Great Divide 2023 - Banff to Butte
Introduction
On July 24, 2023 I set off to ride the Great Divide from Banff to Antelope Wells. I am a reasonably experienced bikepacker having done multiple 10+ day bikepacking trips including a 1,000 km route from Banff to Penticton on the Great Trail in 2020, the BC Epic 1000, a 1,000 km gravel bike race in 2021 and the 1,000 km Tree to Sea gravel bike loop on North Vancouver Island in 2022. In comparison, this would be my first ride planned to be longer than 2 weeks and if completed upwards of 4,500 km.
To cut a long story short, I made it to Butte, Montana in 12 days, over 1,200 km of riding and 16,000 metres of climbing and decided to stop the ride early. While I had physically prepared reasonably well for the ride with regular mountain bike riding, multiple 100+ km rides fully loaded on my gravel bike, I found I was fairly spent by the time I hit Whitefish, I think primarily due to the heat which was averaging 30+ celsius each day and myself likely not hydrating sufficiently on my average 100 km rides per day. I ended up taking several shorter days (50-70 km) to get through to Helena and then seeing that I could exit in Butte (just another 160 km, rental car available to drive to Bozeman to fly home and bike store for bike box), I did two more days to finish the ride.
This blog is both for anyone interested and for my own personal memory and information covering my route along with any learnings that might be applicable on future rides.
Bike
My bike is the same one described in my previous posts - perhaps best outlined here in my first bikepacking trip from Banff to Penticton. My main additions for this trip were to change from a half framebag to a full Revelate Ripio framebag, adding two Revelate Polecat fork bags and a separate Revelate Jerrycan bag.
The reasoning for the full framebag was to carry more water with its internal water bladder (2.5 litre) to support expected drier stretches like the Great Divide Basin. I also put a 1 litre hard plastic bottle under my downtube as well and an extra bottle in a second feedbag for a total of roughly 4.25 litres of water. I added the two fork bags so I could carry a bit more gear and distribute it better - this time I would carry full rain gear (a pair of gortex rain pants in addition to my rain jacket), extra clothing (e.g. full finger cold weather gloves, sun hoodie) and more food (expected there might be 2+ days between some stops). Lastly the new Jerrycan bag on my top tube was a way to gather and centralize most of my bike repair and spare parts. Here I am with the fully loaded bike ready to go.
At the end of this post, I do have a full gear list as it was distributed in the bags as well. In addition to extra water capacity and packing flexibility, I was much more thoughtful in my bike repair planning this time - bringing spare spokes, a spare derraileur hanger, a piece of chain, 2 sets of spare brake pads, spare bike shoe parts, multiple quick links, spare gear cable and so on. While I had no major failures - though had concern on my gear cable - I felt much more prepared this time for bike mechanicals.
Prior to leaving I did get a full bike tuneup at my local bikeshop, Obsession Bikes, with some specific items on the checklist. These included - a new bottom bracket (had not been looked at or changed in 3 years), new front and back brake pads, new front and back 2.25 inch tires (Vittoria Mezcal - most common tire used on the Tour Divide. I liked the width and felt they worked well), new chain and an overall cleaning, oiling, greasing and tightening of the various parts. The mechanic noted that my headset needed greasing as well. Next time, due to some issues I ran into later on the trip, I will also replace the gear cable whether it needs it or not.
Trip Log
As I rode I kept a trip log of where I rode each day, the distance and elevation, any major passes, where I camped/stayed and some commentary of what happened that day. Here is that trip log.
Day 0 - Sunday, July 23
Travel Day - Vancouver to Banff
I travelled to Calgary on 7 am flight with bike and bag of gear/clothing/etc. Since I would not be back to Calgary or Banff on this trip rather than using my own bike carrying bag I had gone to Obsession Bikes where they had very helpfully given me a used cardboard bike box as my container.
As you might imagine I was a bit apprehensive about the trip. That said, I knew from past rides once I got through a couple days of riding I would be fine. The good news was the weather for the next week looked warm and dry so, barring it getting too hot, it would make for a good first week of riding.
My sense was that I would be good for 10+ days of riding if weather held up. This meant Whitefish or Helena is where I likely would make a decision on how things are going and deciding to carry on or not.
Once off the plane and in Banff (via the bus transporter that picks you up at the airport) it took about 3 hours to re-build bike and track down some bear spray and butane (you can't carry bear spray or butane on the plane). I stayed at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law Tony Clark and Cheryl Hyde’s house where I had a great dinner and visit before leaving Monday morning.
Day 1 - Monday, July 24
Distance/Climbing: 123 km, 1872m climbing
Where: Banff to Weary Creek
Major Pass: Elk Pass
I left Tony and Cheryl’s house at 7 am with Cheryl and another visiting friend, Tara, seeing me off from the new pedestrian bridge in downtown Banff. My target was a recreation campsite 20-25 km outside of Elkford called Weary Creek with Boulton Creek Campground as an earlier fallback.
It was a great first day of riding as the weather was sunny and warm with a mix of gravel road and a few sections of single track. Riding on the High Rockies Trail singletrack sections on a loaded gravel bike was once again fun (3rd time for me).
I was surprised by a medium sized black bear right next to me on Smith Dorian gravel road as I had been riding with my head down for a couple hundred metres on a hill - that bear was likely 3-4 metres away and I think was equally surprised by me.
For what it is worth, I still think, after riding across BC multiple times, all over Northern Vancouver Island and now well into Montana, hiking in Patagonia, that this 100-200 km section of riding is one of the most scenic and wildlife rich rides you can do - it is spectacular. Probably the best comparable in terms of analogous though different iconic scenery is Moab/Canyonlands/Bryce Canyon/Zion areas.
I got to Boulton Creek around 3:00 PM which was later than expected. Knowing I still had a big climb followed by a 20+ km downhill I took my time to eat, rest and hydrate. It was a challenge climbing Elk Pass but after a kilometre or so of walking I made it to the top and was setup for the 20+ km downhill out of Alberta and into BC. I ran into some hikers who confirmed to me that Weary Creek was a nice place to camp so that gave me the motivation to finish there.
At the campground I met and ate dinner with Carly and Jayce from Denver (originally from Arkansas) on a 5 day bikepacking trip followed by a visit to Glacier National Park when they get to Montana. I thought I would run into them again given my planned detour that would take 2 days through the Flathead Valley but never did see them.
This campsite was a little tricky hanging my bear bag since there weren't good candidate trees there. I knew from past rides this was not only black bear country but also heavy grizzly territory so getting food away from camp was important. I got my bag up and while it was sort of half baked, it survived the night intact. What was nice about some of the US Forest Service campgrounds later on in the trip was ones that have bear storage containers.
Day 2 - Tuesday, July 25
Distance/Climbing: 129km, 1107m climbing
Where: Weary Creek to Fernie
Major Pass: Fording Highway After Sparwood
My goal was hotel/motel in Fernie as I was planning a 2 day camping traverse of the Flathead Mountain Valley. After Fernie, the plan was on the first day I would ride up Butts Cabin, a well known shelter on the Tour Divide and other bikepacking races, for an overnight camp. Then, on the next day, I would finish the section riding into Montana to Eureka. This was the Tour Divide route vs the Great Divide route, and is often referred to as the “Serengeti of British Columbia” or “Grizzly Alley” due to the large number of grizzlies and other wildlife in the area.
On todays route I also rode past the exit to Crossing Creek (aka Koko Claims), another separate and somewhat famous Tour Divide section (8-10 km of walking uphill and a gnarly downhill into Fernie) but there I took the regular Great Divide route to Elkford and Sparwood.
I had already decided not to do Koko Claims as I wasn't sure the physical effort to cover this Tour Divide classic section was worth it. This turned out to be wise decision in retrospect. I knew I was coming up on a forest fire right off of Sparwood and from what I could see it was burning up the valley exactly where Crossing Creek/Koko Claims route routed through - at best it would have been very smokey and at worst, seriously dangerous.
As I rode through Elkford and onwards, I had been watching the Wildfire BC app for the fire in Sparwood but was still taken aback when I arrived to see that the fire was literally right on the hillside beside downtown.
After Sparwood I rode a 4-5 km climb up the Fording Highway up into the backcountry onto a set of gravel roads. I was expecting more gravel roads but unexpectedly the route turned into a fairly big section of singletrack that was both very pretty and a lot of fun to ride in the middle of nowhere.
The fun of that section degenerated a bit as I got into the 20 km gravel stretch leading into Fernie which was very painful (baby heads, potholes, ruts, washboarding). This was so painful, I think it may have been the least comfortable of my entire ride (and I also remember it from my past ride into Fernie in 2020). While in theory I could have followed it for the last 10 or so km into Fernie, the official route fortunately went back onto the highway and finished with a nice paved backroad into town.
I got into Fernie late in the day - around 6 PM - and unexpectedly (though I should have known given it was summer high season) could not find a hotel room. I was lucky to find an AirB&B basement suite which was really nice but it took a couple of hours of worry before they accepted my request and it wasn't a cheap date at $200. In the meantime I sheltered from the only real rain over 12 days and found a restaurant that had gluten free butter chicken (I eat gluten free) so managed to eat well.
Day 3 - Wednesday, July 26
Distance/Elevation: 122 km, 1691m climbing
Where: Fernie to Wigwam Recreation Site
Major Pass: Cabin Pass
After getting up and leaving the AirB&B around 6 am I went out for a real breakfast at Mugshots, a warm friendly place setting me up for the rest of the day. I headed out towards the Flathead Valley route and along the way met a guy from Montreal who was doing the Great Trail route I had done in 2020. We rode together for 30 minutes or so with me sharing that I had really enjoyed the route he was starting on but then I had to turn up east to the Flathead Valley route whereas he was turning west to head to Koocanusa Lake and beyond.
It was a fairly long uphill to get to Butts Cabin but I was able to ride much of it with a bit of walking and I finally got there around 2:15 PM. After eating lunch and checking the cabin out, I rationalized to myself that another 40 km over Cabin Pass to Wigwam Recreation site would make my trip to Eureka shorter the following day.
There was some suffering getting through Cabin Pass as it was very hot out - 30+ celsius but the downhill for the last 20 km was nice. The scenery was really spectacular and while I was expecting to see some bears given it is known as "Grizzly Alley" I didn't see a single one though the last 10 km was full of bear scat everywhere. I only saw one other bikepacker coming northbound and we just exchanged waves and "have a great ride" greetings. My campground was at Wigwam Recreation Site and was very nice - right by a river where I cooked a good dehydrated dinner.
I did my laundry in the river by my campsite and had to navigate by a beehive to get there - they seemed very chill despite me going by them multiple times to check on my drying laundry.
I was joined by a camper van around 8 PM so felt a bit better being out there in prime grizzly country. The best part of this stop further along than originally planned was it meant only a 50-60 km ride to the border and 20 km onto Eureka - though I would learn how challenging the first part of it would be in the morning!
Day 4 - Thursday, July 27
Distance/Elevation: 110 km, 1654m climbing
Where: Wigwam Rec Site to Eureka and Clarence Creek Forest Service Site
Major Pass: The "Wall" and Galton Pass
After thinking my route through overnight given how short the ride was to Eureka, I made a new plan to stock up in Eureka and ride another 30-35 km and camp again. Aside from giving me a full day of riding vs a half day, it also made the run into Whitefish around 120 km vs 150-160 km if I stayed in Eureka.
The day started with an easy 10 km gravel ride (though it was cold and I layered up for the first hour) and then turned into a bit of a challenge having to climb the well known Tour Divide “wall” which is innocently led into by some fun and unexpected single track 100 km in the middle of nowhere.
The "wall" itself is a 150-200 metre fairly difficult, hike-a-bike slope that falls steeply into a river below. Some folks unpack their bike to climb it, I just pushed, dragged, lifted and suffered. I was spent after that but the trail connected back onto a nicely ridable but overgrown FSR (a lot of bear worry since the bushes were so closed in on it for the first couple km). The ride still involved another 800-900 metre regular climb to go up Galton Pass but eventually I got through it. Hurray.
On the way down I met a couple of northbound bikepackers on the way up. The guy had started at Antelope Wells and the girl had joined in Colorado. They gave me some intel on interesting Great Divide sections - particularly Fleecer Ridge south of Butte being steep and difficult relative to others on the entire route and warning about grizzlies when going over Union Pass before Pinedale in Wyoming (they were attacking and eating cows so if stuck up top, stay at the Strawberry Creek Cabin!).
At the border crossing I met another northbound rider who was just finishing at the border. Both of these meetings showed me that the experienced riders making it to this stage were pretty beaten up looking but very happy they were nearing the end. They all looked the same - wearing loose fitting white or very light sun hoodies (it was 30+ celsius), brims around their helmets and a neck scarf or buff ...and very dirty! I could see my future in them.
After crossing the border, it was a 20+ km ride into Eureka on pavement where I bought a few supplies at a gas station and ate a burger meal at a friendly restaurant in town. I checked the route and thought the extra 30 km ride uphill would payoff and headed off. I met, for the first time in this section, Nikki and Marcus who I would travel with episodically over the next week. They rode an extra 20 km past the Clarence Creek Campground where I stayed though I would catch up to them the next day as we both headed into Whitefish.
Day 5 - Friday, July 28.
Distance/Elevation: 116 km, 1362m climbing
Where: Clarrence Creek Campground to Whitefish
Major Passes: Whitefish Pass, Red Meadows Pass
This was a tough day - I started out riding up Whitefish Pass which I was about halfway up due to my extra km I did out of Eureka and then, after a bit of downhill and flats, went over Red Meadows Pass. I had lunch at the very scenic lake at the top of Red Meadows Pass after passing Nikki and Marcus again on the uphill. Had I not being worried about making Whitefish, it would have been a good place to swim as it had a nice beach too.
The ride was extremely hot for the last 20-30 km into Whitefish which was rolling hills on a medium busy paved route but showed off the beautiful lakefront many folks vacation at in the summer. Overall these two passes section were very scenic - had it been 26-28 celsius vs 30-35 celsius I would have been a little better off!
Whitefish itself was a good looking town - kind of like Banff all kitted out for tourists and lots of shops and restaurants. I was tired and got in late - around 5 PM - so was rushing around getting supplies. New stuff included a lighter/looser sun hoodie, a lighter buff, some blok energy gels at a bike shop (2 packs last 5-6 days for me) and a resupply of dehydrated camp food at the Army & Navy for the next couple of days following Whitefish.
Once I sat down to a burger and cider which I needed badly, I worked on getting a hotel for the night as I hadn't planned on camping due to being so tired. I tracked one down but it was, again, not a cheap date, at over US$300 for an average room. I realized later that just outside town was a bike friendly camp stop with showers and laundry so that would have been the better, cheaper choice had I planned ahead.
The good news is I had my laundry done, would get a good rest, was freshly showered and had a full re-supply with some needed adjustments to my equipment. I was starting to have second thoughts on the journey at this stage due to the tough day and knew, if I continued on, the next stop was between 3 and 5 days away in Helena.
My working theory was I could take one more long day given the next section was relatively flat and follow that with a series shorter days to get to Seeley Lake (where there was a large fire - the Colt Fire - to navigate through as well) consider my options (possibly exit at Missoula) and then do another few mid length days to Helena.
Day 6 - Saturday, July 29
122km, 1310m climbing
Whitefish to Veterans Camp Ponderosa
Major Pss: Yew Creek Pass (that was the road so that’s what I named it)
I could see this next stretch to my target campground was relatively flat with a fair bit of pavement so plotted out roughly 100-110 km route. The exception to the flat ride was what looked to be a medium height gravel pass at the end so, despite yet another longer day, I felt reasonably comfortable with my plan.
It was hot day but as expected the paved section was pretty scenic and easy riding. Unfortunately, the end of day pass being unnamed and not that high - I call it Yew Creek Pass as that was the road - was a climb with a fair bit of walking to close it out. Not unexpectedly I was fairly tired in the heat - basically two long hot days in a row and knew that I needed to take it easy the next few days.
Another thing I realized on this stretch is that part of the heat I was experiencing was via my helmet itself. Wondering why my head felt so hot and worried that I might be getting heatstroke given the 30+ celsius temperature, I put my hand on my helmet top during the pass climb (in full on sun) and the helmet itself was super hot to touch - it is a black helmet. I realized that if I took it off and wore my white riding cap while going uphill (i.e. a 3-4 km an hour so not very dangerous), I was reasonably safe and much cooler. I resolved I would get a white helmet for my next trip - something that one of my friends - Alistair who works at Obsession Bikes - same place I service my bike - coincidently recommended to me a week before.
Once I turned off and got into the Ponderosa Campground, I met two other riders from Spain - Juan and Sergio - who were going to Jackson Hole. I helped them get water/showers/power since the camp attendant wasn’t there. I would run into them several more times over the course of my trip - particularly since I would slow down over the next few days and they were riding typically 50-70 km days vs my more normal 100 km days.
This particular camp was one of the nicer ones I have stayed at anywhere with hot showers, supplied towels and soap, power and kitchen access in a building 200 metres from campsite. And all for US$20 a night!
At this stage I was starting to ponder exit points more seriously - getting to Missoula from Seeley Lake or carrying onto Helena were on my mind. I also was early on with my "fix" to my gear cable and worried about the availability of a bike shop.
Day 7 - Sunday, July 30
Camp Ponderosa to Holland Lake
Distance/Elevation: 68 km, 927m climbing
Major Pass: None
As planned, this was an easy day where I got into Holland Lake at noon and set up camp to nap by the lake to rest and recover. This really was a beautiful spot despite the Colt Fire burning crazily in the background. I had planned to eat at the local lodge and possible even rent a room but it turned out it was closed so ended up camping.
I was worried about my plan to somehow get to Seeley Lake for the next day with the Colt Fire but met 3 other northbound bike packers who had come from Ovando and said the fire was not on the trail but across the highway. After chatting with them and looking at the maps with the limited Internet I had, I felt reasonably comfortable giving it a go in the morning.
I don't recall their names but they were an interesting triplet - two were coming from Antelope Wells (the Mexican border) and had been joined by a third somewhere in Montana. The girl was doing it again having completed the Great Divide southbound solo last year. Her parents had dropped by to meet them and share dinner so I chatted to them a bit too.
I ended the day with a dip in the lake and did my laundry. A good rest, dinner, a bit of company and clean clothing was a good way to end the day. Taking this slower, more restful day was also good for the body.
The morning sunrise at Holland Lake was also quite pretty - one of my better photos of the trip.
Day 8 - Monday, July 31
Distance/Elevation: 69km, 1000 metres
Where: Holland Lake to Seeley Lake
Major Pass: Richmond Peak/Pass
Fortunately the winds were quiet in the morning so the fire was mostly smoking in the distance vs visibly spreading like the night before so I felt good about getting going early and trying to get by the fire.
The previous night and this morning I looked at the fire report on the Montana fire website along with maps of the trails I would be taking and confirmed my fellow bikepackers synopsis - the route was far away from the fire (literally across a valley and highway).
Despite feeling ok about it, when I started riding I found two chunks were officially marked as closed and noted on the fire maps - a 2 km gravel road and a 8-10 km single track section. I rechecked things - Gaia was particularly helpful putting things into context between the Montana fire web app, RidewithGPS and your actual GPS location - and I made a choice to ride past them. My thinking was the closure focus was less on the fire being on the actual route but more on not having to rescue someone in those spaces (taking away resources from fire fighting).
There was a payoff for the risk - this was some of the most unique single track I have ever ridden. The trail was true singletrack, flattish from the top of the pass and then a major downhill through a recovering burnt out forest covered in wildflowers. I learned later from the set of riders I would start running into regularly that I appeared to be the only one of the last few days (beyond my northbound friends) who did the official route consciously going past the fire closure signs.
It was another hot day and I got to Seeley Lake around 1 pm. I had a burger and 2 cokes for lunch down by the lake at Lindey's Landing West food truck. I then did laundry and showered at a laundry place while charging my devices. I chatted with a local semi-homeless guy (several of these small towns, as I would see, seemed to have one supported by and taken care of by other locals) and he showed me his bike in return for hearing about mine and my travels.
I realized once in Seeley Lake it would be difficult to exit to Missoula. There were no real services in town - the local bike shop had shut down a couple years earlier and there were no car rentals. Realizing the more realistic place to exit was Helena, I decided to carry on over the next few days.
For dinner I had another burger and coke for dinner at Lindey's and worked on where to sleep that night. After checking out the USFS campground that was 3 km out of town and not particularly nice, my plan was to wild camp at a snowmobile shelter on the route I had seen on my way into town.
Before leaving town I also ran into another bikepacker - Dan from Maine - who had taken the highway route into Seeley Lake and said it was a nightmare of traffic and smoke, making me feel better about having stayed on the Great Divide route away from the fire. I would run into Dan again in a few days riding towards Helena.
My stealth camp at the snowmobile shelter ended up being a wakeful night. It started with some kids e-biking by around 10 pm getting snacks from town (about 4-5 km away), then around 10:30 or 11 pm someone was shooting nearby presumably doing target practice for 30-45 min, then around 11:30 pm an ATV drove by in front of my place, then around 12 midnight, some walkers came by with flashlights searching around where I was and to close it down the ATV came back to town around 1 am! A little unnerving.
Day 9, Tuesday, August 1
Distance/Elevation: 43 km, 475 metre climbing
Where: Stealth Camp Seeley Lake to Ovando
Major Pass: None
My next day was a short ride to Ovando where I had a late breakfast at the Stray Bullet Cafe and rather than carrying on for another 50 km into Lincoln, I decided to stay out and overnight in Ovando’s bike friendly prison cell for the night. I ran into Nikki and Marcus again and they had made the decision to carry on the extra 50 km into Lincoln to get a motel room even though it was a steaming hot day again.
I had a nice afternoon nap in my cell and prepared myself for an early departure as my plan was to get close to Helena ahead of the heat of the day. Ovando was such a great little town all geared up for bikers - closed my day with dinner at another restaurant, Trixie’s, along with an ice cream dessert.
In talking to Kathy - who runs the bike part of the town here as well as a local gift shop - she helped my decision making regarding stopping my ride early and coming back next year. She said quite a few people do the Great Divide in segments and suggested I might follow suit if I really was ready to call it a day on the ride.
I didn't realize until after leaving that Ovando was that it was not only famous for bikepackers but also had a bikepacking tragedy in 2021 when a woman was mauled in her tent by a grizzly. There is a longer backstory on this around bear safety (don't eat in your tent!) while traveling but it was particularly surprising because Ovando is on a bit of an open plain vs in a forested area so having a bear right in town was quite unexpected.
Day 10, Wednesday, August 2
Distance/Elevation: 99 km, 1450 metre climbing
Where: Ovando to Lincoln City and Barbara Nyes Llama Campground
Major Passes: Huckleberry Pass (before Lincoln) and Poorman’s Pass (after Lincoln)
This was a 99 km km day where I got into Barbara Nyes Llama campground around 4 pm. I originally had been thinking I might make Helena for this day’s ride and then realized that it was 4 passes, not 2, to get there. Stopping to camp before Helena was the most sensible thing to do and this particular place was perfect.
From Ovando, I got first to Lincoln where I ran into Dan (met him in Seeley Lake while at the grocery and again in passing in Ovando) and Sergio and Juan at the Lincoln grocery while eating a potato salad and drinking a coke. Dan and I rode the next section together for about 10-15 km after which I pulled away and left him behind (it is hard to pace together bikepacking since each rider and their loads/fitness are different).
Something I haven't mentioned much is wildlife on the route but there is a fair bit. While I expected more bears, particularly in Canada and in the Whitefish Pass area, I only saw one back in Canada. Here on Huckleberry Pass I saw several deer in the morning (deer were fairly common throughout the ride) and on Poorman's Pass, I saw a massive moose. I would see one more moose family on the ride into Butte. The most common animal were squirrels, chipmunks and other little varmints running across the road.
I wasn’t sure what to expect at Barbara Nye’s but found it was a free place with little bunkies offered out on a first come, first serve basis with a pay it forward request by the owners. I showered and hand washed some clothes and had a good sleep in my “Alpaca Inn” bunky. All my cohort were there for the night - Marcus and Nikki from New Zealand, Ash and Dan from Australia (new), Dan from Maine, Juan and Sergio and Elija from Virginia (new).
What was particularly nice about this place was the partner of Barbara who had lots of stories about Tour Divide racers - he flags them down coming down the Poorman's Pass downhill (he can see their lights in the night as they often arrive around 9 or 10 PM) and feeds them food and drink before sending them on their way if they don't stop for a sleep. His working theory was that many of them are microdosing LSD as a way to riding the incredibly long hours necessary to win the race (btw, a great read on this is Michael Pollan's "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence")
Day 11 - Thursday, August 3
Distance/Elevation: 103 km, 2000 metre climbing
Where: Barbara Nyes Llama Ranch to Helena and then Park Lake
Major Passes: Mullan Pass and Priest Pass into Helena and Grizzly Gulch to Park Lake
This was a big day with over 2,000 metre climbing - I seemed to be getting my legs back but still was pretty exhausted in the evening with a campground also at a higher elevation (2,000 metres). It was a big climb in morning over Mullan Pass and Priest Pass but beautiful riding all the way into Helena. I was slightly behind Nikki and Marcus as they were off early and eventually passed them further on on the way up Mullan Pass.
I had lunch out in Helena after resupplying with 2 days of food (they had a great outdoor store with dehydrated camp food). I also went to the local bike shop for a tire pump up and pressure check. I had been thinking I would have them fix my gear cable but with my mind set on potentially leaving in Butte, I thought I would wait until then - if I stopped I would do it myself at home (got to learn) and if I carried on, I would have the bike shop in Butte do it.
Another handy learning was around tire pressure. I used the bike shop's digital pressure gauge (small/portable) for my tires as I finally had lost noticeable pressure in my rear tire and after pumping it back up wasn't sure it was holding air at the right pressure. I now have my own that I will bring on future trips.
I headed out of Helena and had a big climb up mostly nice gravel road - Grizzly Gultch to Park Lake campground. Nikki and Marcus rolled in about 2 hours after me and then later Dan from Maine arrived. Despite having pumps for water at the campground, the water was very murky so I made water from the lake. I also had a heck of a time finding a good tree for my bear bag, perhaps because they were so stunted being at 2,000 metres.
Day 12 - Friday, August 4
Distance/Elevation: 95 km, 1421 metre climbing
Where: Park Lake Campground to Butte
Major Pass: Lava Mountain
This was a just under 100 km ride and only around 1,400 metres of climbing. But it was hard. The good news is because Park Lake was already at 2000 metres, it was just a small climb to get to the pass (Grizzly I think) and then a crazy fun technical descent - really more mountain bike than gravel bike - followed by a very long mostly walking ascent through Lava Mountain, also a very rough road.
I would say this uphill walking and downhill riding by Lava Mountain was the most difficult of the ride so far. While the section into Fernie mentioned earlier was rough painful it wasn't difficult - it was just incredibly uncomfortable and unforgiving. This section was really more of mountain biking territory than gravel biking, though I did enjoy the downhill. This also looked and felt more like bear country with periodic scat but no bears were to be seen.
Once through this, it was a smallish descent to around 1600-1700 metres and mostly rolling up and down gravel into Butte. I stopped in Dillon for a late breakfast - a loaded omelette and 4 cups of coffee, since I hadn't been drinking coffee in the morning (it takes too long to make). They only took cash so it was a good reminder that while most places take credit, campgrounds and small towns still generally prefer cash or only can handle cash.
The ride down towards Butte started flattening out and was staying at altitude - around 1600 - 1,800 metres. In this section after Lava Mountain, I saw what looked like a bear but turned out to be some sort of cat - either a lynx or a cougar, a small labrador dog sized one and unusual with black or dark grey fur. It was a ways off - maybe 150 metres - and fortunately when it saw and heard me (those Industry Nine hubs whining away!) - it ran off.
Once reaching Butte, it was do or die time in terms of deciding to carry on. If I carried on, I would likely need a day off to plan the sections as it is a little complex after Butte supply wise as well as getting fully resupplied and fixing the gear cable on my bike.
After I checked out the two bike stores - one closed and not open the next day and the other open that day and with a spare bike box, I made the decision that I would stop and head home. I wasn't sure about this but once made, I got down to business of heading home. I stayed at a cool somewhat historical hotel called the Finlen Motor Inn right in town and was able to do laundry and eat out for dinner.
It was a flurry of bookings once I had the hotel - rent a car from the Butte Airport (expensive flights back to Vancouver directly from Butte), then book a hotel in Bozeman (cheaper flights to Vancouver) and finally book a flight out of Bozeman to Vancouver. My pre-sleep task was deconstructing my bike and getting ready for it to be boxed up in the morning. I wasn’t sure I could make it work in a single day so to be safe I overnighted in Bozeman (fwiw, I could have done it in one day as my flight was in the evening).
I had a nice morning after in Butte eating out breakfast at the veteran run busy I Don't Know Cafe and then loaded my packed up bike into my rental SUV. The drive to Bozeman took a few hours and then I had time to tourist around in Bozeman having a nice dinner out and ice cream to cap off my trip.
One interesting side story on flying a packed bike is that the general strategy is pack the bike in your box or bag but don't lock or tape close the box until you get to the airport and it has been inspected by security. In Vancouver and many other airports I have gone through, they check the bag/box outside in a secure area before putting into private secure area - this lets you unpack the box, have them test and inspect it and then seal it yourself. In Bozeman, I expected the same but there they required me to close the box up, then they accepted it into security where they promptly re-opened it (behind some doors where I could see them) and privately inspected it.
Planning Your Own Ride
Tools and Logistics
- A cell phone - I mostly used it for Ride with GPS to check where I was at any one time. While the Garmin Edge was good for turn by turn directions, if you want to validate where you are relative to a campground or town, RidewithGPS lets you see more precisely where you are in the big picture. Also used the phone for all the other things one does in regular life - Google, photos, texting and phone calls.
One other key app was the Gaia app. It was useful in getting the big picture overview of the Flathead Valley where I had no service for 2 days, the Colt Fire geography and also when I had some worries about a fire that looked like it could be reaching Poorman's Pass ahead of Barbara Nyes Llama Ranch stop. Importantly, it does seem like you have to download the area you want more detail on so do that ahead of time while you have service. - Garmin Edge 830 - I loaded all the GPX files I needed onto my Garmin and used it for my turn by turn navigation. As noted, it worked well with RidewithGPS to track where I was at any one time
- Garmin Inreach - I used this mostly as a tracking device so my family could see where I was even when I did not have cell coverage. If I was out of cell coverage, I would also send a text message from it saying where I was - it includes a link to a map location of where you sent the message from.
- I used the American Cycling Association GPS maps for navigating much of the route - https://www.adventurecycling.org. When you purchase the maps you not only get the GPX files you can load to your Garmin as well as RidewithGPS, they include alternative routes and a separate file of services along the route.
The services can be merged with the route files - a bit of fiddling on RidewithGPS - but this makes it much easier to change your plans as you go as you can see different camp sites and other services along your route on the RidewithGPS routes themselves.
I would also note that it is useful to load the alternate routes - I only loaded a few but realized when I was thinking about leaving the route, I wasn't sure how to get to some of the nearby towns other than by highways that Google maps showed me. Conversely, the alternate routes provided by the ACA try to route you in the most bicycle friendly way possible. - Batteries. I carried a spare battery that charged the 3 main devices - Garmin Edge, Inreach and Phone - twice. This meant I could stay in a town or campsite with power, ride for two full nights with no power and then need power on the third day. I think for my next round of the Great Divide, I will add a smaller second battery as an emergency backup as there was one stretch where I was almost short of power (the Flathead Valley in Canada through to Whitefish).
- I did not carry paper maps which are available. I found using electronics was sufficient. I will say the few times I ran into someone with a paper map and they were showing me some place along the route, they were pretty nice to look at. My closest equivalent to a paper map with the big overview was using Gaia.
Conclusion
Postscript Details
Bike Gear Learnings/Summary
This is my bike gear broken out by the bags they were in. I also have a full piece by piece breakdown by category but this presents a bit easier in this format.
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