Day 15: July 6 Syringa to Lochsa Lodge 72 miles

Lochsa River

Monday, 7/6/81
Lochsa Lodge, ID

It started raining last night so I had to crawl into Rick's tent. It stunk like Rick.

It was raining in the morning but we got going anyway. It stopped while we had breakfast in a cafe in Lowell. Then it got hot out.

Stopped at an "historic" ranger station run by a very nice couple. Rode through a huge forest fire burn from the '30s that ran for miles. Had lunch at a campground.

Rafters

A big thunderstorm hit in the afternoon. We all hid under a horse bridge and laughed and took pictures. It continued to rain, so we're staying at Lochsa Lodge in a rustic cabin. Very cozy. Bad weather predicted.

 

Here comes the storm.



Jack, Rick, & Bret cowering under a horse bridge.

That thunderstorm was most dramatic. A gray curtain of rain moved steadily forward, hiding the hills behind it. Every once in a while, a bolt of lightning would stab the ground and thunder would roll and crash around over our heads. When it was about a quarter-mile away, we stopped by a horse bridge across the river. We rushed into our rain gear and dove under the bridge just as the front hit. I couldn’t believe it! Rain was slanting under the bridge and drenching us. Thunder was crashing overhead. We had to yell to be understood. My three comrades looked so comical sitting in a row under the bridge in their flapping rain gear that I braved the storm long enough to get my camera. It was at this point that we decided to exchange addresses. The violence of the front passed in about ten minutes, then it was just steady rain the rest of the day.
 

Lochsa Lodge had a bar and a restaurant and cabins. We splurged. Then we retired to a cabin with four beds and a wood-burning stove. Such luxury!

Me too.