Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes - Wallace to Mullan - 7/29/17

Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes - Wallace to Mullan and Wallace to Shont Trailhead - 7/29/17

Obviously we did not get enough bike riding yesterday, this morning we headed out on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, which conveniently runs through the town of Wallace, Idaho and the trailhead is next to the Wallace RV Campground.  From Wallace, we headed uphill to the trail’s end at Mullan, Idaho, 13 miles round trip.

The Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is a 72 miles non-motorized paved trail that begins in Plummer on the west side of the panhandle near the Washington border and travels east through the Chain Lakes Area following the Coeur d’Alene River to Enaville, where the trail continues along the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River to the town of Mullan near the Idaho/Montana border.  “Non-motorized” is important because with the number of ATVs in the area, the trail would quickly become overwhelmed with motorized vehicles if not prohibited.

This trail is built on the remains of a rail bed used for silver mining.  It is actually an EPA toxic clean-up/restoration project funded along with the Union Pacific Railroad, State of Idaho and EPA.  Apparently the soil is impregnated with heavy metals from the mining operations, the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes is built on top of the mining waste (heavy metals) that were originally used to build the railroad bed that carried the ore down the valley.  The paved surface of the trail seals in the heavy metals, along with the new fill used to stabilize the banks of the trail.  However, signs are ever-present to “stay on the trail, wash hands and face before eating, eat at designated waysides and trailheads, carry water for drinking and washing”.  It makes one wonder a bit regarding the safety of using the trail … fortunately, we have no plans to roll in the dirt (after all, we think that the Museum of Clean would not approve).

But wait, there is more … we didn’t get enough bike riding … in the afternoon, we rode from Wallace to Shont Trailhead, another 13 miles round trip, through the town of Osburn, Idaho.  The town of Osburn has not received quite the “love” of Wallace, but, then again, it isn’t The Center of the Universe.  What we did see were garages larger than houses and woodpiles larger than garages … clearly winter brings the need for serious “man caves” and warmth.

We leave Wallace tomorrow morning … unfortunately, we’ll miss the annual Huckleberry Festival, which occurs later in August.  But, we leave satisfied that we have been to The Center of the Universe … had a fun time at the Sixth Street Theater and Kelly’s Alley Revue … (and had some tasty brew).

Shout Out to Paula and John for providing this gem from John’s Big Book of Jokes:
Did you know that the Swedes put bar codes on all of their ships? … That’s so when the ships come back to port, they can SCAN DA NAVY IN!  

Bambi says that he'll see you'll further down the trail ...