Route Of The Hiawatha

Yesterday me and the Boo decided to see what all the fuss is about and went and biked the Hiawatha trail in Montana. It is an old railroad that winds through the Bitteroot Mountains and has numerous tunnels and trestles. We drove about an hour to the Montana border and stopped at Lookout Ski Resort where we got info on the trail and shuttle. We then drove to the trailhead and started our 15 mile ride. Right off the bat we headed into the Taft Tunnel which is 1.1 mile long. We had our headlamps but it was still hard to see exactly where the hell you where. It was very cool inside (you could see your breath) and wet with water dripping everwhere and running down each side. It was a blast, we pedaled way too fast and were lucky not to run into the rock walls, after a few exhilerating minutes we broke back out into the sunshine. This bike trail is one of the many old railroads that have been converted into bike trails in the Northwest, it was built around the first of the 19th century with a lot a hard work and money, it winds through some fantastic country and has 7 tunnels and 8 large trestles in the fifteen mile stretch that we rode. We had a great time but finished too fast and caught the shuttle back to the trailhead. We both agreed that next time we will skip the shuttle and bike back ourselves (uphill this time) The trail get its name from the train that use to run this route, The Oympic Hiawatha. See more pictures at the photo gallery on the Larsen Web Site www.cool-larsens.com