Day 57, glorious descent into Challis

Well, the sky is blue, and I tackled the hardest segment of the road yesterday.

Just a couple miles of climbing and then 25 miles of downhill!

Before taking off, I setup my stove and pot in the gravel pit to make some coffee. I'm really just boiling water and adding instant coffee, but it is comforting.

By the way, the new cook system is amazing. I've pulled it out of my bags every morning to cook up breakfast or at least, just make coffee. Huge improvement over the behemoth I had before.

Those first miles climbing was a on straight road that stretched on forever:

Last night I camped at the base of the mountain on the left.

And finally at the summit, looking back into the valley I just rode from.

While taking a break at the summit, I fixed myself a peanut butter sandwich with the last of the homemade bread that Rusty baked for me. Such a great loaf of bread. Thank you Rusty!

From then until I arrived in Challis, Idaho, there was nothing eventful - just leisurely pedaling while racing downhill.

I barely entered Challis when I saw the River of no Return Brewing Company. Sounds like a perfect place to update the blog and enjoy a pint.

Within a few minutes of chatting with the owner, George, he offered to let me camp on his 20 acre property in town!

George has a pretty neat setup: a small brewing system (reminiscent of the 30 gallon system I have at home), and a simple but delicious food menu. While enjoying their beer, I ate a jalapeno sausage with sauerkraut. It definitely hit the spot.

The brewery!

I had a pint of the brewery's brown ale and it was fantastic. Unfortunately, due to the crowds in town for a 100k run, they ran out of the brown, and I had to switch to a guest tap.

If you pass through Challis, Idaho, stop at the brewery. Great people, engaging conversation and delicious beer!

There, I also met Brett, a resident from Stanley, who had many recommendations for his area. I was thinking about heading that direction (after all, it would be backwards), and he solidified my decision.

Apparently there is a stellar pizza place in Stanley that I have to order a Thai Me Up, a pizza with a Thai twist. Can't wait!

Since the ride to Stanley is all up hill, I hoped to get a head start that afternoon. Leaving Challis, I rode about ten miles to a BLM campground, Deadman's Hole.

It was a beautiful spot on the river, with just a few campsites, all equipped with new canopies and restrooms.

I was the only one there.

Just around sunset, a park ranger showed up and started fly fishing in the river to no avail. Still looks like a relaxing way to end the day.

The weather was perfect and I fell asleep without the rain fly!

Joe