Some distance east of last nights our camp we came upon a couple of work crews fixing the road. The first of these was a small affair where a side creek had washed away the pavement. But the second was a major job. It seemed like an entire hillside had collapsed and slid over the road and there was a large crew of workmen, heavy machinery, and gravel trucks clearing the road and rebuilding the hillside. We had to wait a while at the western side of this work area for a pilot car to lead us through the workings.

Past the road repair we found our way into Elk City (another very small hamlet) looking for the forest road we intended to take east. After a few navigational adventures we found the correct way only to arrive at a road closed sign. That sign ended our plan to enter Montana through Nez Perce Pass and via the town of Darby.

Thus we retraced our route back to Highway 12 and headed towards Lolo Pass and Montana.

Camping

Near the town of Lowell we detoured onto a side road along the Sewell River to find a camp for the night and eventually selected Johnson Bar a small NF campground, price $3 for seniors.