Holy hell today was a tough one! I crossed over the Continental Divide 3 times!! That means, 3 climbs. Carol from Lincoln MT, thanks for those energy shots! I took one before divide crossing #3 and it totally helped get me through! 🙂
It was 90 degrees today, and most of the terrain was exposed and not shaded. Oh man, I got my butt kicked today for sure! Lol. I guess I don’t feel too bad for only doing 52 miles. I’ve been aiming for around 60 miles lately. But today that just wasn’t gonna happen. Lol! Damn it was a heck of a lot of climbing! What a beautiful day it was though. Not a cloud in the sky. 🙂
Here’s a pic of me cresting the first of today’s Continental Divide crossings. It’s such an amazing feeling to be at the top, and knowing you have a downhill section coming up. Although the downhills never last long enough. Lol!
This part of Montana I’m in has a huge mining history. I passed by a couple of mines today. Here’s a pic of one:
Oh! I ran into some other Divide riders today!! A guy named Beau who says he’s seen me a couple times on trail, although I don’t remember him. I guess he camping at the same place I was in Elkford (Canada), and he arrived at the Whitefish Bike Retreat just as I was leaving for Glacier National Park. I haven’t seen a Divide rider in a while. As I rode by a small lake, I saw 2 more! A couple from Seattle area. They were really cool people. Both towing B.O.B trailers. I asked them how they liked the trailer, and the gal said she wished she had gone without. They were headed into Helena because the gal needed a new derailleur hanger, as hers was bent. Bummed I probably won’t see them, since I’m not going into Helena. I’m taking an official alternate route called the “Rimini Alternate” that bypasses Helena and is slightly shorter. I don’t want or need to go to a big town, and I definitely don’t want to do any highway riding. Hence, this alternate is ideal for me. 🙂
That’s the 2nd time I’ve met a person with a bob trailer, who had a derailleur hanger bent. I wonder if it’s a common problem? Oh! She’s riding a Salsa Fargo bike! That still keeps my ratio of about 50% of Divide riders I meet, who use that particular model of bike. Lol!
Today’s riding consisted of ranches and pasture-type grasslands. Lots of cattle and horses. Hence the lack of shade.
Oh! I met a Trail Angel today and got some Trail Magic! It was so cool! I was coming down the first divide crossing today, and passed by a bunch of cabins and ranches. There was a lady sitting on her porch and waved me in and asked if I wanted some water. Sure! 🙂 as I was filling my bottle and bladder, a man walked out of the house and offered me a huge slab of watermelon. Wow!! That was soooooooo amazingly awesome!! 😀 we chatted for a while. He is a former Navy Seal, and was stationed in San Diego for 12 years, as well as other areas. Cool guy, he had a lot of interesting stories. 🙂
You know, when it’s hot, it gets to a point where water just doesn’t work anymore. I experienced this on my PCT hike too. You can drink as much water as you can handle, but it just doesn’t quite quench your thirst. This is were Gatorade becomes a lifesaver. Too bad I didn’t have any. I gotta remember to get some Gatorade powder at the next big town stop.
You know who also makes a fantastic electrolyte powder drink mix is Hammer. It isn’t the best tasting, but boy does it work well! In fact, Hammer makes amazing everything. Of all the sports nutrition companies out there, Hammer is my favorite. Their food bars are amazing.
A lot of people ask me where I sleep or camp. Usually, I am literally on the side of the road. Lol! I pretty much pedal til about 8:30pm, that’s the cutoff time I’ve set for myself. Any later and it gets cold/dark before I get completely situated and I don’t like that. Lol. So at around 8:30, I’ll look for the first flat spot I find and throw my tent up. Here’s my spot tonight. There’s a creek to the right of my tent. Yay water! I hope I don’t wake up with too much condensation. But it’s ok because even if I do, I air my tent out midday and it’s nice and dry again 🙂
I have a big climb to complete in the morning, then I roll into Basin, MT to pickup a package Glenn sent me, then I have another big climb, then I drop into Butte, MT.
Why does it always seem like I’m riding uphill? Lol. Anyhow, it’s nap time!
NINJA on 2 Wheels 
Boo for uphills, thought you were going south bound. Should be all downhill haha!!
Wow, having to unpack the tent to dry it in the middle of the day doesn’t sound like fun. Hope that doesn’t happen too often. Are the streams tolerable for a bathing dip?
It’s actually not a big deal, it just means I have to stop long enough to let it dry, which I’ll do when I’m eating lunch. Streams are tolerable for dipping for most people, not for me. Lol. It’s cold.
How are your packs working out? And did you bring all the right stuff? I wherever Tom learned lots those first few days and never was quite satisfied with his setup. Yours looks pretty sweet!
Packs working out great! The thru hiking *really* helped me figure out what I did and didn’t need. :). Debating Whether to go stove-less or not.