Week 1: Big Sky, Big Sun
Thanks for joining me on my trip along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Whitefish, MT, to Antelope Wells, NM. I'll be sending this newsletter about once a week. It will be in a narrative journal format with a few pictures. To see more pics, please check out my Instagram account.
Day 1: Whitefish to Bigfork
My first day covered mostly flat, paved farm roads between the Flathead Range and the Salish Mountains. The cycling wasn't challenging, but the 90°+ heat and unwavering sunshine of Montana's renowned Big Sky made for an energy-sapping day. This weather continued throughout the week and will continue into the foreseeable forecast.
In the excitement of embarking on this journey I didn't take the proper precautions to avoid the sun's blistering rays and paid the price with a lobster burn on my arms, neck and face, which is still peeling as I write this. Now I have sun sleeves and a gaiter to protect myself, along with sunblock for my face.
In Bigfork I set up camp at Wayfarer's State Park where they have a cheap, shared hiker/biker site along with amenities for charging devices and fixing bicycles. The park is situated on the eastern shore of Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Missouri River. Many campers and locals were swimming, but the direct sunshine kept me in the shade nursing my burns.
Soon after arrival I met the first of many fellow Dividers. Mikey and Tricia are also riding south andstarted at the Canada border. We have ended up leapfrogging along the route and even riding together for some segments. It's nice to have the comraderie.
Day 2: Bigfork to Fatty Creek
The second day revealed the true nature of this route with plenty of miles of beautiful, empty dirt and gravel forest roads winding through the Mission Mountains. Constant attention to the cue sheet and one's surroundings is necessary to stay on route. Cues such as "turn acute right downhill onto unsigned FR 10182 at small rock-lined meadow on the right" are not uncommon.
During the ride I passed a couple riding a segment of the route from the south. I had thought this was less common, but I've seen quite a number of folks riding north this week. Plenty more are riding south like me. Everyone has chosen their own speed and distance and it's fun to hear what others are accomplishing and the highlights they've encountered so far. Some are riding the entire route, while many are just doing segments. Some are crunching out 70+ mile days and others are doing 20. Some are on e-bikes and some have support vehicles carrying the bulk of their gear. I have yet to meet any unicyclists, but I won't be surprised when I do.
My intent had been to camp at a campground off-route, but I realized I missed the turn by about two miles and didn't want to ride back, so I picked a creek a few miles ahead on the map at the top of a climb and aimed for it hoping there might be a spot to pitch a tent. Fatty Creek did not disappoint and was also very popular with the mosquito community.
Day 3: Fatty Creek to Clearwater Lake
I packed quickly in the morning's skeeter haze and patted myself on the back for ending the previous day on top of a climb as I descended for several easy miles before pedaling. By late morning, Mikey and Tricia caught me while I was stopped for a snack and we ended up riding together through the rolling terrain which took us across the valley from the Mission Range to the Swan Range.
We stopped at Holland Lake Lodge around lunchtime in hopes of grabbing a late breakfast or lunch, but sadly they had a staff shortage and were only serving overnight guests. They were gracious enough to let us have a beverage at the bar and enjoy their lovely lawn on the shore of the lake with spectacular views of both mountain ranges. We moved to a Forest Service campground down the road and took a quick swim in the rising heat of the day. They decided to push on toward Seeley Lake because they were running low on provisions. I opted to wait a few hours for the sun to move west in hopes of more shade on the road. We both eyed another lake on the map as a potential stopping point.
It was uphill to Clearwater Lake, but so worth the effort. When I arrived M&T were still there swimming and hoping I would come along because I had offered to supply them dinner if they didn't want to push to the next town. The lake was named well and was surprisingly warm from the sun, so I went for a second swim and washed some clothes. An informal camping site proved this was a popular spot, but we never saw another person the whole time. It was certainly worth trading the jetskis on Holland Lake for the loons calling during the night on Clearwater.
Day 4: Clearwater Lake to Monture Creek CG
I kept riding with M&T the next day as we climbed up toward Richmond Peak. The road ended at the Swan Divide Trail which gave me my first real taste of single track riding as we descended for a few miles along some rocky slopes and navigated over fallen trees. They both had more experience mountain biking than me, so this was their bread and butter. I can certainly see the appeal, but I definitely had my hands on the brakes the whole time. After the trail ended, we kept rolling down gravel roads through burned forestland to the town of Seeley Lake.
We ate lunch at Pop's Diner and resupplied at the grocery before moving on down the road. Their goal was to get to Ovando, but I didn't quite have that distance in me. The heat was really punishing me and I never seem to ride well after a full lunch, so I told them to push ahead while I slowed down and aimed for Monture Creek Campground. About halfway there the sky began clouding over and thunder rumbled in the distance. The clouds provided a much needed break from the sunshine and gave me the energy I needed to fly down the well-groomed gravel descent at speeds of 25-30 mph to reach the campground as raindrops started falling. I quickly set up my tent and hunkered down for the evening while a much needed rain shower fell until sunset.
Day 5: Monture Creek CG to Lincoln
The clouds hung around for a little while in the morning, so I gave up hope of drying my tent and tried to take advantage of the cooler temps. The ride into Ovando opened up the landscape to sage-brushed rangeland and farther to the east there was a long straight road across the Kleinschmidt Flat which ended at the base of the Huckleberry Pass climb.
Huckleberry Pass is at the southern end of the Lewis & Clark Range and is apparently a popular spot for OHVs during July 4th weekend. Several caravans of them passed me on the way up. At the crest of the pass a pickup truck stopped to let me know they'd seen a black bear a mile down the road, so I made plenty of noise as I was going around bends down the descent. The bear was probably more scared of the OHVs cruising along and blasting country music though.
I rolled into the town of Lincoln around dinner time to find my friends M&T finishing up a meal at the Wheel Inn. The village was hopping with holiday revelers, so M&T were going to ride a few more miles to look for camping. I wanted to be done for the day, so I looked around town for somewhere to stay. Despite the town being full of people, I finally found an empty spot at an RV park to set up my tent. I knew it wouldn't be a great night's sleep with the holiday kicking off and I was right. There were fireworks, live music, and plenty of barhoppers making noise.
Day 6: Lincoln to Lost Llama Farm
I still woke early the next morning because I was planning a short day of 23 miles over Stemple Pass, my first Continental Divide crossing, to the famed llama farm and I wanted to have my afternoon free to enjoy it. The farm is a destination for many Dividers because the generous owners Barbara and John have built three bunk houses and a teepee as shelter for cyclists. Each shelter is stocked with food, medicine, and solar powered lights and charging stations. There are sandwiches and cold drinks on the porch too. Everything is offered free of charge. They only ask that you pay it forward.
M&T had arrived at the farm the prior evening, having found no suitable camping. When I showed up around 11am, John gave me the tour and asked if I'd like to join them on a drive to Missoula for dinner and sightseeing. This was a special trip because Barbara's aunt Rosemarie was visiting from Atlanta. The six of us loaded into their van with their three dogs (the llama and alpacas stayed home) and drove two hours to a restaurant with lots of taxidermy on the walls. We took the scenic way home which took even longer. Ordinarily I don't like long automobile rides, but I was in good company and we saw some of the beautiful countryside of Montana. Back at the farm, four other cyclists had arrived and I shared my bunkhouse with a friendly 19 year old guy from Minnesota named Howard.
Days 7 & 8: Lost Llama Farm to Helena & rest day
In the morning, M&T made everyone pancakes at their bunkhouse. I hit the road first and felt strong on the two climbs over the Continental Divide. Whether it was the prior day's shorter mileage or the pancakes, I'm not too sure. Moving to the eastern side of the Rockies, there has been fewer thick forests and more dry, open rangeland with numerous cows on the roads. The sun has been even more relentless because of the lack of shade. I decided Helena would be a good place to rest for a day and get a motel room to have a shower and do my laundry.
The downtown area was very quiet on July 4th, which I was not upset about at all. It was still relatively quiet today too. Next week I'll pass through Butte and points south of there. My body, mind, and bicycle are all holding up well so far. Thank you all for following along with me.
The numbers so far:
- 287.5 miles
- 3 Continental Divide crossings
- 0 bears
