Week 6: July 14 - July 20
Malta, MT to West Glacier, MT
This week's photos
Going to the Sun
Week 5 journal
Week 7 journal
July 14
"I am a little sleep-deprived after last night. We had trains going by
almost on the hour... with two at 4 am. There was also a siren... God
only knows for what reason. It all reminded me of situations in the movie
"My Cousin Vinnie". So, we had no problem in waking at 5 and being out of
camp by 5:30. The day started clear and calm, we were able to get 40
miles done before 9am, when we took a break. From that point on, however,
we were facing a wind out of the west at between 5 and 10 mph. We geared
down, and made it at around 2 in the afternoon to the town of Havre, MT
(pronounced "have-er"). As usual, the afternoon sun is extremely hot...
although there is relatively low humidity. We were told that we might see
some pronghorns along the way, because there was a group that like to
graze along the railroad right of way.... howver all we saw were some
prairie dogs.... we'll keep our eyes peeled. We gained some slight
elevation with today's ride... up from 2255' in Malta to 2494' here in
Havre. Today we traveled almost 90 miles, ensuring that the next two
days of riding will be relatively short distances of around 60 and 67
miles. The elevation gains for the next two days will be greater, to
3132' in Chester, and to 3714' in Cut Bank. We plan on taking a rest day
in Cut Bank before attacking the mountains!
Steve's bike continues to have problems with busted spokes on the rear
wheel. We found two broken today, and I only had four left... so we took
advantage of the one bike shop in town and got there just as they were
closing. We bought a dozen and hopefully if we keep an eye on the
situation, we should be able to make it through the rest of the trip
without rebuilding the wheel. As to what is causing the problem... I can
only guess. Usually on the rear wheel, two different lengths of spokes
are used to lace it. Shorter ones on the gear cluster side, and longer
ones (by about 1/8") on the non-cluster side. I believe that whoever
built this wheel used a uniform (short) spoke length... and as a result
there is greater tension on the non-cluster side of the wheel. So far,
all the spokes have broken on that side. It certainly doesn't help that
Steve's panniers weigh about 60 pounds, and occasionally, to move onto the
shoulder to accomodate traffic, we have to cross over rumble strips that
line the travel lanes over certain sections of route 2 out here.
As is becoming the norm, we passed several cyclists all going in the other
direction. I guess it makes sense that we would rarely overtake, or be
overtaken by other riders going in our direction, so it may only seem that
we're outnumbered! The bikers we passed included a large group of women
cyclists... possibly members of a women-only tour. They were going from
Seattle to New Hampshire. I'm going to have to cut this short, and get
caught up on some sleep... We've been assured of no trains nearby for
tonight! I also like to tune in to the local stations and find out
whether there is a weather alert for the area... There HAS been such an
alert for the past two nights... although nothing materialized over Malta
yesterday. So it goes..." --ez
July 15
"Today was a day of several long gradual climbs as we moved west to
Chester, MT. The terrain was classic "Big Sky". There were places where
absolutely nothing interfered with the horizon except miles of winter
wheat, free range grazing land, the everpresent powerline traveling with
us in parallel, and some hazy hills profiled off in the distance...
(Sweetgrass Mountains). We got to Chester and had lunch. There, we met
up with the father-son team from Missouri, also going west. After looking
over the camping-in-the-park situation, combined with the liklihood of
strong storms looming, we looked into the motel situation, and for a
variety of reasons... excessive price, unimpressive accomodations... the
early hour (12:30pm), we decided to continue on for another 42 miles to
Shelby. As if we were being punished for trying to ride further than we
had planned, the west wind reared its ugly head at about 10 to 15 mph and
was our constant companion thereafter. Murphy also made his prescence
felt when Steve got a flat front tire. I am a little concerned because a
sharp piece of glass sliced along the outer edge of the tire. I worry
about a possible blowout, even though the tire is Kevlar backed, the slice
is small, and we booted the cut with duct tape on the inside. Getting a
replacement tire will wait until we get to the western side of the
continental divide.
We passed harmlessly between two storm cells, getting only mild sprinkles
that were driven to us from the storm cells by the wind. Arriving in
Shelby at around 5:30pm, after traveling 108 miles since 5:30am, my
achilles tendon, my kneecap and my sore butt were telling me that the
extra 42 miles was a big mistake! We rationalized that since the distance
to Cut Bank is now only 22 miles, we will ride that distance tomorrow, and
still consider it our rest day.... even though we have a significant
climb to Cut Bank's elevation that needs to be overcome. This moving of
the rest day up by one date will mean that we can cross Logan Pass on
Going-to-the-Sun highway next Friday, when traffic is lighter, rather than
on Saturday with weekend traffic. Tonight being the first night of a
(pseudo) rest day, we checked into a motel in Shelby, whereupon torrential
rain fell. Phew!... dodged one! Tomorrow we will probably get a late
start, even though the prediction is for 25 mph winds out of the west. So
it goes..." --ez
July 16
Steve has been stopping at the crests of hills all through Montana
searching the skyline for a glimpse of the Rockies. We've seen some
pretenders, such as Sweetgrass, yesterday, but for the most part he's had
to be patient. Today we got to see the real thing!
We left Shelby knowing 1) It was only 23 miles to Cut Bank, 2) It was a
"rest" day... even though we were riding, and 3) It was mostly uphill all
the way. Well, we didn't get a whole lot of rest because the climb never
seemed to end. It was a fairly gentle rise, but constant over the
distance. We kept thinking, "maybe we'll see the mountains at the top of
this hill". But invariably, the top of the hill was only a flattening of
the road as a prelude to one more hill. Finally we got to the last hill,
and off in the distance, beyond the water tower and fuel tanks and grain
elevators of Cut Bank were the mountains! We will come to know something
of their character, I'm sure, in the next week or so. The wind was about
10mph out of the west during the ride, but when gravity forces you to slow
down, the wind is no longer a factor... It could have been from the east,
and we probably wouldn't have cared much. As to the character of the
land, as we crossed under interstate 15 out of Shelby, it was obvious that
we were in a drought area. There was a definite scarcity of vegetation...
most of the grasses were gone, and only the hardy sage bushes were
standing. We stopped at the Visitor information booth at the town line,
and got a lot of good information about places to camp and restrictions on
Going to the Sun highway for cyclists. For instance, along the shore of
Lake Macdonald, no bikes at all are allowed in either direction between
11am and 4pm. There is also the same time restriction for bikes going
eastbound from Logan creek to the pass... but no such restriction for
bikes going westbound. The reason is that bikes going westbound are
riding on the outside (cliff) edge of the road, and when traffic is heavy,
there is too great a risk of having a motor vehicle run a cyclist off the
edge. We will be traveling east to west, and getting an early start, so
we will need to be through the entire 51 mile road by 11, or stop and
spend a few hours waiting if we get caught without having passed Lake
Macdonald towards the end of the east-to-west direction.
Our plan for tomorrow is to get an early start, and cross into Canada
heading to Magrath. This is a 70 mile trip with no services in between.
Depending on how we feel, We'll either stay in Magrath, or continue on to
Cardston for tomorrow night. We'll then take a side trip to Waterton Lake
to see and photograph the Prince of Wales hotel... I've heard, but
haven't had confirmed, that it was used for exterior shots in the movie
"The Shining"... Is this true? The view of the lake and the town from
behind the hotel is supposed to be pretty spectacular as well. I'm sure
we'll be using up a lot of film in the next few days!
Being a rest day, it is also a laundry day, which we did shortly after
arrival in town. I also did some food shopping in order to take along
some provisions for the middle of our long ride without services tomorrow.
We found that carrying some extra bottles of gatorade as well as some pop
tarts (strawberry frosted) with peanut butter to spread on them works well
for a quick snack in a pinch. So it goes... --ez
July 17
"Today we crossed into Canada, for the second time on this trek. However,
it was a first time for me to be in Alberta. The weather was cool all
day... a welcome relief from the afternoon broil that has been the norm.
Humidity was down, skies were bright with small clearly defined puffy
clouds to break the monotony. On such a perfect day, the only downside
was the wind, which at 6am when we started cycling, was out of the WSW at
15 to 20 mph. It eventually reached gusts of more than 25 mph. We wound
up traveling over 75 miles today, with more than 60 heading into the
west... so our average speed for the day was the lowest of the trip at
10.8 mph. We crossed into Canada at the Del Bonita port of entry, and got
some interesting information from the guard. It seems that route 501 from
Del Bonita to Cardston, formerly gravel, is now paved. He suggested that
if we wanted to get to Cardston that we use that road. It would save us
30 miles and be relatively free of traffic. I asked him what we would
miss by not going to Magrath as planned. He smiled and said, "Absolutely
nothing". That decided it for us... so instead of heading north for
thirty miles, we headed west for thirty. By the way, the Del Bonita
general store was open, so Steve and I had a nice break there, in the sun
and out of the wind. One thing I noticed on the ground around the outside
of the store were a number of spent 22 caliber rifle casings. I assume
that they have a problem with animal pests?
The road to Cardston following 501 was wonderful, in spite of the wind.
The mountains of Glacier were constantly on our left and grew steadily as
we biked. At the time, I didn't have any idea what the names of the peaks
were, so I started calling the most uniquely shaped and prominent one
"fez"... because that's what it looked like to me. Perhaps it is an old
volcano chimney, like Devil's Tower. After 25 miles on 501, we stopped at
Jensen's Trading Post, and had a talk with the proprietor. He let me know
that Fez was really called 'Chief' and told me the story behind the
mountain. In short it involves the tragic deaths of a young chief, his
wife and child. And viewing the mountain from a particular angle allows
one to see the images of all three spirits of the story. I was really
pleased when I found that the trading post sold licorice jaw breakers! I
used to vacation on Georgian Bay in Ontario as a child, and we would walk
a couple miles down a dirt road to "Dillon's General Store" where I would
buy a bag full of licorice jaw breakers for a penny apiece. Since those
days, I had not seen that candy any more... until today! Even at 5 cents
apiece, they tasted as good as I remembered. By the way, on the ground
around the outside of the trading post were numerous spent 22
casings...
A couple of interesting things about route 501... we encountered hundreds
of grasshoppers sitting in the road. They would hop as we approached, but
the wind was so strong that they were often deflected into our path... we
were pelted with grasshoppers. 501 crossed through what was known as
"Whiskey Gap", so named because during Prohibition, it was a route that
was used to transport the beverage into the US. Another thing we noticed
as we descended into a valley just before climbing through the gap was a
large number of dust devils that were generated by the day's strong
winds.
Cardston is a neat town. The campground is great with terrific showers
and plenty of trees for shade.... not that we need shade so much with the
cooler air. In fact I am wearing my rainsuit as I write this, because of
the chill in the wind. I think tonight it will get down into the low 40s
or upper 30s. There is a movie showing in town that Steve and I both want
to see. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't start til 10pm, which means not
a lot of sleep if we want an early start tomorrow. We need to decide
soon. So it goes..." --ez
July 18
"I really hate to belabor describing the wind, because bicycle touring is
so much more than a report on riding conditions. Nevertheless, after
today's ride I feel I need to say something succinctly descriptive...
"DAMN! UNBELIEVABLE!". For 36 miles from Cardston to Waterton Village,
we had headwinds 30 to 50 mph! It got to the point that we had to gear
down and struggle to get over 6 mph going downhill! However, the
challenge of the wind and the climbs have to be balanced with the
awe-inspiring views that at points along the route just inspired me to
break into song and yells of exhiliration. All in all, I was happy,
ecstatic, and felt blessed for having the opportunity to be here today at
this time of my life. There will be phtographs, but in no way will they
do justice to this special place!
There is nothing like Waterton village in the States. imagine a full
service community right in the middle of a National Park... without
detracting a bit from the environment. We are camped right now surrounded
on all sides by the majesty of the Canadian Rockies... It's hard to
believe that such a place exists. There was a slight chance that having
spent last night in Cardston we could have made it to St. Mary today, and
be ready to cross Logan pass tomorrow. However, we made the right
decision to take some time off and spend it here. We'll practice more
climbing tomorrow, I'm sure.
There is high concentration of ground squirrels in the area. Their nests
are within feet of the tents, and they are constantly poking around
looking for a handout. Much like the "mini-bears" (chipmunks) we
encountered while backpacking in New Mexico. Other wildlife is quite
tame... a mule deer just got up from lying 10 feet away and walked over
to see if I was in a giving mood. Needless to say, sharing with the
critters is a big mistake, and our food is locked up for the night in one
of the metal containers they have here for the campers to use.
I was able to buy a replacement Fastex buckle for my Crazy Creek chair in
town. Now I don't need to use the vise grips to hold it together as a
chair. Steve and I are trying to conserve our Canadian currency so that
we'll have exactly enough to last us for food etc. until we cross the
border again tomorrow. It's a little difficult, because the town is a
definite tourist trap! The tourists, however are very willing. There are
a number of people renting and riding those four-wheeled, two-seater pedal
vehicles. I can't imagine how anyone can stand struggling to pedal such a
contraption under these conditions. The only bargain I can see is the $15
(CAN) camping fee. We're going to budget some to spend on another (!)
movie tonight. Spielberg's "AI" is showing at 9pm, so we'll try to get
some naps in before dinner and a movie later on. We did get some pictures
of The Prince of Wales Hotel, which, I am told was not connected with the
movie 'The Shining'. Nearby, however in the "Many Glacier" area, there IS
a lodge/hotel that was the inspiration for the movie.
Did you know that Waterton-Glacier International peace park has the
highest concentration of grizzly bears in North America? We were reading
about what to do in case of a bear encounter... most of it was the usual
stuff like "You'll be lucky if you catch a glimpse...". But what caught
my eye was a section on how to know if you are being stalked as prey! The
author felt compelled to point out that this was a "serious situation"...
and that if attacked as prey "you should do whatever it takes to
escape"!... No kidding! So it goes..." ez
July 19
"We are here, finally, in Glacier National Park (The US portion). We are
staying at Rising Sun Campground which is 6 miles into the park on Going
to the Sun Highway. Logan pass and the Continental Divide are just 12
miles down the road to the west! Sounds like a piece of cake... doesn't
it? There's just a small matter of about 2500 feet of elevation gain that
has to be overcome first. :)
Today we had a chance to practice climbing as we rode the length of Chief
Mountain International Highway. There were a couple of noticeable climbs
of perhaps 500 to 700 feet of elevation gain each , along the way. It
seems that I did them both, plus perhaps some of the last couple day's
riding pulling a trailer with a partially flat tire. It has a slow leak
that seems to stop leaking when the pressure drops to about 8 or 9 pounds.
The wear on the tire from having so little pressure is reason enough to
cause me to replace the tire (and tube) with the spares that I brought. I
also noticed significant wear on my bike's rear tire... which I probably
will try to replace with a new one when we get to a town on the other side
of the Rockies that has a decent bike shop.
Following the climbs, we had some exhilirating descents, which made me
worry about the effectiveness of my brakes... I feathered them trying to
keep the speed under 40 miles per hour. They worked, but felt a little
soft... so both Steve and I need to do some preventive maintenance this
evening to get ready for tomorrow's momentous ride. We also passed
through US customs along Chief Mountain HWY... and so are out of Alberta,
and back in Montana. After last night's dinner, movie, and purchasing
some breakfast items for this morning, we were left with 50 cents in
Canadian currency... pretty close planning!
The weather today was perfect... The clouds that have been hugging the
western side of the mountains seem to have dissipated a bit... perhaps a
slight change in prevailing winds? The past days I felt that if we had
done the climb through the pass, clouds and rain would have met us on the
other side. Today, had we done the climb, I'm sure it would have been
clear sailing the entire way. Hopefully this weather pattern will hold
steady for a while more. By the way, I am on visual overload with the
awesome scenery here. I have to resist the temptation to use up all my
film... The photo opportunities seem to never end, and to outdo one
another as we go. With the soaring mountain walls around us, it's as if
we will be tenting tonight in a cathedral. So it goes..." --ez
July 20
"Remember the wind? The one constant adversary that we had battled for
the past few days? This morning it was as if the mountains held their
breath while we ascended. The clouds that previously hugged the western
side of the peaks and made me think that maybe wanting to be there under
them wasn't such a good idea.... were nowhere to be seen! The climb
over Logan Pass itself was hardly noticed, because Steve and I both took
every opportunity to pull into the scenic pull-outs and burn film. We
left shortly after six in the morning, and traffic was almost nonexistent.
With no wind and no traffic, the only sound was our own wheels humming on
the road, and birdsong as we made our way through one of the most
spectacular forest landscapes I've ever seen. Riding Going-to-the-Sun
east to west certainly had definite advantages that convinced me we had
made the right decision about travel direction... With the sun at our
backs, all the peaks we faced were illuminated in strong morning relief.
We rode in the sunlight more so than climbing from the west would have
allowed.
The road itself was a constant 6% grade, which is not the worst that we've
seen on the trip... certainly Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut had
tougher, though shorter climbs. We made it to the top around 8 in the
morning, and after a short rest, we headed down the Pacific side. One
thing that I knew, theoretically, but not in my gut was the fact that you
can get very cold when descending from a pass. It was pure luck that
caused me to spot a pair of cotton, full finger gloves yesterday at Rising
Sun and buy them. They made the difference between uncontrollable
shivering, which I had, and excruciating pain... which I avoided because
of the gloves. The descent was 12 miles of 6% grade, in the cold morning
shade. I had to continually feather my brakes, because rough road
surface, steel drainage grates, twists, turns, and occasional road
construction would have made high speed deadly. Steve and I were both
glad that we had adjusted our brakes the night before. What would I do if
my brakes failed? Even if I could safely stop my bike... my only option
would be to walk it down... unthinkable! I had heard an opinion that
there was less wind on the west side... but such a stark contrast! The
day before, St. Mary Lake was covered in whitecaps... Today Lake
Macdonald was smooth as glass.
We are staying in West Glacier for the next two nights at a campground as
we decide what our next move will be. We are likely to go off route for a
side trip to Missoula, then come back north to continue the ACA mapped
route... but right now, we have completed a laundry, have eaten dinner,
and need a little rest. So it goes..." --ez
