Wisdom, MT to Hamilton, MT
It was weird to start the morning knowing the rest of the group I’ve been riding with was 17 miles up the road. This trip has been defined to some extent by the groups that have formed for a few days or weeks at a time. I’m fine riding on my own, but my decision making and experience has been very different in a group versus riding solo. I was on the road this morning at 7:30 and had thoughts of pushing all the way to Missoula to catch everyone else as long as the conditions were good.
The morning started with the 17 miles to May Creek where everyone else stayed last night. The road trended uphill but it was a very easy ride. I definitely could have done it yesterday, but I just wasn’t mentally prepared for the surprise of 17 extra miles after arriving in Wisdom. There was another climb today, but it was only 3 miles long. After the last two days of climbing it felt like nothing. I reached the top of Chief Joseph Pass at mile 25 and it was all downhill from there.
Somewhere along the climb I must have entered Idaho for a little bit, because I got to my turning point and saw a sign saying I was entering Montana. I had originally entered Montana in Yellowstone, so I didn’t have a picture of an official entering Montana sign. The sign with the bear was way cooler than the small piece of wood in Yellowstone.
The descent from Chief Joseph Pass was awesome. It was one of my favorite downhill sections of the trip so far. I got part way down and found another cyclist taking a rest on the side of the road. It’s become the norm to stop and talk to any cyclist who looks like they are on a long tour and I was happy to meet Karolina on my ride today. Karolina is from somewhere in Europe, I didn’t find out from exactly where. She told me she had been sick for 3 years and now that she is doing better she is taking back her health by riding across America. She started by riding up the California coast and was only managing 20 miles per day. Now she’s up to 50 miles and climbing some badass hills. Her side of the mountain was a much harder climb than mine today. I checked out her blog after my ride and it looks like she is doing her trip moneyless. She’s relied solely on other people’s kindness and her own ingenuity to get by.
After saying goodbye to Karolina I headed to Sula where I stopped for a late breakfast. There wasn’t a great place to grab food in Wisdom this morning, so I had just eaten four 150 calorie oatmeal squares that have been sitting in my bag for a while. In Sula I had eggs and hash browns with ham and an English muffin. That was enough to fuel me to the next town.
It was mostly downhill from Sula to Darby, but by the time I got to Darby it was getting really hot out. I felt great and definitely could have gotten to Missoula, but it was already 92 degrees and supposed to get up near 100 by 3:00. I decided to cut the trip to Missoula short and stop in Hamilton, just 16 miles further down the road. I took a long break in Darby for a chocolate milk, a Powerade, and some peanut butter M&M’s. I then made some calls to the motels in Hamilton. All of the name brand motels were fully booked, so I had to find a smaller place. I luckily found a place and then got back on the bike to finish the day. It was definitely a good decision to cut the day short. Over the 16 miles to Hamilton I drank nearly 2 liters of water. There was a free place to camp in Hamilton, but that would’t have been fun with the temperatures expected to stay above 90 degrees until after 8:00.
After getting to the motel, I showered and relaxed and then headed to Bitter Root Brewery for some beer and food. Tomorrow I’ve got a short ride to Missoula and then I’m officially down to 2 weeks left of this trip.
Ramblin' Dan: Bike Touring Adventures 