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Slideshow
A slideshow of photos from Wyoming can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/YdXAEYof3LEWszvT7 .
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Missive No. 9: Montana Reprise
I am sitting on the porch of the Shady Spruce Hostel in Missoula, MT, on my day off. Following a full week of camping and basic town hostels after leaving West Yellowstone, I needed a day off to do laundry and recharge batteries, not to mention give a nod to the day that, according to my passport, is my 67th birthday.
The Shady Spruce Hostel is one block from the headquarters of Adventure Cycling, the organization that maps our routes and that I remember from 1976 as Bikecentennial. Alas, I arrived in Missoula on the weekend to find the office closed. The best I could manage was a few photos on the outside.
It has been a good week of cycling even if the western forest fires have made themselves increasingly felt. Smoke is noticeably in the air, in places dimming the afternoon sun to give a light quality reminiscent of the minutes before totality in a total solar eclipse. The mountain views are muted, at times obscured. All sunsets are red. Riding from Wisdom to Hamilton on Friday, I passed through the area where the Angle Fire has at times burned right up to the road. The evidence of fire is there to be seen and smelled.
Montana is the first state on this year's journey that was also part of my Northern Tier route last year. Montana is such a big state, however, that this reprise did not feel like a repeat. My route north from Yellowstone to Missoula felt very different from last year's crossing of the Hi-Line and then of Glacier and points further west.
This week I passed through the touristy ghost towns of Virginia City and Nevada City, but then I found the real deal at Bannack, a true ghost town, Montana's first capital, that is preserved as a state park. I camped there for the night and walked the silent streets as the reddening rays of the setting sun played on the hills and deepened the sense of history. It was also the night of the Perseid meteor shower. I woke myself at 4 a.m. to stand watch as five meteors crossed my field of view in ten minutes.
There were echoes of Lewis and Clark everywhere with markers describing the passage of the Corps of Discovery through this region in 1805-06. I understand I will see still more as I cross into Idaho.
Of the campgrounds and hostels where I stayed this week, the most unusual was the county fairgrounds in Hamilton. I camped right next to the horses and the main event grandstand. My shower came courtesy of an outdoor hose. (At Bannack, a creek flowing through the campground provided a similar service.)
My one moment of terror during the week came at the visitors' center at Lake Hebron, aka Earthquake Lake, the site of a major earthquake in 1958. I had taken my photos and read all the historical signs. Before continuing on, I took my AC map into my hands to look ahead for the next landmark along the route. As I tried to fold the map, a strong wind whipped it out of my hands. I dove and grabbed for the map twice only to have the wind blow it further out of reach. Another strong guest took it over the railing and halfway down a rocky embankment to the road below.
Without my AC map, I am blind and clueless as to my route. I cried out as loudly as I could, "Help!"
Five guys with motorcycles came to my rescue. Four of them stayed with me at the railing while their friend rode his motorcycle down to the road below. The guys on top kept throwing small stones at the map to dislodge it from a bush where it had become stuck. When the map finally got about 3/4 of the way down to the road, the fifth motorcyclist scrambled up the rocks and grabbed it. I was so, so relieved that I hugged all five of them. I just regret that in my relief I failed to take a photo.
Another person who got a hug from me this week was the proprietor of the General Store in Wisdom. When he saw the amount of food, water, and ice I planned to carry to the American Legion campground and hostel, he told me to forget it. He delivered it all to me just minutes after I reached the hostel. (BTW, my shower that night came courtesy of a hand pump and my cooking pot.)
Before I forget, Richard in West Yellowstone delighted me with his bike-packing stories. His bicycle is, in essence, his primary residence on a journey that has crisscrossed most of the US. We had a wonderful time conversing as we listened to his musician friend Billy entertain us and the Sunday evening tourists a week ago.
I have only one negative thing to say about this part of Montana, and it concerns the drivers. I've had more blaring horns and shouts of "Get off the road!" here than anywhere else. This being the official TransAm route, in places signed as USBR 76 with Share the Road signs, it could be that familiarity with bike-packing tourists breeds contempt. All one can do is ignore the shouts and horns, be calm, and pedal on.
That's my Montana reprise story for 2021. My journey is now more than 3/4 done with less than 1000 miles to go, but there are many more hills to climb before I reach journey's end in Astoria, OR. The adventure continues tomorrow as I cross Lolo Pass into Idaho and the Pacific Time zone.
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Daily Log
Monday, August 9, 2021 -- 20,251 km cum - 125 km/day
I'm camped tonight at a private campground in Ennis.
This should have been a relatively easy downward sloping day from West Yellowstone to Ennis, but it had its drama. First, the wind was against me all along the shore of the Earthquake Lake. What should have been an easy ride was a slog.
Second, I stopped at the Earthquake Visitors' Center some 30 miles into the ride. After taking photos and reading the historical displays, I started to open my AC map to look at the rest of the day's route. As I did, the wind whipped the map away from me. I ran after the map but could not grab it before it went sailing over a railing and partway down a steep embankment. I called out, "Help!"
Four motorcyclists came to my rescue. Three stayed with me at the railing while the fourth got on his motorcycle and went to the bottom of the embankment. We at the top threw stones at the map until it dislodged from some rocks where it had become stuck. When it fell far enough down the slope, the motorcyclist at the bottom scrambled up and retrieved it. I don't know what I would have done without the help of these four young men on their motorcycles. Without my AC map, I'm blind. I'll be more careful with it from now on.
I met Richard on my day off in West Yellowstone. He's a bike-packer who, in essence, lives on his bike and never stops travelling. He introduced me to his musician friend Billy whose wife owns a small shop in West Yellowstone. Richard and I sat and talked for a long time while listening as Billy played outside his wife's shop as customers and tourists passed by.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021 -- 20,324 km cum - 73 km/day
A short day by design from Ennis to Twin Bridges. I climbed in the morning and then scooted downhill to Virginia City. I spent some time in this restored gold rush city and enjoyed ice cream.
An anonymous someone paid for my breakfast this morning at Yesteryear's Cafe in Ennis. Tonight I'm staying at the Twin Cities bike hostel. Seems I will have it to myself. No one else has rolled in so far.
I haven't heard from John in 24 hours. That's not like him. I'm a bit worried.
Wednesday, August 11, 2021 -- 20,414 km cum - 90 km/day
Turns out John put his phone in airplane mode and forgot about it. That's all. Crisis averted.
This was a good 56-mile day to the campground at Bannack State Park. The afternoon was uphill over Badger Pass fighting a headwind all the way. I admit to walking the final 2 km to the top.
Primitive camping is the watchword of the day. Perseid meteors tonight. Will I wake myself up to see them?
Thursday, August 12, 2021 -- 20,495 km cum - 81 km/day
This was a good 50 mile day from Bannack State Park to Wisdom. I'm indoor camped at the American Legion campground/hostel. I just took a shower at the hand pump using my pot to dump water over myself.
Yesterday evening I took a walk through the ghost town of Bannack near sunset. It was the perfect time to get a sense of what life might have been like here 150 years ago in the Old West. Unlike touristed Virginia City, Bannack is a true ghost town, a time capsule from the past.
I rose at 4:30 a.m. for the Perseids and saw 5 meteors in about 10 minutes. Not bad for just standing and looking up.
Three was lots of smoke today from the several fires in the area, and the smoke likely will be worse tomorrow as I ride through the area of the Trail Creek Fire.
Friday, August 13, 2021 -- 20,620 km cum - 125 km/day
August 13 proved to be a good 77-mile day from Wisdom to the fairgrounds in Hamilton where I'm primitive camped for the night. I hadn't intended to go this far, but after climbing through the fire zone in the morning, I was on a downhill run for the rest of the day. Even a headwind didn't slow me much. I lost over 3500 feet in altitude and felt hot for the first time since Pueblo. I just took a cold shower with an outside hose, and my view is of the fairground horses on the other side of the fence. The sunset this evening -- in spite of the fires or perhaps because of them -- is a magnificent red.
On to Missoula tomorrow!
Saturday, August 14, 2021 -- 20,699 km cum - 79 km/day
Today's was an easy 4-hour, 49-mile ride from Hamilton to Missoula even with a rest stop in Lolo. Alas, the Adventure Cycling headquarters is closed for the weekend. Aaron, passing by, took a few photos of me in front. I bought a souvenir jersey at the Bike Hangar and then checked in at the Spruce Street Hostel and took a good shower. I'm now doing laundry at the nearest laundromat. It's hard to believe that it's already 7:30 p.m. given that I arrived at 2 p.m.
I checked my maps. I have 987 miles to go to Astoria. That's 20 days of riding at 50 miles/day. It seems I may finish this journey after all. That's saying something given how I almost abandoned right at the start after experiencing heat exhaustion on the ride from Williamsburg to Richmond.
Tomorrow, August 15, rings in my 67th year if my birth certificate is to be believed. That's as good a reason as any for a day off in Missoula. Last year I was in Sandpoint, ID, for my 66th.
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