The morning was rough. I had been warned that some of the rail trails going west are not actually ridable, but thought I had done my due diligence by looking up the specific trails I would take. I attempted The Route of the Olympian, which had stated that the east end was the least developed and the road has some large gravel. Getting on at the east end, it was manageable, but not exactly fun or easy on a road bike. About 4 miles in the road came to a river that I can only guess I was expected to forge. I got back on I-90.
Past St. Regis the bridges on I-90 have shoulders, so I did not have to weave on and off the freeway. I did eventually get on the NorPac Trail, country roads that are shared between bicycle, pedestrian, and motor vehicle travel. It had quite large gravel through sections and took a lot of time and energy on a road bike. The path was beautiful and I could see why people would enjoy riding it on a mountain bike.
Finally, I was able to get on Trail of the Couer D’Aleans, a paved rail trail. I had to go pretty far to get to a campground because the first half of the trail runs through private property. I camped at the Bull Run Sportsman Access, a BLM primitive camping location. Being the 4th of July, the commercial campground across the street was very noisy and fireworks were being set off everywhere. I had crossed time zones earlier in the day and was exhausted, but could not get to sleep until after midnight.