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Last Day, Tuchuck C.G. to Kalispell, Mt.

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This ended up being the only long day of riding on this trip. About 20 miles into the day we had to tackle Red Meadow Pass, another challenging climb. It ends at a spectacular lake that makes it all worthwhile. After lunch there it was mostly downhill to our ending point of Whitefish, MT. Unfortunately, Whitefish is a very popular tourist area and all the campgrounds were full, as were almost all of the motels. I did find one room at $628/night, but decided that was just too offensive. So after eating in Whitefish we did another 15 miles to Kalispell, where rooms were available at almost reasonable prices. Our total mileage ended up being 78 miles. Dante and Kaden decided they had to get to 80, so after I headed into the motel they went out and did two more miles. Some pictures from the day appear below. I wish we had the time to do the second segment down to Helena that I had originally planned, but the couple of days we lost to my illnesses early on leave us with too little time to c...
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Day 11. Eureka to Tuchuck Campground

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This was finally the weather I was expecting. It was somewhere in the 60s when we left Eureka, and reached maybe the low 80s late in the afternoon, with no rain or thunderstorms in sight. The first 15 or so miles were a lazy, flat ride before we started the climb up Whitefish Pass. It's not an especially big climb at only 5,100 feet or so, but the chunky rock and steep grade near the top make it fairly challenging. Both Dante and Kaden did great on it. I was very happy to not have walked any of it since I had to walk about a half mile of it when I rode it 3 years ago. Riding out of Eureka: Deer break approaching the climb: On the climb: Tuchuck campground: This campground is known for having some aggressive, pesky deer and did not disappoint. One kept visiting our site and trying to grab or bite our equipment whenever we were not looking.  Another Great Divide rider set up in the site next to us then went down to the river to bathe. Not two minutes after he left a deer grabbed his ...
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Day 10, Back in the U.S.

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Today we crossed back into the U.S. and stopped in Eureka, Mt to do our laundry, dry out all our gear, do some minor maintenance, and to hit a restaurant. Shortly after leaving Edward's Lake we ran into a convenience store on the main road and met a few other riders who were riding the entire Great Divide Route. One was a woman who brought her dog along with her. She said it was running alongside her for about 20 miles a day then riding in a trailer the rest of the time. The other riders were a couple from Finland who were in their late 60s, which made me hopeful that I may have a few years of this kind of riding left in me. Approaching the U.S. border: A separated bike path leading into Eureka was a nice surprise: Laundry time: Now that the weather has turned around we plan to do a couple of longer days to reach our endpoint in Whitefish. We have a couple of higher passes to go over, so it will be a bit more challenging riding.
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Day 9, Baynes Lake to Edwards Lake

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Due to continuing rain we didn't hit the road until after noon and made it a short day. We had a much easier route for the day. It was all roads, about 50/50 paved/unpaved, and no trails. We hit Edward's Lake campground around 5 p.m., right as it started raining again and temporarily ducked under a tarp until it passed and we could set up our tents without getting soaked.   Thankfully the weather is finally going to be sunny for the remainder of our ride. The constant rain was a bit of a surprise that we were not all that well prepared for. The ride has been a lot of fun but I am looking forward to some dry and sunny days.
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Day 8, Fernie to Baynes Lake

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Lots more rain today. We did another 20 or so miles on the Elk Valley Trail before doing some road miles. We were drenched to the bone again and had to keep our downhill speed down to 5 to 10 mph to avoid freezing ourselves.  After we got back down to lower elevation and the rain died out we ate at a convenience store, and the Dairy Shack in Elko before continuing on to a provincial campground at Baynes Lake. The place was full of RV campers but at least none were running their generators. Elk Valley Trail & resulting mess: Elko: Baynes Lake: We got in our tents early and some kids were still riding around the campground on bikes and skateboards. A pair of them going by found our tents funny and one commented that the looked like "little coffins". I guess if you are used to bringing the entire house along then they might seem about that small.
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Day 7, 20+ Miles of Single Track

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Today we rode from a cheap motel in Sparwood to a cheap hotel in Fernie. Describing it that way drastically understates the experience though.  We left town after picking up some ready to eat breakfast items and snack items for the day. There was some very light rain as we started but it didn't last and wasn't even enough to get us into our rain gear. Leaving town we immediately hit the Elk Valley Trail, which is part of the Continental Divide Hiking Trail, and rode it almost the entire day (26 miles). It is mostly single track and presented endless challenges like huge roots, large rocks, big drops, and very steep climbs. That meant each of us stopping dozens of times when one or more of us failed to negotiate tricky technical sections and/or lost balance, or just couldn't muscle up a particularly steep part. Dante was the only one to take an actual spill though, falling on his side while trying to ride across an icy creek.  Near the end of the day there was a steep climb ...
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Day 6, Back in the Saddle again

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Today (July 19) we rode from Elkford to Sparwood. I am back to normal in terms of eating. Leaving town I picked up almost a liter of cranberry juice that I drank during the first half of the day. It was a beautiful ride that mostly followed the Elk Valley Trail. Much of it was single track trails and Kaden and Dante got some real mountain biking experience, with riding over, roots, mud, branches, and rocks being almost constant. The highlight of the day came when we spooked a herd of either deer or Elk. At first it looked like there were half a dozen of them but far more followed. A total of about 50 ran by in front of us.  Early afternoon we checked into a cheap motel in Sparwood, right next to the medical center, where I was able to make an emergency room visit and pick up some antibiotics. Even though the town was a lot larger than the last, the ER was the only weekend option. Pictures appear below. A cold, morning start: Stepping around some puddles: Hot springs: Picture time: ...
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