Category: Montana 2014 Part 2

Friday August 15, 2014, 16 miles (27 km) – Total so far: 3,978 miles (6,402 km)

I sleep in. I sleep in longer. I linger. I do not check out of the hotel until noon. I normally prefer to camp, but that little bit of luxury after a tough week on the road was just what I needed.

I ride over to the laundromat in my rain gear. Since it is pouring rain, I don’t look out of place. Normally, when you sit around a laundromat in rain pants and a swimsuit, it looks a little funny, but not so much today. Read more →

Saturday August 16, 2014, 43 miles (70 km) – Total so far: 4,022 miles (6,472 km)

Seven months ago, 13,000 miles away, I plotted out what I thought I might like to do in Glacier National Park. Of course, what you dream up while sitting at the computer in the comfort of your own home is not what always happens on the road. My hope for Glacier had been to go up to Bowman Lake off the North Fork Road for some hiking, before spending a couple days at Avalanche Creek, then a few days at campgrounds on the east side of the park. The goal was to get in as much hiking as possible.

But the weather is not supporting those plans. The forecast for the next two days is scattered showers. Then, there should be 2-3 good days before the weather is forecast to deteriorate in a big way with five days of cold rain, and snow at higher elevations, forecast. Read more →

Sunday August 17, 2014

“AL – A – BAM – A!”

The trail to Snyder Lakes gains elevation quickly as it twists and switchbacks upward above the horse stables at Lake McDonald Lodge. The forest is thick, but the understory absent, so it is not claustrophobic in the dark gloom of deep shade on a cloudy day.

“A – LAS- KA!”

This trail also leads to the Sperry Chalet, and many people ride horses there. All of the supplies go in by horse, too, apparently. It appears that a group of horses, or one with an enormous gut and digestive issues, has already left this morning and headed up the trail. There’s a fair bit of fresh horse manure to dance around up the trail.

“AR- I –ZON- A!”

The fresh horse crap makes me feel a bit better about hiking alone in grizzly territory. Read more →

Monday August 18, 2014

My father has been excited about my visit to Glacier since I first told him about the Montana tour early this year. When I was home in Indiana, he described the trips he and my mom took there in 1999 and 2004. He has lots of funny stories and happy memories. Glacier is his favourite national park. He loves the scenery, the trails and the ever-present potential to see a mammal that could take your life. My mother is less enthusiastic about Glacier. Her memories are that it rains a lot, is cold, and there is an ever-present potential to be killed by a large mammal, particularly when your husband hikes far ahead of you.

The one item from my Dad’s Glacier bucket list that he has yet to accomplish is hiking the Highline Trail. Several parts of this trail stay iced-in until mid-late July each year, and it has always been too snowy and icy to hike when he was there. He doesn’t have the technical experience to go with cramp-ons, etc. So he is very excited for me that I should be able to hike the trail. Read more →

Tuesday August 19, 2014, 28 miles (45 km) – Total so far: 4,050 miles (6,518 km)

I pack in the darkness, like many times before. At this point in a tour, you can do it all by feel. I climb out of the tent. There are stars. There are no clouds. It is calm. Yippee! We’ve got good weather to climb Logan Pass. Read more →

Wednesday August 20, 2014, 79 miles (127 km) – Total so far: 4,128 miles (6,644 km)

I have a problem, a fair-sized problem. Like many problems, it started small and has grown. Back at Avalanche campground, I was having trouble with my pump. I needed to top up my tires, but no amount of fiddling could get it to work. At some point, perhaps, I fiddled with it too much, and now the pump is absolutely finished. I figure it is the seals – I’ve had the pump for eight or more years. Read more →

Thursday August 21, 2014

Last night I looked all over the internet to figure out the cheapest and quickest way to get a new pump and spare tubes sent to me. In the end, I order from Amazon and pay for 48-hour delivery, which is surprisingly cheap.

If you could choose a time to be stuck, then this is it. The weather is crap. It is cold and windy. It rains at times. It is not a day you’d want to be riding anyway. Read more →

Friday August 22, 2014

Woohoo!!! We are rolling again!

The forecast tomorrow is 100% chance of rain, 3/4 inch expected, high of 52, winds north 13-18 with gusts to 25. I’ve never been so excited to ride in such crappy weather. Read more →

Saturday August 23, 2014, 26 miles (42 km) – Total so far: 4,154 miles (6,686 km)

I leave the motel in the late morning decked out in rain pants and rain coat. My goal is just to get down the road a little ways to set me up for a longer ride tomorrow. The weather is not ideal. But the initial little climb out of Cut Bank gets me warmed up and the ride is not too bad. Plains stretch out in all directions, the landscape is vast but gentle. The temperature is 42F, the windchill is 36F. The rain is light but constant. The wind is 18 mph out of the north. This means the wind blows the rain sideways a bit, making my right side stay drier than my left. I marvel at how cold it is today, when it was not so long ago we were baking in smoky air at 103F. I contemplate temperatures and climatic regions, and glaciers and soil properties, in the couple of hours it takes to ride to Shelby. Read more →

Sunday August 24, 2014, 105 miles (168 km) – Total so far: 4,259 miles (6,854 km)

At the moment, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral. This charity fund-raising activity has swept the globe. It is all over my facebook feed. Today, I participated in the ALS Challenge. However, unlike all the videos where people wearing summer clothing get doused by a bucket of water for 15 seconds, then go grab a towel and dry clothes, the version I participated in was a bit different. You see, I participated in the Alberta Low-Pressure System (ALS) Challenge. The huge, churning weather system that dropped down out of Canada has been bringing cold temperatures and rain for quite a few days now. Mother Nature’s ALS Challenge went a bit like this: Read more →