Route of the Hiawatha trail closes for the season

Nick Rotunno

LOOKOUT PASS — Traversing steel trestles, whistling through long tunnels, nearly 33,000 cyclists embarked on the Route of the Hiawatha this past season, a 14 percent increase from last year’s total of roughly 28,700. Oct. 3-4 was the route’s last weekend of 2009.

Following the rugged grade of the old Milwaukee Road, the bike trail wends 15 miles through the towering Bitterroot Mountains, offering riders scenic panoramas in all directions. Interpretive signs line the route, detailing the railroad’s lore and legend. Wildlife abounds in vast North Idaho forests.

With so much to offer, the ride continues to break attendance records season after season. This summer was warm and relatively dry, perfect for cycling, and on a bright weekend morning the parking lots would fill early, eager families out in force. Even when the clouds were gray and rain was falling, stalwart riders were on the trail, dodging mud puddles.

“You know what was noticeable,” said trail coordinator Ric Clarke, “was we had more of those ultra-busy days, when the parking went a quarter mile past the gallows in the parking lot.”

Clarke was referring to the East Portal trailhead, where a large wooden “gallows” (originally built to hold up the railroad’s electrical wires) guards the entrance to the route. East Portal is the most popular trailhead on the route, and it’s often swarming with parked cars, trucks and RVs.

A veteran Hiawatha employee, Clarke was on the trail just about every day, giving him a unique perspective on the summer crowds.

“Last year we had some of those [busy days], this year we had a lot of them,” he continued. “But it worked out for us, because we had up to six shuttle buses operating.”

Trail marshals and shuttle drivers worked hard to keep the busiest days moving smoothly. Most riders begin the Hiawatha at East Portal, pedaling through the darkness of the St. Paul Pass Tunnel, then continuing downhill through the Loop Creek drainage. When they arrive at the Pearson trailhead, the end of the line, shuttle buses are there waiting — ready to transport cyclists and bikes back up the hill.

Marshals line up riders and load buses, the shuttle drivers drive, and the cyclical motions that define the Route of the Hiawatha continue without pause. As many as half a dozen buses huffed through the forest on a given day, ensuring quick transport.

“We were able to move people out of the bottom much quicker [this year],” Clarke said. “I thought it was a very smooth year.”

The Hiawatha always draws visitors from faraway places, and 2009 was no exception. Lookout Pass reported riders from Norway, Luxemborg and Samoa traveled the trail this year, three countries the route can add to its already-long list.

However, Clarke said international visits on the whole were down this year, most likely a sign of trying economic times. He remembered many cyclists from Boise, Canada and California — locations that require a long drive, but not exactly Europe or Asia.

“We had more people,” Clarke said, “but they just weren’t coming from as far away.”

Regardless of where they’re from, though, 33,000 people is a lot of trail riders. Most were good-natured and friendly, enjoying the mountains, the tunnels and trestles, the historical grandeur of the Route of the Hiawatha.

Even the locals were impressed.

“They didn’t realize that they had this treasure in their backyard,” Clarke recalled. “And they’re so amazed.”