We wanted to get out of Ed’s reserved campground loop A pretty early, not only because we didn’t want to see and talk to him in the morning, but also because we didn’t wanna deal with potential headwind like we dealt with yesterday as we tried to get to our destination of Kooskia (50 miles) or further (Grangeville 73 miles). The alarm went off at 5, we were up by 5:15, and we were packed, fed, and on the road by 7. That was really good time for us. This morning was more of the same scenery as yesterday: super steep forested mountains on one side, and a beautiful Russian (no, Siri, a RUSHING) river with lots of rapids on the other side…and us on a winding downhill road in between. For miles and miles and miles. Today, the ride was as amazing as I remembered in 2010 because of the early morning lack of traffic and headwind, given that we were riding before the afternoon hours. It was just a nice, gentle, beautiful descent that seemed never-ending. Every now and then we’d have to climb up just a few feet up the steep hillside as the road curved around a riverbend again, but by and large it was just one long descent. We made it to 20 something miles to Lowell where we had our sights set on coffee and breakfast. We had a mediocre meal with mediocre service with pretty high prices, but we left with our bellies full, caffeinated and caloried, our power banks (the physiological AND the electronic) charged, and our bladders drained. So it was still a worthwhile stop. And then, guess what? More of the same, gorgeous downhill riding next to a gorgeous river through a beautiful, forested wilderness canyon. There was more traffic but it was relatively sporadic and was mostly rafting traffic or the occasional van or trailer coming by to recreate on a Saturday. When we rolled into Kooskia at noon, we had already done 50 miles. We weren’t particularly hungry, and it wasn’t particularly hot, and we’d had an easy day…as easy as 50 miles can be. But it was expected to get into the low 80s today and be thunderstormy later, and given that we are leaving the forested area of Idaho and now are in areas where we we’ll be more exposed to the sun and not so shaded, and given that the next 23 miles to Grangeville have a really steep climb followed by rolling hill climbs, we decided to stop in Kooskia for the day and chill. We’ll do the hard ride tomorrow morning early, not in the afternoon sun after having already put 50 miles on our legs. Here in Kooskia, we can camp in the city park for free and it’s right next to a beautiful river that we can swim; and we can pitch our tent on concrete under a big pavilion to stay dry and avoid the nighttime sprinklers. We decided it would be better to just enjoy our afternoon here swimming, relaxing, snacking, and re-energizing and then hit that heavy climb (some say it’s the steepest on the entire Trans Am…Lamb Grade) in the morning. We have 23 miles to Grangeville and the steep Lamb Grade climb starts about 3 miles out of town. After Grangeville we have another climb to White Bird Pass followed by one of the best descents of the entire trip - 7 miles straight of a 7% grade down into a spectacular river valley with amazing views. It’s gonna be a beautiful ride, but one that we would rather tackle in the early morning hours. Kooskia park update: we swam in the river (well, really we first just got in and rinsed/cooled off while trying to not get swept downstream, and then later we jumped in a couple times and floated down about 100 yards and got out at our camp), we did our ride summaries/postings, I rode to town and got us take out dinner which we ate on a picnic table just feet from the river, and we slept decently under the pavilion (not great, not terrible). Maui ate poop she found near a tree (ugh!) It was human (double ugh!!). As it turns out it must’ve had marijuana in it because she was stoned all afternoon. Really. Stumbling, ataxic gait. Eyelids heavy. Lethargic. Scared of sudden movements or loud sounds. This happened to her once before so we didn’t freak out and she recovered over the course of the afternoon and was normal by bedtime. But why was there human poop by a tree in the city park??? Well, it may have to do with the fact that they have locked the bathrooms in the Kooskia park because they had problems with drug users soiling them with paraphernalia and blood. So cyclists can camp but can’t go to the bathroom (unless the Conoco gas station or the grocery store is open, but they close at 10 and open at 6). So as much as I hate to say it, it was probably a cyclist. (Come on cyclist friends….dispose of your poop!! Bag it up and throw it away or something. Don’t LEAVE it there!!) Ok, rant over.