A Teacher trying to Divide -day 4
somewhere near the Canada/US border
Thursday 11th of July
I woke up at 6:00am, promptly packed away my sleeping kit, got dressed and headed across the road one more time to the gas station to use the toilet. The campground was rammed with tents but as I had suspected there was not a lot of movement at that time in the morning. A group of 3 road cyclists got packed up very efficiently and were on the road well before me. I set off with a damp tent at 7:00am and headed across to the wee bridge over the river. After crossing the bridge, I noticed Curtis camped down by the river, he waved so I turned around and had a quick blether with him. I explained that today was going to be my first 100 mile day. He was not quite sure about his plans and said that he might camp at Red Meadow Lake at the top of the second big climb. Curtis and I had got on pretty well together on the ride to Eureka so we promised to keep a look out for one another on the trail.
After the navigation adventures yesterday I was determined not to mess up today. I didn’t have the ACA map, the purple line on my GPS ( I was in the US now!) and my cue sheet all combined to safely take me to the bottom of the Whitefish Divide. As I rode along Grave Creek Road with its interesting cabins for bikers and the homesteads I found myself trying to make sense of the route through Whitefish Divide. The trees were too dense to see the road so instead I looked to the natural valleys and passed all of which looked possible! My study of the morning’s climb was strangely interrupted when a stoned local, on a full suss bike joined me for a quarter mile or so on Highway 114. Random encounters such as this were all making my time on the Great Divide an amazing experience, one that I will probably never forget. Hwy 114 was now heading almost due north and was climbing all the time - this was it the start of the climb to Whitefish Divide.
It was a great feeling to watch my altimeter steadily climb as the miles passed and to know that all the months of training had paid off. The deliberately punishing after school loops of The Burma Road from home, the multi-day loops with deliberate easy option-real option points on day 2 or 3 (designed to train the mind as well as the legs) and of course the rides around Abernethy & Glenmore Forest as fast as I could in all conditions, day or night. In one year I had gone from riding distances in a week that used to be accumulated in a month!
on the descent from Whitefish Divide, Glacier NP peaks catching the eye
The Whitefish Divide climb was steady on gravel and not actually too steep. A lot of trucks and CanAms drove past me so I was not too stressed about grizzlies at this point, despite what the map said. As I approached the summit my senses were almost overloaded with the size of the slopes and the sheer number of trees everywhere - trees that I was convinced might have a bear behind them. At the summit there was a pickup so I stopped to speak to them. The father and son were from Montana and were driving over Whitefish and I think then on towards Polebridge. Dad tried to convince me that I wouldn’t encounter any bears unless I really got ‘high up in the brush’...
The descent down to Tuchuck Campground was exhilarating and my smile was so big it almost hurt. At the campground there was a Forest Service pickup truck so I stopped nearby to have my sandwich from the Eureka gas station, some granola bars and generally just enjoyed the simplicity of what I needed to do…’Eat, Sleep, Ride-Repeat’. I didn’t stay too long and as I turned back onto Forest Road 114 there was Curtis, quietly having his lunch. Curtis still wasn’t too sure about riding all the way to Whitefish so I didn’t hang around. To be honest I am not surprised as this nutter had ridden from Banff to Fernie the week before non-stop, so maybe he needed a rest?
FR 114 curved south meeting FR 486 and the North Fork Road. The peaks of Glacier National Park were sharp, snow covered and spectacular. The riding was not too difficult, just steady so I was able to take in their shape, their scale and the beautiful way that the midday sun shone on them. I didn’t completely forget about navigation as at the junction of FR 486 and FR 115 I had to turn west and begin the climb to the second big pass of the day at Red Meadow Lake. Just before the junction I had noticed a community center and was reading about local events as I rode past when suddenly I became aware of another rider behind me...Curtis was right on my tail with a huge grin. When I asked him how long he had been there he said 15 minutes! Either he was winding me up or I had really got into the zone on this ride. We both rode side by side and started the usual sort of conversation about our lives back home, our partners, family and our jobs. As the grade increased we’d take turns at being up front as we steadily climbed alongside the Red Meadow Creek in the building heat. Any stops for water were short because of the mosquitos. The last half mile was pretty brutal and I was absolutely determined not to stop, or put a foot down. At times this did mean I was moving very slowly but I was pedalling, not pushing. A left hand bend, then a right hand bend and finally there was Red Meadow Lake in all its splendour with tall trees all around, massive slopes either side and, importantly picnic benches. This was our high point for the day so Curtis and I relished in this knowledge. We filtered water to top off our bottles, had the last of our food and started to discuss our plans when we hit town. Pizza and beer was the unanimous decision.
The descent was incredible. I will never ever forget the whopping, swooping yell from Curtis as he screamed down the first of those hills. No matter how hard I pedalled my 36/26 front with 11-42 cassette I could not catch him on the steeper sections. The 30 miles into town were either flat or downhill. It was just so much fun riding alongside then pulling away from one another for a bit before catching up. The gravel road was in good shape but I had learned after one almost over the bars moment to take care with the sun, or shade hiding any small potholes.
Curtis going for it on the descent from Red Meadow Pass
The pavement of East Lakeshore Drive arrived too soon after nearly 70 miles of gravel but the views through the trees to the lake made up for it. At one pull in we stopped to take photos and I am sure that Curtis said he had seen a snake. Typical, even when out of the forest this ride is going to keep us on our toes.
The first eating place that we saw was called ‘The Taphouse’. We pulled in, ordered beer, pizza and side orders of salad then headed to a seat outside. The food and drink just finished off one of the most memorable and enjoyable days I’ve had on my bike so far. The challenge, the scenery, the sounds and the company were unforgettable. Talking of sounds...the State Park campground that we detoured to was right next to a railway line. We both immediately quoted the line from The Blues Brothers about ‘How often does the train go past?’
What a day!
Eureka to Whitefish Lake State Park Campground, 100 miles, 6267 feet of ascent, 12 hours (10 hours riding + 2 hours stopped)
