Jackson to Darby, Montana

Very early this morning, we could just see the mountains peaking over the clouds in Jackson Hot Springs. Then, grey clouds covered the sky in a thick blanket. For the first 18 miles, we rode through the foggy mist along the narrow shoulder of the country highway, startling pick-up trucks zooming past.

In Wisdom, we stopped at a little Mercantile that had it all: postcards, hot chocolate, snacks and a restroom. Cyclists descended upon it in groups as they arrived at the small shop causing quite the whirlwind for the clerk serving her coffee regulars.

Leaving Wisdom, the clouds gradually cleared. By the time we arrived at Big Hole National Battlefield, it was another beautiful day! We could finally see the mountainous vistas again. Although, as we were crossing the cattle guard into the park, I was strongly debating whether it was worth going downhill to the snack stop. My legs were tired. I even stopped halfway down the hill but eventually decided it was worth it, even if it did requiring climbing back up that mile. The break for food and water bottle refills proved to be a good idea. But, I still didn’t have the energy to add on the extra distance to visit the interpretative center. One day, I’ll need to return to learn about the Big Hole Battle.

Today was our last day of mountain passes; yet, first, we enjoyed some very nice flat riding through the picturesque scenery. The two mountain passes we were crossing were very close together. Chief Joseph Pass, at 7,241 feet, was the first pass that we needed to cross. It left like everyone still behind us passed us on the way up that pass. I was in my lowest gear, just putting one foot down, then the next. It seemed to go on forever! But, after we crested the top, it was a short downhill cruise to Lost Trail Pass, and our lunch stop. All of our climbing on this trip was over!

At Lost Trail Pass, there was a very descriptive map that showed much of the route that we had taken on this tour, from Butte to our end in Missoula. It showed the winding Continental Divide as well as provided the names for the different ranges within the Rocky Mountains. The pink line on the map is the route Lewis & Clark took. The blue line is the historic route of the Nez Perce.

I didn’t realize until yesterday that at the back of our map packet there was a page showing the elevation profiles for everyday. That was perhaps a good thing. Today, I had checked; and, it was going to be one long, steep downhill after lunch. The Strava segment named “Lost Trail Pass Descent – Northbound” lists it as only a 5.5% downhill grade over 7 miles, a 2000 foot total descent. It felt way worse. We were riding the shoulder along a twisting highway with vehicles blowing by at 80+ mph. Once again, everyone behind me passed me, as I rode my brakes, fearful that I wouldn’t see a patch of sand or rumble strips on the shoulder that would cause me to fall. Much braver cyclists rode in the lane with traffic, no brakes. They were truly flying down the curving highway!

After the descent, we stopped at the little convenience store gas station in Sula (Sula, MT, may perhaps just be this convenience store, since it has a population of 50). There was a couple there from Switzerland on bikes with a trailer that were going the opposite direction, up that big hill! Both the shopkeeper and the post woman warned us that there was a 6-mile stretch up ahead with two way traffic and no shoulder. We steeled our resolve and pushed on. At the beginning, it was a pretty, flat highway. The scenery was beautiful! Some areas of the road were built up off marshy areas. But, then, we arrived at the gauntlet of winding, 60 mph highway with trees on both sides providing shade but not providing much visibility for traffic. We pedalled hard, thankful that it was flat.

After so much adventure today, upon arriving at our hotel, we went out for ice cream. There were many options to choose one, including a purple one called huckleberry. At our hotel, there was a little garden in the back which the owner encouraged us to help ourselves. We picked delicious strawberries. What a great treat!