Northern Idaho/Montana - Route of the Hiawatha, The First Tunnel

If you are ever in the Northern Idaho/Montana area, one activity should not miss is biking the "Route of the Hiawatha".  You will ride approximately 15 miles through the tunnels and across the bridges that used to be part of the old Olympian Hiawatha train route. 

The trail starts at the St. Paul Pass in Montana, a tunnel which is more than 1.5 miles long and ends in Idaho.  There are no lights inside, only reflectors on each side to mark the drains to carry all the accumulated moisture out.  So make sure your light works.  I ended up having to borrow a light from the rangers because the one on my rental bike did not work.  We were warned about the tunnel being cold and each of the girls somewhat reluctantly bought a sweatshirt.  But as I rode up to the tunnel and the cold air was pouring out, I was very happy to have that extra layer.

Once you get to the other side the tunnel exit is vastly different than the entrance (which to be honest made me a little nervous).  This tunnel can be very dangerous.  There were 2 accidents while we were there. 

 There is a waterfall on the other side of the tunnel.  Very pretty.

But this was only the beginning...