Day 12: Mormon Gulch to Beaver Dam Campground

The sound of rain pattering against the tent woke us. Since we were warm and dry, we decided to sleep a little longer until it stopped. After getting up, we made instant oatmeal and chatted with a couple from Minnesota about the GDMBR. They had already ridden from Alaska and were on their way down to Patagonia- such an epic journey! Shortly after setting off, we found a decent stream to filter water from, but as we were filling our second bladder, the pump broke. We carried on and made our way to Butte, where we resupplied and ate lunch. We found an outdoor store and began looking for replacement water filters. The employee who was helping us took a look at our pump and went off with it to the back of the shop where he epoxied the intake valve back into place. We crossed our fingers that it would work and headed out of Butte. We slowly climbed and climbed, up to 7300 feet and reached the summit at prime golden hour. The light was magical and we stopped to admire the views and take some photos. We pressed on and began to descend down a steep, rutted and sandy road. Mt. Fleecer was a menacing sight off in the distance. We made it to the bottom of the climb just past sunset, turned our lights on and made our way to Beaver Dam campground. The road began to climb steeper and steeper as the night sky darkened. The few miles seemed to go on far too long, but finally we made it, and found an empty campsite away from the crowds.

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