On September 10th, 2011, Hank and I biked from Burgdorf Hot Springs to the Wind River Pack Bridge on the Salmon River. This is on the Western Alternate section of the ICT. We went up the Jeanette Creek trail from an elevation of about 6,200 ft. to 8150 ft (more pushing than riding). Fortunately a trail crew had come through about 2 weeks earlier and cleared the deadfall, otherwise we would have had to lift our bikes over several hundred logs. We did not have to hop a single log on this trip. Something to seriously consider before biking this section. We thought the downhill trip (about 12 miles) would be relatively easy, but not so. The upper portion was not too bad, but was dusty and rocky. The lower portion on the Carey Creek side was very steep, rocky, rutted and dusty from trail bikes. This made biking treacherous and difficult. Brakes all the way and had to walk the bikes quite a bit. We both took a spill and got wounded, but not seriously. My brake cables stretched 1 inch. There was lots of water along the way if you need it, even near the top.
Overall it was a great trip on the ICT, as usual, with lots of great views and wildlife, but next time I would hike it and leave the bikes at home. The total distance was about 22 miles and it took us 9 hours to complete. Following is a photo of our route and a few more photos of the trip.
Burgdorf Hot Springs to the Wind River Pack Bridge on the Salmon River.
Burgdorf Hot Springs cabin the night before our ride.
Hundreds of these sawed away thanks to a trail crew.
The Salmon River is down in the far valley.
John White and Hank Boomer taking a break at 8100 ft. elevation.
Going to cool off at the end of our ride at the Wind River Pack Bridge.
