Category: Discarding the safe deposit box

Idaho 2014 – Day 63 – Challis – Arco: The spectacular Lost River Range

E Sharp

Monday July 21, 2014, 82 miles (132 km) – Total so far: 2,983 miles (4,801 km)

The wind has pushed out the wildfire smoke and ushered in a cold front. The dismal sky, with its low and dark clouds, matches my mood. A phone call last night confirmed that my old friend Evan, from Colorado State days, cannot get away from work and meet me here in Challis, or down the road in Mackay.

The plan had been for him to ‘sag’ me over Double Springs Pass Road and Pass Creek Road and do a little peak-bagging of some un-named 11 and 12,000 ft. peaks along the way. Read more →

Idaho 2014 – Day 64 – Craters of the Moon National Monument: Violence in a benign landscape

E Sharp

Tuesday July 22, 2014, 49 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 3,033 miles (4,881 km)

I’m really not one for violence. You won’t generally find me watching movies starring Bruce Willis or playing video games like Mortal Kombat. However, there is a lot of violence in the landscape today, and the dynamism of that landscape is beautifully displayed at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Read more →

Idaho 2014 – Day 65 – Arco – McFarland CG: A change of plans

E Sharp

Wednesday July 23, 2014, 119 miles (191 km) – Total so far: 3,151 miles (5,072 km)

“I have a bladder the size of a walnut.”

Dear me, what do I say to that? It is 4.45 am. Stars still twinkle in the dark sky above. Only a hint of first light splits open the sky above the Arco Hills toward the east. I’m squinting in the direction of the figure whom has spoken to me. My eyes have not yet adjusted from the darkness of the tent area to the fluorescent light outside the restrooms.

So I just say, “That’s a shame,” and let myself in the women’s toilets. Why that man needed to tell me that, and why he couldn’t have just peed in his RV or just outside of it, is beyond me. Of course, lots of things are not readily apparent to me at this early hour. Read more →

Idaho 2014 – Day 66 – McFarland CG – Salmon: Completing another loop

E Sharp

Thursday July 24, 2014, 34 miles (55 km) – Total so far: 3,186 miles (5,127 km)

I let the sun do its work this morning: drying the tent fly; banishing the mozzies back to the bushes; and, baking me in the tent sauna. I get rolling around 10 am. Much of the route covers the same ground we rode into Salmon the other day. Luckily, there is less traffic today, so it’s a bit less tense to ride. The cars still aren’t giving me any room, though. Like Montana, it is rare for a car to move out of the lane at all to pass. It seems you just have to hope for a road with decent lane width in these states. Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 67 – Salmon – May Creek CG: Dinner with gun enthusiasts

E Sharp

Friday July 25, 2014, 55 miles (89 km) – Total so far: 3,241 miles (5,216 km)

Some mornings when you wake, you are just absolutely ready to ride. I am not a morning person, but I generally get up before dawn on bike tours. Most of those mornings, I stumble about in a foggy haze getting ready to go. I’m awake, but that’s about the extent of my energy. I guess my enthusiasm runs on a very diurnal rhythm. But some days, like today, I wake alert, excited and charged with energy. Let’s go! Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 68 – May Creek CG – Anaconda: Soldiers, miners and smelters

E Sharp

Saturday July 26, 2014, 83 miles (134 km) – Total so far: 3,324 miles (5,349 km)

Just before dawn on 9 August, 1877, 163 men of the 7th U.S. Infantry waited for first light to attack 800 Nez Perce Indians at what is now the Big Hole Battlefield. The Nez Perce had been travelling since mid-June from Idaho with the US Army in pursuit. The Army had orders to place these five bands of Nez Perce onto a small reservation in central Idaho. The Nez Perce had fled, but over the course of the summer, they were forced to fight with the U.S. Army in several battles as the Nez Perce tried to elude capture. The battle here had the highest number of casualties over their 1170-mile journey which lasted from 2 June until 5 October when the Nez Perce finally surrended just 40 miles south of the Canadian border after the Battle of Bear Paw.

I want to visit the battlefield early in the morning to try to better understand what it might have been like on that early August day. My little thermometer reads 37F when I crawl out of the sleeping bag. It is decidedly chilly and my arthritic fingers protest movement. We silently slip out of the campground and down the valley which is still covered in deep shade. Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 69 – Anaconda – Missoula: Going long

E Sharp

Sunday July 27, 2014, 108 miles (174 km) – Total so far: 3,432 miles (5,523 km)

Mornings bring promise. As you pack up your gear, you can’t help but wonder what the day will bring. There is always the promise of smooth roads, a lack of traffic, interesting people and amazing scenery. There is always the potential it could be the best day on the road ever.

Then you ride away from the sheltered position of your campsite, the wind slaps you hard in the face, and all that promise turns to the prediction of ‘ifs’. If the wind keeps up like this, this will be the longest day ever. If the whole day is like this, I’m only going to make 30 miles. If something doesn’t change, I will just have to call it a day at the next teeny town. Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 70 – Missoula: Just missed Jack

E Sharp

Monday July 28, 2014, 10 miles (16 km) – Total so far: 3,442 miles (5,539 km)

First thing in the morning I take the bike up to a bike shop. I tell them I need the rear wheel radially trued and that I’m looking for a 36-tooth chainring compatible with my drivetrain components. If they have one, could they please install it when they fix the rear wheel.

The young guy talks to me a bit like I’ve not been riding a bike for most of my life. I don’t know if it is because I’m a woman, or because there are a lot of newbies to cycling that use the ACA routes and stop in while in town, but I feel like the guy is talking down to me.

He checks their stock – they don’t have a chainring that will work for me. Their next order will go out tomorrow, so I’m looking at sitting in Missoula for three days for it to come in. No thanks. Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 71 – Missoula – Placid Lake State Park: Heat and smoke – a short day

E Sharp

Tuesday July 29, 2014, 52 miles (84 km) – Total so far: 3,494 miles (5,623 km)

I pull the curtains back and peek out the window. Sigh. The wildfire smoke, which reappeared two days ago and hung around all day yesterday, is still quite thick. It annoys everyone. If you are around it long enough, it will make your eyes burn and your throat sore. However, as an asthmatic, wildfire smoke is more than just an annoyance. It becomes a factor in how long and far you can ride each day. Read more →

Montana 2014 Part 2 – Day 72 – Placid Lake State Park – Holland Lake CG: A National Recreation Trail

E Sharp

Wednesday July 30, 2014, 32 miles (52 km) – Total so far: 3,526 miles (5,675 km)

A glacial outwash plain creates a wide and grassy introduction to Seeley Lake. The views open up to show the Mission Mountains to the west and the Swan Range to the east. The entire length of the Seeley Swan Valley was glaciated in the Bull Lake phase about 130,000 years ago and then again in the Pinedale glaciation 15,000 years ago. Massive tongues of ice crept down from the north and split around the northern tip of the Mission Range. The massive flows carved out the Flathead Lake valley on the other side of the Missions and created the present topography in this valley, as well. Glaciers also slipped down the slopes of the ranges to leave many U-shaped side-valleys and moraine-enclosed lakes. Read more →