Two weeks have passed already. Yet it’s surprising how long ago it seems to have been when I first boarded that bus to Seaside to begin this adventure.
It was in 1988 when I was last in Missoula. I remember very little from those two days and one or two nights. About all I recall is staying in a bunk at the hostel. We did a test ride up one of the hills overlooking Missoula. I think it was to make sure everyone could handle the climbs. Then we departed in the direction of Glacier National Park. It’s hard for me to compare the difficulty of these two adventures, though I think about it often. Am I more fit than I was then or not? Probably not, since time does take its toll on everyone. I have no way to know for sure, even if I road the same roads all over again.
I covered about 49 miles today, not very hilly and wind aided. Today, it has stayed relatively cool, it’s 2:37 PM and I still have my jacket on. I’m at the Monture Fishing Access site, about 50 miles east of Missoula on highway 83, just a few miles from where highway 200 heads off north toward Glacier National Park. Here is a typical view from todays ride.
Following in the footsteps of Louis and Clark has been interesting, especially through the Bitterroot Mountains. I read Stephen Ambrose’s book, “ Undaunted Courage “, some time ago and I recall reading about the terrible time they had getting through those mountains. It’s easy to see why they struggled so much. There is an alternate bicycle route down a gravel road which follows their exact path, but there are absolutely no services and I’m not set up for doing long stretches on gravel, so I opted out of that one.
Once I get to Great Falls, I’ll switch maps to the Northern tier and we will leave Louis and Clark behind.
Seems like I may have caught up or passed Scott and Richard. It sounds like they got caught in a nasty hailstorm getting into Missoula last night. I’m glad I missed that one.
Seems like every business in Montana has some kind of casino action going. Must be awfully easy to get a gambling license.
Catching up on some random thoughts today, as the ride has been pretty routine and I haven’t run across any interesting characters. In fact, at this moment, I’m alone in the campground, assuming there are no bears lurking nearby. There are plenty of warning signs about the bears here.
Total mileage is now 788.
Beautiful pictures, Mike. Glad things seem to be going well
Enjoy your messages very much
Hi Mike, Thanks for sharing your blog journal of your trip. I re met you at REI tonight and was glad to get this. Awesome read! Undaunted courage is my favorite book and these areas along the L&C trail are magic!
Hi Ken,
Yes, Undaunted Courage is a fine book and it seemed that Lewis and Clark were everywhere. If you are up for a challenge, take the same gravel path through the Bitterroot Mountains that Lewis and Clark took, but be prepared for a very long ride on gravel with no services. I wasn’t set up for that route, so I stuck to the pavement on that part of the ride. By the way, Stephen Ambrose is from my hometown – my mom was one class behind him in high school. His dad was our family physician.