Fort Steele To Missoula – Living the Montana Life

It’s hard to believe that 10 days have passed since we left Fort Steele, bound for the USA.  It has been quite the journey, and sitting here in the KOA Missoula campground, we are pretty chuffed that after more than 970km, we have completed the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) Great Parks North Route!

To pick up where I left off, after saying our goodbyes to our new friends Philipa and Adam, we headed out of Fort Steele B.C. on our way to a little campground in Baynes Lake (about 65km away).  The ride was lovely, passing open fields bordered with mountains, plenty of wildflowers and the sun on its best behaviour. 

Hope to see you guys on the Pacific Coast 

About halfway to the lake we saw a big, menacing outline of a dog in the distance.  Thus far, we have not been chased by any animal, but seeing this big black dog we were prepared for him to com after us.  So me armed with my marine corps approved orange whistle and Neil a big stick, we slowly approached the monster waiting for it to charge.  As we got close this is what we found:

A big softie

He was definitely domesticated and well-loved by a family somewhere near.  We couldn’t resist but play catch for a while, until a park ranger came by and kindly took him into his truck to find his owners at the campground nearby. 

On we went to Baynes Lake, and on arrival we found something of a ghost-town, with no campground and a tiny convenience store.  So after some chips and a coke, we made the decision to go a further 22km to the next town of Grasmere.  Once we reached Grasmere and refueled on Pretzels and a Budweizer we did the calcs and realised Eureka Montana was only another 30km away.  We weighed up the pros and cons.  Cons – we would be buggered after a 112km day.  Pros: the sun didn’t set for another few hours; border crossing wouldn’t be busy; we could spend an EXTRA rest day in Whitefish; there was nothing happening in Grasmere…so we chose to continue on.  After a long cycle and 3 minute, uneventful border crossing we rolled into the quaint village of Eureka, taking up residence in the city hall park with about 15 other cyclists.  In particular, we met the kindest and funniest Texan mountain-biker Tim who gave us great advice for life to ponder as we go. 

Town deer known to casually walk the streets of Eureka

Heading off to Whitefish the following morning had a rocky start.  As we slowly peddled up a little hill, I suddenly realised my speedometer had reached 1000km.  After letting Neil know this, he decided we best take a photo.  Again the cleats came to ruin the day, and as Neil unclicked his left foot, the road dipped to the right and down he came, crashing onto his wrist.  We were quite worried he had fractured something, but after I ranted and raved over cleats and how I was throwing mine out at the next town, we loading him up with some Ibuprofen and continued on.  Thankfully a few hours later the pain had all but disappeared and we had been given a free pass again.

The journey to Whitefish was tough with a headwind, rain and 85km ahead of us.  At the 80km mark I had my first mini-meltdown, but after a good cry, coaching from Neil and some deep breathing  we made it to the finish line.  That night we were treated to a room in a beautiful inn, with our very own gas fireplace, king-sized bed, take-away pizza and breakfast (thanks Mum and Dad for the birthday present)!  

We had four great days off in Whitefish, exploring the town, eating great food and chilling out - Neil found the best ‘nanobrewery’ yet –the Bonsai Brewing Project.  Whitefish has a lovely little beach by the lake where locals flock for some sun, ice cream and a play on a paddle board.  

Ukulele practice at the campground

City Beach 

We took a bus out to Glacier National Park but unfortunately it was so foggy at the summit we couldn’t see more than 10 meters ahead of us.  It was really bad luck, but we will definitely make that a destination to return one day.

Chilly at St Mary's Visitor Centre, Glacier National Park

Poor visibility = no hiking

Feeling well rested and ready to go we continued the journey along to Missoula through Bigfork and down the Swan Valley towards Condon where we planned to camp.  

Enroute to Bigfork

I was worried that we might not find a campsite, as the State Park grounds only had four sites available and we knew a group of mountain bikers were headed that way.  I emailed a lodge in Condon asking if they could accommodate a couple of weary cyclists somewhere on their land.  The lovely Sherri and Ken agreed and we were given instructions on where to head to for the night – at no cost!

On arrival, we were so pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed at the generosity and kindness Sherri and Ken showed us.  We were offered to spend the night in their beautiful log cabin that they had built, have use of their lovely bathroom facilities and take their ‘Gator’ 4WD buggy down to see the river (this involved driving on the highway for 250m!).  The area was magnificent and the deer came to graze in the evening as we sat by the outdoor fire roasting some marshmellows.  On more than a few occasions Neil and I were pinching ourselves, and were sad when the time came to leave.  Thank you so much Ken and Sherri, it was truly a magical stay and a highlight of our trip. 

Our home for the night

The 'Gator'

The old barn next to the cabin

From Condon we headed through Seeley Lake for the night, staying in a nice hiker/biker site by Salmon Lake.  Getting up bright and early we began the final descent into Missoula, reaching the ACA Headquarters about 75km later.  The ride was very scenic and mostly downhill. 

Leaving Salmon Lake bound for Missoula

There were people and bicycles everywhere, as this weekend is celebrating the ACA 40^th anniversary.  We were welcomed with a free ice-cream and soda, and got our polaroid photo taken for their wall of fame.

At the ACA headquarters

Missoula is a pretty little town, with great markets, shops, breweries galore and a brilliant walking/bicycle trail leading us from our campground to town (we are about 5km from downtown).  It sits in a massive hole surrounded by mountains – 15000 years ago it was sitting under a large glacial lake. 

View of Missoula coming down Mt Sentinel 

On Saturday we took part in more ACA celebrations and cycled a small section (only about 30km) of the Bitterroot Trail. 

Having a break on the Bitterroot Trail

We also made the maiden voyage to Walmart!  It was quite the experience – overwhelming, confronting and amazing.  I’ve decided it is a bit like a full sized Coles attached to Big W, attached Bunnings, attached to Dick Smith, attached to Prouds Jewellers.  There were so many different people in there, buying all sorts of goods. 

Time has flown by since we landed in Vancouver over a month ago.  We have cycled over 1500km, met so many interesting people and can’t wait to get back on the saddle for our next chapter.  For now we plan on having a two week rest, hiring a car and heading to Yellowstone for a few days.  We will then drive west across to Portland where we’ll get back on the bikes and begin the Pacific Coast route through San Francisco.