washington is a really cool spot. It’s an oasis in the middle of a desert landscape. I think it’s part of the XWA route.