Salmo to Nelson on the Great Northern

Yesterday, three of us biked from Salmo to Nelson on the Great Northern Rails to Trails.  I'd say that the first 4 km were not that interesting and a bit rough.  Our first "stop" was in Ymir where we were able to visit the General Store and purchase goodies.  The trail was in excellent shape, following the Salmo River for a good bit.  When we couldn't see the river, we could hear it.  The trail then passes through part of the Apex cross-country ski trails and it was lovely to ride through tall grass and goldenrod - very much like riding on the prairies!  The last piece of trail, from Cottonwood Lake to Nelson was lovely and fast.  We decided to travel all the way to mile 0, expecting to end up some place.  The trail simply ends as it meets up with the currently used Creston-Nelson railway track. I guess that is "some place" - but really the middle of nothing.   That meant a bit of a climb back to an exit point for the city of Nelson.  I'd recommend this trail to others but would probably do it as an out-and-back from Nelson to Cottonwood Lake.