Day 3 was a multi-trail day and one I had been looking forward to for a long time. I had always wanted to ride the NorPac Trail, and today I finally got the opportunity. I started in St. Regis, Montana, and picked up the Route of the Olympian, following the old Milwaukee Road railroad corridor west along the St. Regis River toward Saltese. My son and I had actually ridden this section just the week before. If you want a better look at the Route of the Olympian between St. Regis and the Saltese Trestle, the video from that ride can be found at gravelgrindingboys.com. Near Saltese, I left the Route of the Olympian and worked my way onto the NorPac Trail. The NorPac follows another historic railroad corridor, this time the former Northern Pacific Railway, and climbs west from Montana toward Lookout Pass before descending into Idaho and eventually reaching Mullan. And climbing is the operative word. The first half of this day was basically one long grind uphill. This was nothing like the Ninemile Divide climb from Day 2. There were no long, ugly pitches where the mountain seemed personally offended by my presence. This was railroad grade: long, gradual, and steady. But elevation is elevation. My recorded high point was approximately 4,741 feet, reached around mile 38½ near Lookout Pass. Ride with GPS credited the day with about 2,379 feet of total climbing. That number deserves some respect. A railroad grade may be gentle, but when you spend nearly half of an 80-mile day gradually climbing, eventually your legs figure out what is happening. Once over the high point, however, the personality of the ride changed considerably. I descended toward Mullan, Idaho, where I picked up the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is a roughly 73-mile paved trail stretching from Mullan to Plummer across the Idaho Panhandle. For me, though, today’s portion would carry me west through the Silver Valley toward Cataldo. And somewhere after hitting that beautiful smooth pavement, I found my second wind. Actually, I may have grown wings. For a while I turned the ride into my own miniature Tour de Coeur d’Alenes. To be completely fair, my great competitive victories mostly consisted of passing a few casual evening riders, some kids, and one very capable-looking guy who appeared to be enjoying the scenery rather than participating in the bicycle race that existed entirely inside my head. Still counts. After spending the first half of the day grinding uphill, rolling fast on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes felt fantastic. By the time I reached Cataldo, the GPS showed roughly 80.8 miles (130 km) for the day. Eighty miles. That part is worth a little bragging. And with 2,379 feet of climbing, it wasn’t simply an 80-mile day spent rolling downhill either. My overnight stop was CDA River RV, Riverfront Campground near Cataldo. I have stayed here before and really like it as a bicycle-camping stop. It sits very close to I-90, so I am not going to pretend it is a quiet wilderness campground. You will hear the interstate. But the accommodations make up for a lot of that. There are tent sites, picnic tables, restrooms and showers in the bathhouse, and the campground sells ice and cold sodas. Most importantly for a cyclist finishing an 80-mile day, it is conveniently located right beside the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. Before reaching camp, I stopped at Walmart in Smelterville for food and supplies. Including beer. And here is some useful bicycle-travel research that apparently nobody else was willing to conduct: A Rogue Panda frame bag can carry three liters of water and six beers. Now you know. The unfortunate flaw in this research was that I did not actually need six beers. I enjoyed two. I cooked dinner with another. And because this trip is connected to beerandiron.com, I should acknowledge that technically I was cooking in titanium rather than iron. But don't think for one second that the part of that beer that didn't end up in the pot went to waste. That still left three beers that nobody particularly wanted the next morning. In hindsight, I probably should have just left those three at Walmart rather than hauling them around Idaho as highly inefficient ballast. All in all, Day 3 was a good day. It gave me three very different trail experiences: the gradual gravel climb of the Route of the Olympian, my long-awaited ride on the NorPac Trail over Lookout Pass, and finally the smooth pavement of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes into Cataldo. 80.8 miles for the bragging rights. 2,379 feet of climbing to prove I didn't get those miles for free.