Losing the Divide: a 3,000 Mile Mountain Bike Tour!: Week 1

Weeeeee! What a week of adventure!

We started out in the early morning after some fancy coffee at the Banff Springs Hotel. The scenery was phenomenal on day 1- we covered 61 miles which added up to some fantastic views (and a lot of muscle cramps). Halfway through the day, we were resting on the side of the road by Mt. Shark, when a vehicle pulled up and warned us of a grizzly 100 meters down the road, coming straight for us...we jumped up and pulled out our bear mace, watching him stroll closer as we rang our bells hoping he'd meander away. He eventually ducked into the surrounding bushes, which is when we jumped on our bikes ringing our bells as we road on down the road hoping not to see any of his friends! The rest of the downhill was uneventful, minus some terrible dirt roads and not so considerate drivers (Jenny developed a deep cough for a few days). We pulled into our destination- Peter Lougheed Park- realizing quickly that every campsite within a 10 mile radius was full. We headed straight for the Visitor Center, where the host let us cook our dinner while we troubleshooted our camping dilemma. Eventually we decided to head to what looked like an upscale lodge on our map, the William Watson Lodge. We were impressed right away with the biking trails we used to access the lodge, and what seemed like a huge park full of cabins to rent. We inquired at the main lodge and learned that we were at an accessible camping area for people with physical and developmental disabilities! They didn't have any camping available for us, but we were just so elated to have happened upon such a wonderful facility. As we shared stories with Don, the receptionist, the camp hosts overheard our stories and insisted on squeezing us into a campsite. It was an evening of serendipity, and we were glad to share. We set up camp out of the way, and woke up to a mug of fresh coffee and smiles form our "campmates" Bev, Dale, Keesha and Brenden. We spent most of the morning getting to know the family as they made us breakfast and we all shared stories. Our first 24 hours on the road were full of wonderful hospitality and great folks.

We started day 2 in high spirits and motivated to conquer Elk Pass. Stopping at Bolton Trading Post (where we filled up on gatorade and deli ham), we ran into our first fellow Great Divider, Tony. We all chatted as we stretched and refueled, and we were impressed by Tony's mileage for the day. You are probably way ahead of us Tony, so good luck wherever you are! In our first few miles of the day we crested Elk Pass, and our first Continental Divide Crossing. 42 miles into the day brought us to Blue Lake Recreation Site, just before Elkford. Too tired to make dinner, we munched on peanut butter and Caleb's phenomenal beef jerky. We chatted with our campsite neighbor, Jordan, yet another friendly Canadian who offered us food, beer and a campfire.

We woke up on day 3 very, very hungry and made a beeline for Jordan's recommended breakfast hotspot in Elkford. The descent was truly spectacular, and we arrived to enjoy an absurdly huge breakfast that probably took us 5 minutes to ingest. At the breakfast joint (which was inside the gas station), we met a woman from Ohio that had been following many of the riders going through town. Turns out we were a few days behind quite a few riders, including a unicycler (!). Feeling revamped, and wanting to beat the forecasted thunderstorm, we began the 45 mile trek to Sparwood. Halfway there we began a rocky descent along the Fording River where Jenny had her first flat of the trip, slightly flattening her rim. Full of frustration and worry, we checked into a hotel in Sparwood to regroup and get a better look at the rim. We had a big decision to make: chance thunderstorms, a slightly damaged rim and attempt Flathead Pass, or take the more moderate alternative to Fernie and have the wheel checked out.

After much back and forth, we decided to take the challenge (warm showers and hot food certainly lifted our spirits). We took Day 4 easy, cruising the gently paved 24 miles to Corbin. The views consisted mainly of the majestic divide in the background, framed by the mined coal mountains in the foreground. The ride was mostly uneventful, with the exception of Josh's pedal falling off...a quick repair and we were back on our way. We set up camp fairly early in the day, taking the opportunity to rest a bit more, journal, play cribbage and analyze our next few days. We were feeling nervous as we looked at the elevation profiles, which were more than intimidating. We went to bed early ready for the challenge.

Day 5.....What a fun ride!! We crested Flathead Pass in no time, then cruised downhill into more phenomenal scenery and getting drenched in some fun water run-offs. We logged 34 miles in no time, bringing us into Butts Patrol Cabin. We were stoked to have some cots, tables, a fireplace and a chance to spread our gear out without fear of bears and mosquitoes. We went to bed early, only to be woken up shortly to the sound of mice scurrying towards our food. We jumped out of our cots and hurriedly packed everything away. The rest of the night we got little sleep as we listened to mice and mosquitoes make their way around the cabin.

Day 6 started out rough as we had both slept poorly. We had two passes and 70 miles ahead of us, so we set off quickly. Cabin Pass was relatively simple, and we were then rewarded with some downhill that made us both whoop and grin. About 20 miles later we arrived at what the map described as "rough singletrack." Rough indeed, but pretty fun! Jenny managed to dunk herself in a deep mud puddle, and both of our socks were drenched in mud. At the end of the singletrack we found ourselves at the ".25 mile steep uphill." Steep might not be the most informative adjective....one step at a time we pushed our bikes and selves up a hill we would normally have avoided even hiking. Tired, soaked with mud and hot, we rested up for the last and hardest climb of the day: Galton Pass. After lots of breaks and snacks, we crested the pass. The following descent was so fast and steep, we were down the mountain in only minutes, resting occasionally to cool off our brakes. 30 minutes later we crossed the Rooseville border and booked it to Eureka. A half a roasted chicken and one steak later, we cruised down to the Eureka city park where we camped for only $5. After camp was set up, we headed to Cafe Jax, where Josh took part of an amazing chocolate mint mousse experience.

On the morning of Day 7, we went back to Cafe Jax for a breakfast we wish we could bring back to Bellingham. We restocked on food, sent texts to family and headed for Red Meadow Lake. We were finally in a riding groove, and made great time. After summiting the Whitefish Divide, we ran into Jules, a bikepacker who started in San Diego and was headed for Seattle. We exchanged some information about the route and were happy to chat with a fellow divider. We continued on and made a difficult climb to Red Meadow Lake. Our 63 mile day was physically challenging, and we rolled into the lake campsite excited to make dinner. Neither of us had yet experienced such a swarm of mosquitoes. Unable to fully enjoy the beautiful lake because of the pesky bugs, we donned all of the clothing we could, wolfed down dinner and hunkered into the tent.

That night we had our first thunderstorm, and gratefully slept in while we waited for the rain to abate. Day 8 and 30 miles later we arrived in Whitefish. The bike shop assessed Jenny's rim and gave it the go ahead to keep riding (woohoo!), and we wolfed down another big meal. It just so happened that our friend, Julie Goyette, was in town for a race, so we called her up. Turns out she was with her team at the restaurant across the street (and they got 3rd place!). We all sat down to chat, and Julie's friend Katherine graciously invited us to her house in Kalispell to stay and relax. We accepted, and rode the additional 15 miles to her place. We had an amazing night of showers, salmon dinner, beer and great conversation.

Today, Day 9, we are resting, tuning our bikes and doing laundry. We are so grateful to our hosts here and excited for more adventure! We should be in Helena by next week, so stay tuned for more adventure!