We hope you weren't as frustrated as we were by the fact there is no cell service and little wifi from Lolo Pass until Kooskia.
Today, after experiencing a little bit of every kind or terrain and every kind of weather, we finally arrived in Grangeville. There is cell service and wifi here. Tomorrow is a rest day and we will make plans for the next 10 days or so.
We breakfasted at the Ryan's Wilderness Inn and Cafe in Lowell. There were two cyclists eating breakfast. One was wearing a jersey that said Biking Viking dot net. We haven't had a chance to check it out yet. But we overheard him say he had done multiple cross country tours. As we were sitting there, several other cyclists arrived. They were wearing jerseys indicating that they were cycling from Baltimore to Portland to raise money to fight cancer.
A few miles after Kooskia, we came to Stites. There is a famous grocery store where for years the proprietress has been sending ACA riders on a hilly shortcut to Grangeville. The virtue of her route is that there is little traffic. About 2 years ago, the ACA put her route on their maps.
It was hilly! I like hills and there were stretches where we got off and walked. Storms rolled in. We got hailed on 3 times. The first time we sheltered from the wind, but not the rain and hail, by huddling below the road cut. The second and third times we just rode through it.
We were happy to get to Grangeville. We saw a spectacular sunset, one of the few we have stayed up for in recent days.