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Bike from Oregon to Virginia, June/July 1999 Day 13: Wilderness Gateway, Idaho to Lewis and Clark Campground, Montana Finally got up the hill, it was about 100 miles long with only one short downhill section. Most of it was a "magical" hill…
Stopped at 3 hot springs today. The first was the best (at mileage marker 142). The second was nice as well (Jerry Jones) and the third was awful and commercial so we didn't go (we would have had to pay).
Before I forget, let me recount the fellow bikers we have met: Mary (met her 1st day, don't think she has any chance of making it but hope she does), shirtless guy (riding opposite direction, pony tail, Keith look-a-like), Powell Guy #1 (riding to Virginia which is his home, has a crappy bike and more gear than Kevin, doesn't look like he could ride down the block but if he is telling the truth is kicking our ass in terms of mileage covering almost 1000 miles in 12 days) and finally Bill Murray (I see the resemblance but Kevin and Ned don't, he lives on a boat in Oakland or Berkeley, his girlfriend drives a car and caries the gear). At the top of the hill (Lobo Pass, site where the Nez Perce fled through) there was a historic site with buildings, etc. I asked some people if there was any water around and found that none was to be found. People are friendly though, as one fellow got a jug of water from his car and filled my water bottle, another lady gave me a cold diet 7-Up. Another man gave me 3 bottles of water. Also, at hot springs #2 someone gave me a cold Coca-Cola. Will call you tomorrow from Missoula, Montana.
Day 14: Lewis and Clark Campground (~ 15 miles to Lolo) to Hamilton, Montana Kevin's birthday was today so we ate breakfast in a diner/casino. Stopped in a small town and saw a parade that lasted about 5 minutes. Also saw a rodeo (at least the barrel racing part). Met Randy, owner of a bike shop here. He was helpful to the extent that he gave me his card and said that if we were stranded within 100 miles of here he would come get us in his van.
Washed clothes for real for first time in 14 days (I mean in a washing machine and not a river) and shaved for the second time on the trip. For the first time on the trip I felt hot and disgusting so I decided not to hang around Hamilton and go straight to the showers and laundry at the campground 4 miles away. Later in the day when we had regrouped at the campsite guilt hung heavy on my mind when I told the guys that I felt sorry that I went ahead without them but they said it was not a big deal.
Highlight of today had to be getting the spoon out of the enormous trashcan. So large was this can, you could fit 5 people in it. I did a re-enactment for a photo. Speaking of which, I need a new battery for the camera, and quickly, as the low battery light has been flashing for about 5 days now. Our current campsite is next to a busy, noisy road and our neighbor campers have had a radio on all day. Peace, quiet, and tranquility of the mountains await tomorrow (I believe we will go over the Continental Divide). Loved hearing your voice today.
Note to self - write about food bonk and eating less! And Zen! Day 15: Hamilton, Montana to USFS May Creek Campground (16 miles west of Wisdom) Hamilton is at an elevation of ~ 3,500 feet and today we climbed over Chief Joseph Pass (7,241 feet) and thus made our first of many crossings of the Continental Divide. Climbing 3,700 feet is quite a feat, pun intended! The interesting thing though, is that it seemed easy. Thinking back to the previous 14 days I don't believe we ever climbed that much. Perhaps I am getting stronger.
Only the last 8 miles of the climb were steep so I tried something new. Using the mileage markers on the road I would climb for 1 mile and then rest for 2 minutes (basically drinking water and admiring the view while standing over my bike) then ride another mile, followed by another 2 minute break and so on. So successful was this technique that I will probably adopt it in future steep ascents. Using the technique I managed ~ 7 minute miles on very steep terrain. Another plus is that the 2-minute break gives my back a rest so I don't have to climb out of the saddle, which is oh so hard on the knees (besides being inefficient). Certainly one reason the hill seemed easy was because everyone told us how hard it was going to be, particularly in the last stop before the summit, a town called Sula. You cannot really call Sula a town. It has a single general store/grocery store/café/KOA campground. In the café Ned and I tried Buffalo burgers that could have been tough beef as far as I am concerned. Speaking of which, I saw a female cow (I suppose that saying female is not required) urinate for the first time today. Yikes! Back to Sula, the best part was the older couple that we met. They are about my parent's age or a little bit older, live in Santa Barbara and were also cycling (not across the country but rather in a loop across these upper states). So thoroughly did I enjoy chatting with them that at this moment I very much regret not having a name or picture to remember them by. We were able to talk about cycling around Santa Barbara in in particular, the Lake Cachuma area since we took that shortcut on our trip down the coast in the summer of 1997. Note to self; take pictures of all future cyclists that I meet. Regarding food, I am eating less. There was a time once when I rode from Pacifica (San Francisco) to Felton (Santa Cruz) that I got food bonk, i.e.. ran out of energy. To avoid having this occur on this trip at the first sign of hunger I have been munching Powerbars. Well, I know I am eating enough so I rarely have Powerbars anymore. On the steep part of the climb today I went without my shirt and helmet. Will do this again on steep climbs. Help! I am under attack, completely trapped in my tent, under constant 24-hour guard by mosquitoes. Normally they only come out at dawn and dusk but here they don't follow the rules. Sitting in my tent I can count about 20 just buzzing around, waiting for me to attempt an escape. This made cooking and eating quite comical. After boiling our noodles and pouring a can of "Manwich" over the top we grabbed the pot, stuck two spoons in it and where off. The idea was to eat until the mosquitoes found us and then to run about 20 meters away, eat until they found us again and so on. Actually, it was kind of fun. Usually I chose a straight path while Kevin and Ned would do figure eights, zig zag's and so on to confuse the blood suckers. They are so bad that I have been in my tent since I got here (around 4:00 pm) except to bathe at the river and eat. Currently it is 9:00 pm and I am waiting for the sun to go down so I can sleep. Yes, of course it is beautiful but believe me, you don't wish you were here. Day 16: May Creek Campground, Montana to Jackson, Montana Short day, around 8:00 am I awoke and tried to pack out my tent before the mosquitoes attacked; no such luck. I am sure that they posted guards and when they saw me stirring called in for reinforcements. By the time I was all ready to go Kevin and Ned were still getting up so I told them that I would meet them at the "Big Hole National Battlefield" five miles down the road. This was one of the many sites where the Nez Perce fought the U.S. around a decade after the Civil War. I watched a short video, saw artifacts, learned how the troops advanced, etc. It was quite interesting and I would like to someday return and walk the battlefield. Honestly, I was just glad to be able to wait indoors, where the bloodsuckers couldn't get to me. Kevin is very paranoid about things getting stolen and last night didn't help at all. A couple of teenage girls camped a few spots down from us and decided it would be funny to shake Ned's tent at night and then run away. When you are in the middle of nowhere with your life in a few bags such pranks are not funny (at least until the next day). Anyway, Ned woke up Kevin and they got out their lights and Kevin's numb chucks and checked things out. By the time all of the commotion had awakened me, one of the girls had come over and said her cousin thought it would be a funny thing to do. Right after she left I emerged from my tent and found out what was happening. It was difficult for all of us to sleep after that. Currently I am lounging by a natural hot spring at the "Jackson Hot Spring Lodge" run by a German lady. The hot water flows directly into a large rectangular pool (about 30 feet by 60 feet). It is one thing to soak in a hot spring but another thing altogether to swim in one. Needless to say, $5 well spent. To stay at the lodge we were charged $7.50 per tent but told that we couldn't cook on the premises. When buying groceries at the "Jackson Mercantile" we asked the owner if there was a park in town to picnic at but she said the nearest substitute was a cemetery. We told her we couldn't cook where we were camped and she promptly led us to her kitchen! We had a nice chat. She too, is from California and has children our age. Although if I was in her situation I would do the same thing the generosity of people on this trip never ceases to amaze me. Tonight I look forward to: talking to you on the phone, more soaking/swimming, and watching game 3 of the NBA playoffs in the lodge. P.S. Maybe I'll write about Zen tonight or tomorrow. Day 17: Jackson, Montana to Twin Bridges, Montana Scenarios straight out of hell don't get any better than this… We had arrived in Twin Bridges and decided to camp here despite the mosquitoes because they had showers. While Ned showered I pitched my tent, rinsed out my riding clothes and hung them in a tree to dry. I was hot, sweaty and sticky as you might imagine and very much looking forward to the shower. Ned stepped out, looking clean and refreshed, so I went in. Up went the shower handle and… nothing. Curious I thought, perhaps I will try the ladies shower. I did and had similar results. Well, what about the sink in which I rinsed my clothes not 5 minutes ago? You guessed correctly, no water. It turns out that the town has just gotten a new water tower and literally right when I stepped into the shower they turned the water off. For about 15 minutes I was hot, sticky, sweaty and quite pissed off, but shortly the water came on and all was well. This morning we were lightly rained upon, so when descending a hill I removed my glasses so I might see better. Towards the bottom of the grade I encountered a pickup truck with its hazard lights flashing and moving towards me very slowly. Squinting, I delighted to see why he was driving in that particular fashion; he was leading an honest to goodness cattle drive. We stopped and watched on the white line as men and boys on horses led several hundred cows down the highway. Standing on the road on my bike I wasn't sure what to do, the cattle took up all of the road and looked more intimidating the closer they got. Quick, what a great time for a photo. But alas, my battery finally went kaput so I wasn't able to get the shot. Eventually the cowboys led the cattle around me and I continued on my way, kicking myself for not having a spare battery. We went over 1000 miles today! Hooray! Total miles to date: 1038 Total days: 17 (including rest days) Average miles per day: 61 OK, OK, Zen… but briefly. While you were in China I read a book entitled "Viruses of the Mind" by Richard Brodie (one of the original authors of Microsoft Word). In the book he introduces an idea called a "meme". Basically it boils down to this. Very simple organisms have their actions based upon their genes, as do we humans for certain things (food, sex, fear, etc.) but as we have become more evolved the meme has taken precedence over the gene. A meme is anything that reproduces itself (so it is very much like a gene). A meme can be a song stuck in your head, the beliefs of religious groups, governments, etc. Anything that reproduces on its own is a meme. How is this related to Zen? Well, in the book Richard Brodie talks a lot about how to deprogram yourself from all of the memes that life throws at you and how you can see life as it is, without all of the crap in the way. He said Zen was a good way to go and recommended several books. Of course I didn't have time to read them but I wish I had and this is the reason why. For 10 weeks I will spend countless hours on the road with no companion but my thoughts and what I see, smell, hear and feel. That sounds great but in reality quite a bit of the time I have stupid songs or jingles running through my head and I hate it. I wish to see and enjoy life, experience new ideas, etc. and instead I can't get the David Letterman jingle "letters, we get letters, lots and lots of letters, letters" out of my head. In short I am full of memes that I have allowed to invade my mind and I can not get rid of them. This book on Zen was supposed to help. Anyway, time for bed and also time to mail you these ramblings. Day 18: Twin Bridges, Montana to 39 miles from West Yellowstone, Montana Today was all uphill except for about 5 miles of very steep downhill. So steep it wasn't fun. Leaving Twin Bridges we encountered road construction and had to ride almost 10 miles on dirt (boo hiss!). Quote of the day, "What the hell are you doing?" barked the middle aged lady holding the "Stop" and "Slow" sign amidst the road construction as I took her picture. The sun and her smokes hadn't been good to her. Calmly, I explained that I was on vacation and as such, was taking pictures.
We went through two very neat cities today, Virginia City and Nevada City. Both exploded when gold was discovered but now are tourist stops. The first one (I can't remember which is which) had a neat museum full of whirlitzers. These are giant, elaborate machines that make music. Next time I will return with a pocket full of quarters.
Beyond the first town but before the second one was a museum dedicated to tools and machines used to mine gold. Most impressive was a huge dredging boat. Ned took a photo after I climbed on. A sign said that the dredges were made in sizes 2 to 16 with 2 being the smallest. This one was a 2 but it was enormous.
If memory serves, the logo on the Montana license plate is "Big Sky". How true that is you have no idea. Most of the day we cycled on rolling plains (at ~ 6000 feet) with snow capped mountains in the distance. I think it's the wide open plains that make the sky so big. Anyhow, sometime soon we will see it together. Tomorrow we enter Wyoming and then Yellowstone (in opposite order). Yay! I will go call you now.
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