Day 470 – US – Idaho [Coeur d’Alene to Cataldo]

18/07/21

46.7km

  From Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) to Cataldo (Idaho)

North America

Another smoky run, through the fumes of the many wildfires raging in Idaho

Coeur d’Alene in the morning

I enjoyed camping again yesterday. I befriended the neighbours at the campground, Tyler & Amy. It seems most people at the campground own giant RV’s, often towing their car at the back of it. Quite a sight on the road! Anyway, not many people simply pitch a small tent like I do. I was a bit anxious as most of today’s run will be on the Interstate (IS) 90. Runners or cyclists are not supposed to be on the IS, but I was counting on it being a Sunday morning, very early and on a non busy stretch.

Smoke filling in the air

Sure enough, halfway through the run, Sergeant Ronald Sutton of the Idaho State Patrol stopped by my side! We chatted for a while, I explained what I was doing and gave him my road plan for the next few days. He wished me good luck and let me continue my run. Apparently, as is often the case, a few people had called in to report “a mum with a baby running on the freeway”! Well, at least now the police department knows of my whereabouts, a good thing.

Desolation landscapes…

As I made my way from Coeur d’Alene Lake up to 4th July Pass (912m), I started noticing the burning smell again. Wildfires in the region are still raging and the air was filled with smoke. It’s a pity as I couldn’t enjoy the landscapes, I could guess it looked stunning but couldn’t see all the beauty. There were a few patches, right by the side of the freeway that were completely burnt off (and that looked very recent, as the smell was very strong).

Temperatures are milder today and the wind is weakening, I hope it will help firefighters get these fires under control soon. Camping again tonight, not far off the Coeur d’Alene River. A beautiful setting 🙂

Check out today’s flyover video: https://www.relive.cc/view/vXvLXBX8w7v

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: