One of my goals this summer was to pedal my bike up to Idaho Peak. From New Denver it is a 5,500 ft ( approx ) climb over about 25 km. I have been riding a couple of mornings a week mostly doing the loop up to Three Forks and back down. There are a couple of neat variations as there are three possible trails to get to Three Forks ( the highway, the Galena Trail, or the old Sandon Rd ). It is about 30 minutes up to Three Forks and about 30 minutes down. From Three Forks it is about 30 minutes up to the old Mining Ghost Town of Sandon on a dirt road. Get up there early before the heat of the day. From Sandon the grade on the road cranks up a notch. It is 12 km to the ridge top. It seemed a reasonable 1 hr 45 minutes and I walked a few short steeper 10 meter sections. Incredible views. I left the New Denver at 5am and was on the peak before 8:30 and then descended the Wakefield singletrack which was a little exciting in some steep sections where it was all I could do to keep the brakes on full and the bike on the trail. The trail connects the old mines on the southern side of Idaho Peak and connects to an old wagon road and then follows Silverton Creek back to Silverton. Yahoo. Back in New Denver at 10am.
The attached photo was taken 1902 of the town of Sandon with a sub peak of Idaho Peak in the background.
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