Day 13 - Running for the Border - 76 miles

“Meet us where the pavement ends” was our request to Kathy for today. We had 43 miles of dirt and the last big pass to climb before we would see her. It was a crisp morning with a long, sweeping down hill before the climb so we were trying to enjoying every moment of being cool. This was one of the most scenic sections of the ride. We were directly west of Glacier National Park for miles and few people were on the road today. 

When I saw three people stooped over in the woods with buckets, I had to stop. I asked one gentleman if he was picking huckleberries and he barely looked up and didn’t answer. He had the look of a serious berry picker so I walked closer and introduced myself as a blueberry picker from Minnesota and said I had always wanted to see a Huckleberry. Once he knew I wasn’t going to “steal” his patch, he invited me into the area he was picking, showed me the plants and offered me a few berries. He said he was from Wisconsin but his hands didn’t stop picking and he didn’t have time to chitchat. I hope he filled his bucket and someday I hope to come back and pick. 

We reached the spot where the dirt ends and there rest of the ride is 30 miles of pavement. We were feeling good so we decided to run for the border. We inhaled some Pringles and Skittles and we were off to finish this adventure. The next ten miles were downhill, on a paved road, along a creek with tall pines. What a welcome stretch after some really hard days. The last 10 miles out of Eureka is when the Montana heat kicked in. I was trying to remember how cold I was back in February during the deep freeze but that wasn’t helping. 

Finally we reached the border and Joel rolled up to the 4 guards and asked if we could take a picture. I am sure they got a good laugh at my happy dance photos but it was time to celebrate. 

Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement and a special shout out to my sister Kathy for being a part of this adventure.

Joel will crunch the numbers and have a follow up post.

 

Day 12- Red Meadow Campground - 68 miles

I am standing in a cold alpine lake easing my sore calf muscles. The lake is crystal clear and a calm blue green color.  The fish are jumping and I am listening to a fellow divide rider sing John Prine songs and play the ukulele and harmonica. It is a magical place and a wonderful reward for today’s effort. We had another big, hot climb to get here. 

There are several groups of Divide Riders here and all are heading south so they have just begun and we are close to end. Since we arrived later in the afternoon we did not get the lakeside, picnic table spot but everyone is friendly and sharing stories. We are amazed at the amount of gear some people have and today I was eyeing up the camp chairs. Oh well, soon I will have lots of time to sit in a chair. 

Most of the ride today was through the suburbs of Whitefish and then along the lake. Since it is a July Saturday, there was more car traffic than we have seen on this trip. On the rocky uphills, I have been picking my line up the hill so it was a little harder to just stay right and tough it out.

Wildlife sightings today were lots of young bucks. One was on the street corner kn Whitefish browsing on an Apple tree.

 

Day 11 - a few miles north of Swan River - 44 miles

603 miles done, 135 to go

I felt really depleted yesterday evening so I asked Joel for a rest or easy day. Our “easy” day started with a 5 mile, 1900 foot climb and we finished at 1pm with a total of 44 miles. I guess the easy part was the downhill and the paved road that came after the hill climbing. The bonus was a car ride to Big Fork for a fantastic egg scramble, hash browns and homemade Gluten free toast and jam.  I was going to take a picture of the food when it arrived but the service was slow and we were so hungry the plates were licked clean before I remembered. Kathy said we are eating like wolves!

We are back at the Swan Lake Campground tonight, showered and hanging out on their porch.  It is nice to have shade, table and chairs, fresh water, laundry and a place to recharge the phones.

Day 10– Part Two

2100 foot climb in 6 miles, 75 miles total

Going north of Seeley Lake we were in the Lolo National Forest that was ravaged by forest fires in 2017. It was kind of eerie to see the large, burned pines standing in front of the hazy mountains. The green of the forest floor and the pink fireweed helped cheer up the scene. It was a quiet morning and we were in bear country so we wanted to make some noise. I thought I should sing since that is an irritating sound to humans and I started with “Roll out the Barrel” in honor of my Dad. I didn’t remember much so I moved on to “Nikolina” a Norwegian song that is a favorite of Ron, my father-in-law. Joel hummed a few bars but neither of us remembered the lyrics. Then I was in to saying words that start with the letter B. We quickly went through Bear, Bug, Bag, Berries, Bikini, etc and after 1/2 hour or so Joel won with Boston Baked Beans. 

Fortunately we didn’t see or hear a bear but a new challenge was upon me. Singletrack, uphill, with an exposed ridge. It was not a pleasant section for me but I made it through the “Chasm of Death”and later we had two really nice sections of singletrack through the wildflowers that were very enjoyable.