Another silver mining town that | |||
was once Idaho ’ s largest city , a good | |||
portion of Wallace was burned in the | |||
Great Fire of 1910 . Today its population | |||
is fewer than 1,000 people , but the | |||
area is now a legendary hub for offroad | |||
riding and snowmobiling . Much | |||
of the compact , old-time downtown | |||
is included in the National Registry of | |||
Historic Places . | |||
We unloaded in a lot on the south | |||
end of town and hit the Moon Pass | |||
Trail , also called the Wallace-to-Avery | |||
trail by locals . | |||
The rain pelted our jackets along | |||
the rising , whooped-out run . Enough | |||
to saturate portions of our gear , the | |||
changeover to snow was appreciated | |||
as we gained elevation . Heading | |||
to a lunch spot in Avery was less | |||
familiar territory for my guides , but | |||
they promised taller hills and more | |||
challenging terrain along the way . | |||
MOON PASS TRAIL Switchbacks brought us up thousands
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This steep , un-maintained trail brought us to the edge of danger . |
of feet as the deep whoops continued .
Snow came down in sheets , and the
trail gradually became less groomed ,
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more drifted , but , mercifully , less |
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snowmobile ride , gave us the full tour .
Walking past cafes , stores and a huge indoor water park , John pointed to the gondolas disappearing on their way up the mountain , and said it was snowing like crazy on top of the 6,300-foot Kellogg
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Peak . We hopped into a spacious , fourperson gondola and started the dangling climb up the mountain . He beamed about the excellent skiing season , and shared facts about the region ’ s silver mining history , while pointing down to |