Day 18-Winchester, ID to Clarkston, WA-46.42 miles

Our camp at Winchester Lake State Park atop Big Butte was at an elevation of about 4000 ft. Today when we arrived at our destination in Clarkston, we were at 850 ft., a net loss of 3150 ft. A good part of that loss was in an 8 mile stretch as we approached the town of Culdesac. It was a steep downhill with many hairpin turns on a road void of guardrails. We maintained a healthy 20-25 mph with the brakes on during most of the 20 minute ride down the butte. It was an exhilarating ride to swoop from banked curve to banked curve that left us breathless at the bottom. The ride from Culdesac on to Lewiston, except for one 800 ft. hill, was moderately downhill. This brought us to Hell's Gate State Park where we picked up a bicycle path that followed the river and then across the river(see the student question below) to Clarkston, WA. In Clarkston, while having a late lunch, we made arrangements at a Best Western for the night to update this neglected blog and to get some relief from the 103 degree temperatures. Now for the laundry...

-clarkwheel

Student question:
Hell's Gate State Park is located on the largest tributary of the Columbia River. (The Columbia was the river that carried Lewis and Clark to the Pacific). What is the name of this tributary?