Fast forward….
Wow, a lot has happened since my last update. I’ve been hot, cold, wet, dry, hungry, stuffed; treated to miles of that Good Dirt and pushed my bike through miles of snow (twice). And I’ve been the grateful recipient of kindnesses big and small – free cookies at Subway, a free local beer at a beautiful skate park in the tiny town of Alberton, MT, a free slice of pizza at the bar in Darby, MT, free drinks in Challis, ID, and several gifts of shelter and hospitality. THANK YOU to Steph, Curtis, and Andrea + family (sorry the presence of a strange bike packer in the morning scared your daughter…eep!). And there were the rescue-rides from the ranching couple in Pegram, ID (after I rolled my tired on a descent and then had a puncture in the tube I popped in, while trying to patch it a couple on a tractor and wagon out to feed the cows rolled by…John and I looked at each other and raised the possibility of asking for help…surely a rancher would have an air compressor…) and Dave the ranch broker who rescued me from Impassable Mud north of Montpelier reservoir (Idaho), ferried me to Afton, WY, and bought me dinner!
The two snow pushes deserve their own posts…the first, Mill Creek Summit, is likely the hardest, most taxing physical (and mental) endeavor I’ve ever undertaken. Hours of trudging and hefting the bike through snow-cone consistency snow up to hip deep, split by a night of camping on the only patch of dirt I could find, nestled between two great pine trees. The second day saw me unloading the bike of food, clothes and shelter and portaging, in a way, across the snow…walking forward with the gear, dropping it, backtracking for the bike, and pushing or carrying that. Truly miserable. The second snow slog was longer but more easily traversed…the snow was compact enough to support my bike (most of the time) and my feet, so that I generally didn’t sink below my ankles, or calves at the worst. But that one, up and over Horse Creek Pass, was probably twice as long lengthwise. As night fell, I vowed to make it to dirt on the other side if I could. This resolution was tested several times, not least of which was a wall of snow maybe 10-12 feet high. I stood, high of the bike on the slope, and kicked my feet in, then heaved it up and jammed it down so the wheels would dig in. Then I’d side-step upwards and dig my feet in again, repeating the process a dozen or two times until I was within reach of heaving the bike up onto the flat top of the drift. A mere 20 feet or so forward and I quickly descended back to dirt (well, more of a sandy mud). That was just about, but not entirely, the last of the snow. I decided to try to push it to the Horse Creek Hot Springs and campground, arriving there at 1:30am in a state of near-delirium…seeing the little shack that housed a crystal clear hole of perfect-temperate bath water, I hurriedly gathered from my bike dry clothes, a microfiber towel from Tractor Supply, and the last tortilla and bit of hummus I had and made my way down the rickety wooden gangway to the shack. I quickly disrobed, eyes wide with disbelief and anticipation, and eased my body down the ladder into the chest-deep water. Body soaked and warmed, and hummus eaten, I eventually got out, dried off and donned dry clothes, then scurried with my bike into the nearby vault toilet for another night of glamping luxury ;-)
There’s more to that story, but I should probably keep moving. I’ve just ducked into a bar in Alberton for a personal pizza and 1.5 midday beers, waiting out some passing downpours. But the rain is tapering and besides, I’ve been wet before. Gotta get some more miles in.