Tag: bikepacking

Day 15: Lima, MT to Island Park, ID

January 23rd, 2015

On the GDMBR, there is nothing quite as satisfying as starting your day off with a huge serving of bacon, eggs, hash browns and pancakes. After we ate, we took off on a roller coaster of a day. We set out from Lima and traveled a small dirt road with lots of little grinds. It was getting quite warm and dry, but we happened upon a small creek and splashed water on our faces and soaked our helmets. We had favorable winds for most of the day, until we took a turn and faced an 11 mile section of absolute agony. The 20-30 mph direct headwind had us traveling at a crawl. By this point, we had come to the conclusion that climbs are fine, because they are finite, but headwinds are ruthless, unpredictable and relentless. We eventually made it across the section of death and were greeted with ominous clouds across the valley. We took our chances and took a quick break for food, and then picked up the pace. A little while later and after a short climb, we made it to the border of Montana and Idaho! As we stopped to grab our arm warmers, Matt realized that his bag had been open and one of his had flown away. He was in terrible spirits because there was no way we would backtrack 30 plus miles to find it. So we pushed on and made it to our warm showers stay for the night.
Day 14: Grasshopper to Lima

January 21st, 2015

After a good nights rest, we powered up in the morning with a hot breakfast of oats, nutella, and pb. We probably threw pop-tarts in the mix for good measure since we knew today was going to be a long one. We set off, continuing down the second half of the descent we had started the night before. It was fast and fun. After bottoming out, and sending off a package at the post office in Polaris, MT, we continued on paved roads. About 40 miles in, we turned onto a gravel road, The Big Sheep Creek Back Country Byway, where we almost immediately encountered a headwind. The road was decent, but it was a slog, slowly leading us through remote wilderness where we gained elevation for the next 25 miles. It didn’t help that this was the first hot day of the trip and there was no shade to be found. We pushed on, cursing the headwind and finally, after a short steep climb, we crested the Medicine Lodge – Big Sheep Creek Divide. We stopped for lunch and after talking to a hunter, began the descent. Having said some pretty awful things about the wind all day, we were forced to eat crow (in the best way possible) as the wind shifted and became a tailwind. We were now cruising, averaging well over 20mph for the next hour or so. The road followed down a narrow canyon with epic rock outcroppings. As the sun began to set, we could see the lights of Lima in the distance. We took a right turn onto a dirt frontage road and right into a slight headwind. The next hour was a slow grind and we eventually entered into town, found a cafe just before close, and chowed on delicious Bacon Cheeseburgers. We then rolled across the street and set up camp behind a motel. Sleep came pretty easy that night.
Day 13: Beaver Dam to Grasshopper Campground

January 14th, 2015

As we packed our camp, Brett began to fill his water when a fellow camper warned us that the water was no good. He proceeded to fill both of our water bladders with fresh water from his supply and then his wife gave us each a stick of homemade elk salami. Needless to say we set off in good spirits, even though the ominous Fleecer Ridge was only a few miles away. We continued the same climb as we started last night and 6 miles later we arrived. Fleecer is a short but incredibly steep section of rough jeep track that averages nearly 20% grade. We made it to the top, legs burning, and navigated atop a ridge to the descent, which was much steeper, a little longer, and for the most part, completely unrideable with our fully loaded bikes. Finally, after a steep hike-a-bike, we made it to the bottom. Back on our bikes, we cruised the rest of the descent and turned onto a highway. After a short stop and some road beers from kind strangers, we continued on pavement into a headwind and up a road that just kept climbing. We had hopes to travel farther, but the light was fading halfway down a pretty glorious descent. We found ourselves a nice place to call it a day at Grasshopper Campground.
Day 12: Mormon Gulch to Beaver Dam Campground

December 4th, 2014

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.
Day 11: Helena to Mormon Gulch Campsite

November 15th, 2014

Today was tough. Much tougher than we expected. As soon as we began, it was all uphill. Our elevation began at 4200 feet and we didn’t stop climbing until 28 miles and 3100 feet later. By far, this was one of the hardest climbs we encountered up to this point on the route. The riding was bearable, the grade wasn’t too bad and there was even the first ever GDMBR Pinecone Homerun Derby. It wasn’t until the last 2 miles where things got tough. We turned off the main road and onto an atv section that was super rocky, rough and steep. We had to walk/push our bikes through most of it. It was very slow going and we lost a lot of time. Finally, we made it over the top and were met with an equally steep and rocky descent. Once we navigated our way down and made it to better roads, we chased the fading sun, just barely making it to a campsite before nightfall. We ate our food, drank whiskey, and crashed.
Day 9: Ovanado to Lost Llama Lodge

November 6th, 2014

We woke up to a crisp and sunny morning. After packing up our things, we stopped by the cafe to grab coffee and use the wifi, but ended up ordering pancakes too, even though we had already eaten breakfast. Leaving Ovando on a full stomach, we set off for the day. It was going to be a relatively short day, just 65 miles or so with a couple climbs thrown in. The weather was great, bright blue skies, warm, and not too much wind. The first climb of the day was up Huckleberry Pass a nice 7 mile climb that switch-backed through dense, and sometimes sparse clearcut, forests. We took a break in Lincoln for lunch and stopped at the grocer to stock up for the next couple days. Leaving Lincoln, the road gradually began to climb, a couple miles in, the real climb started. The next 4.4 miles were extremely steep. It then kicked up even more during the last 1.5 miles and got intense; it had to have topped out at 25% grade. By this point we were both hot and exhausted. We finally got to the top and began our descent down to the cabin, where we were to stay at for the night. The decent was fast and fun, but marred by frustration for both of us. Just before the decent, our directions became pretty unclear. We had been far enough apart during this short stretch, that we each took a different turn, interpreting the guides differently. The sun had vanished behind the mountains as we finally met back up at our destination for the night. We were relieved to have figured it out, as the thought of backtracking was far from ideal. As we entered the property, we were greeted by three curious Llamas. The owner, Barbara, who offers passing cyclists a very small one room homestead style cabin complete with loft and two beds, was not home. However, she left us beers in the nearby creek. We cooked dinner, washed our clothes, enjoyed the creek-cooled beers, and had a great time sharing stories around the fire with a couple other riders we bumped into. One thing we all agreed on was that this property and cabin was a piece of heaven.
Day 6 and 7 Red Meadow Lake to Holland Lake

October 23rd, 2014

It was a struggle to get out of the tent in the morning on day 6. The overnight temperatures had dropped below freezing and inside the tent, our Enlightened Equipment sleeping quilts were keeping us nice and toasty. When we finally rustled out of the tent, the view was spectacular. We must have looked cold because our camp neighbors quickly offered to share their morning fire with us. We shared stories and they sent us on our way with soda and a bag of freshly picked huckleberries. After a small climb to start the ride, we began a long decent into Whitefish, where we stopped in town at Glacier Cyclery for a bike check and had minor work done. After a delicious burger and a couple errands, the shop gave us a call and we were on our way. The rest of the day was through relatively flat, mostly paved roads that zig-zagged through farmlands. We put in an extra effort knowing we had a house to stay in that night, thanks to a couple we had earlier contacted through Warm Showers. Chuck and Betty, cycling enthusiasts and our hosts, were awesome and went above and beyond to make our stay incredible. Not only were there showers, but a choice of places to sleep, including two different bedrooms, an RV on their driveway, or in a teepee! And to top it off they made us a huge dinner and breakfast. Chuck, also was kind enough to offer us a ride to the grocery store, saving us a long backtracking detour. Their kindness and generosity was amazing. After the trip to the store, and getting a great view of Seeley Lake from Chuck’s former work site with the Forest Service, we set out for a long day. It started with a pretty solid climb and then a rapid decent. This would continue through out the day with constant ups and downs through drainages. But it was nice to get back in the forest after the previous days ride through open farmland. We made it to Holland Lake just as the sun was setting, and the warm glow on the mountains created a stunning sight. After setting up camp and talking with a couple out on a bird watching adventure, we began cooking dinner, and soon our other camp neighbors offered us a couple beers and sweet potatoes. It was an amazing night and this was a wonderful treat. Even after many long days in the saddle and the exhaustion from the first week, it was easy to forget about all the hard parts and just be happy, and humbled by all the kindness and beauty we had experience along trail so far.
Day 5: Eureka to Red Meadow Lake

October 15th, 2014

After the tough ride the previous day, we decided to take a lazy morning before heading out. We walked around Eureka and ate a giant breakfast at Cafe Jax. After consuming way too much food and coffee, we slowly sauntered back to our camp to pack up and set off. We began the ride with a nice 25 mile climb up Whitefish Divide and then descended through a valley strewn with fallen trees crushed by avalanche. Eventually, we made it to the last climb of the day, up to Red Meadow Lake. The ride got steep, slow, and just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it began to rain. We finally found our campsite for the night and set about making camp. The rain finally stopped and our moods lifted as we ate dinner, drank whiskey, and looked up at the amazing stars as the clouds cleared in the night sky.
Day 4: Pollock Creek to Eureka, MT

October 13th, 2014

Today was intense. We left camp at 9:30am and arrived in Eureka after 10pm. We did about 90 miles and 7k elevation. We started with a big pass called Cabin Pass that was 12 miles long. After the climb we gradually dropped down into the wigwam valley, the clouds cleared and we stopped to eat lunch and shed our layers. We continued on, slowly gaining elevation, until we reached the turn off to the infamous hike-a-bike. After some rugged singletrack, we saw the wall ahead of us. A nearly vertical wall of mud, rocks, and roots .25 miles long. We slowly made our way up, pushing our bikes inch by inch. We finally made it to the top, expending way too much time and energy. We took a breather and then continued the climb up Galton Pass a 7 mile climb that gained close to 2000 feet. After cresting the summit, it was a gnarly descent that dropped 3500ft in less than 9 miles. We made our way to the border and camped the night in Eureka, MT.
The roads we ride

September 22nd, 2014

On the divide we have faced every imaginable type of road surface. From the joy of pavement and gravel, all the way down to horrific ‘lava sand’ and roads that turn into a rushing streams. Here are a few roads that we’ve ridden.