shecker@uw.edu

A group of us from Oregon are doing a tour out of Coeur d’Alene next week. One day is from Thompson Falls MT to Mullan ID. Can anyone tell me if National Forest Development Road 7326 is paved or unpaved? That would save us time over going to Wallace through Murray and Eagle and backtracking to Mullan. I’m also interested in hearing if it’s worth the extra time and mileage to do the Murray route.

Thanks for any advice from those who’ve ridden this.

indyfabz

I have ridden out that way twice. Do you mean NF-7623 over Cooper Pass? If so, it's not paved. At least it was not that I know of back in 2019. And from what I have read, it's a bit rugged in places.

Will you have the capacity for some dirt? If so, you can climb Thompson Pass then descend to Murray then take King Pass Rd., which becomes Delta-Murray Rd. at King Pass, to Delta then climb NF-456 to Dobson Pass and descend to Wallace. Only about the first last .25 miles of King Pass are paved, but the unpaved surface was pretty benign when I rode it in 17' and again in '19. NF-456 is paved, but I must warn you that from Delta to Dobson Pass has some sections around 10%. Map it out on RWGPS to see what I am talking about. From Dobson Pass down to Wallace is all down hill. You will pass the brew pub/campground just before you cross the CdA trail.

Also, the descent of Thompson Pass will be fun. Going E-W, the first 4 miles averages over 7%. The next 4 miles to Murray are gentle. I have only gone the other direction.

BTW...I have had a couple of good sandwiches from the bar/restaurant in Murray. The pizza looked good, too. And the place has a water tap outside that is easy to fill both bottles and bladders with.

indyfabz

I will be traveling to start a tour tomorrow so if you have any more questions you should ask quickly. Assuming you’re planning to do the NorPac from Mullan and then the Hiawatha. I’ve done the east slope of the former twice and the latter west to east from Avery, ID.

shecker@uw.edu

thanks so much. You’ve helped us decide to do the Kings Pass route rather than 7623. We will ride the Hiawatha from East Portal. We have access to a vehicle in Mullan so some will drive up there to ride while others may bike there and back. Do you advise using the shuttle at Hiawatha or riding both ways? Thanks.

indyfabz

First, I have never been up the west side of the NorPac Trail to Lookout Pass. It's the only way up other than I-90. What the east side would be like depends greatly on what the weather has been like. When I rode the east slope from Taft up to Lookout in 2017 the trail was in better shape than when I did the same thing in 2019. That's because there had been some heavy rain events in the spring of 2019. Closer to the top there were some sections I had to skateboard across because much of the surface had been washed away, exposing chunky rocks. Doing the NorPac down and then back up could be tiring, especially after the Hiawatha. There are some very noticeable grades which are made tougher by the surface.

From Taft up to East Portal you will have a climb on a dirt road. It was a bit sandy in spots, but not that bad. Note that it is the vehicular traffic route to get to East Portal.

As I mentioned, I rode the old right-of-way from Avery up to the Pearson Trailhead and then did the Hiawatha. From East Portal you immediately enter the St. Paul Pass Tunnel. (Definitely have a good light. I had 500 lumens and would have been happier with a few more.) Somewhere in the tunnel you will cross the pass and start heading down. From that point, it's all down hill to Pearson. There are some noticeable grades heading back to the west portal of the St. Paul tunnel. I'm taking in the 2-3% range. Also, the western end of the trail was a little bumpier than the rest, so that made going up hill a little harder. It's a spectacular ride, so some way want to do it both ways. The good thing is that (I believe) the shuttle is first-come, so you don't have to decide until you get to Pearson. And in case the website for the trail is not clear, the shuttle only takes you back to the west portal, so you have to ride through the St. Paul tunnel to get back to East Portal.

indyfabz

How is it going?