Day 56: Sula to Wisdom, MT; In Pursuit of Wisdom and Clean Air

August 26, 2015

Notes:

1.) If you select the “Comment” link near the bottom of the page you can leave a message for me. I enjoy getting them.

2.) Climbing Today: 3,382 ft -- Total So Far; 133,103 ft

3.) Average Speed While Biking Today: 8.9 mph

4.) Mechanical Issues Today: none

5.) Miles Remaining to Canon City: about 938

6.) Miles Traveled to Date on This Half of the Journey: 1,062

7.) Money Found Today: $0.05

8.) Total Money Found: $0.41 (Will I find enough to buy a cup of coffee?)

9.) Former BAR (Bicycle Altitude Record): approx. 6,200 feet near Wetmore, CO

New BAR set today: 7,241 feet, Chief Joseph Pass, Continental Divide

The alarm seemed a bit early this morning. I’m still adjusting to Mountain Time after the leisurely wakeups on Pacific Time. But I was up and busy right away as today is a big day; my first crossing of the Continental Divide and attempt at a new BAR (Bicycle Altitude Record) for me and Harvey. I use the word “attempt” because there simply is no guarantee that we will be successful, and I don’t take it for granted that we will. Harvey could have a mechanical breakdown; I could have a breakdown and/or just not be physically capable of the challenge; weather issues could thwart the attempt; and then there is the ever-present smoke situation, and it’s already caused me to shut down early one day and forced me to take an unscheduled day off another day. So anything is possible, but today we will attempt it and give it our best shot regardless.

Leaving the Sula area at about 5:45 am, as the first light of day breaks through I could tell that the smoke haze was still present.

Leaving the Sula Area, the Smoke Haze Was Still Thick

It seems that the folks around here think this is heaven.

Sula Also Thought They Were In Heaven, But For Now It Seemed Like The Smoky Pits of Hell

After enduring the smoke for as long as I have, methinks this isn’t heaven but perhaps is the outskirts of the other extreme. I stayed at Sula last night so I would be positioned at the base of the climb to Chief Joseph Pass. Actually, just getting to Sula was a bit of a climb, as you climb about 700 feet in the last 10 or so miles approaching Sula. I had to communicate with Bike Control for the proper clearance for this morning’s ride, and here’s the transcript;

Bike Control; “Harvey-1, cleared for Continental Divide crossing. Maintain VFR, ascend to 7,241 feet. Traffic is very light, no conflicts anticipated. Understand this will be a new BAR for you, best of luck.”

Harvey-1; “Roger control, understand Harvey-1 cleared for ascent to 7,241 feet. And thank you.”

As I rode along near the outskirts of town, a school bus approached from the opposite direction as I neared a stop sign. One of the kids inside pointed at me and yelled to the others; “Look! It’s Triple B!” Another said “No, it’s not him. He’s too smart to be out in broad daylight like this where he could get caught.” I had no idea what they were talking about, so I just waved at the kids and rolled on.

It’s 13.5 miles from Sula to the summit of Chief Joseph Pass, and I was climbing immediately today. Cyclists set up white “Ghost Bikes” to commemorate the location of a fallen comrade. Does this sign commemorate a fallen Geologist?

Fallen Rocks? - Is That A Memorial For A Deceased Geologist?

I guess not, cause there really are fallen rocks along my path.

Oh - So That's What They Mean - The Rocks Do Fall

The “found money” coffee fund had not been looking very good recently, but today’s find was encouraging.

Found Money! Another Nickel For the Coffee Fund - Will I Find Enough?

Woo-hoo, a whole nickel at once! Maybe I will get that coffee after all, but there’s still a long way to go as $0.41 hasn’t been enough for coffee for many years. It’s still a bit too smoky for me. Here’s a photo at sunrise that shows the haze, and another looking into the valley that shows it better;

Sunrise Ascending Lost Trail Pass Was Still a Bit Smoky

Looking Back Toward the Valley, One Could See How the Smoke Settles Into The Low Spots

My path was up a steep mountain roadway, and there were many signs like this one;

There Were Several of These As I Worked My Way Up

The roadside dropped off sharply beside me, making it easy to see into the tops of the tall Lodgepole Pine trees. It seems that some of them had developed a sort of fungus.

Some Sort of Fungus Was Growing on the Lodge-Pole Pine Tree

I was loaded for bear this morning, as I have been for several mornings now. I hunt them with my eyes, scanning the valleys below when I have a clear view that’s not obstructed by the trees.

I Was Always Searching For Bear In The Valley Below Me

If I see one I will “capture” it with my camera using the telephoto lens. No bears were captured today, but I found a couple of cartoon characters from my youth.

With 6 miles to go, the grade steepened and I started playing the “mile game” that Harvey and I use to get through the hard spots. I just concentrate on the next mile; nothing else matters except making that next mile. When I get there, I stop for a rest (hopefully in a shady spot) and reward myself with a cheese cracker or a bite of power bar or a fig newton or such. I catch my breath if need be, drink a bit of fluid, and tell Harvey our status; “5 miles to go Harvey, child’s play.” He usually replies very simply, “OK, let’s do one more.” Though the grade has steepened, we aren’t in the Appalachians; if we were, we’d probably only do another ½ mile, or even less, before the next rest stop. These ski runs were visible from one of our rest stops;

Ski Runs as Seen Near the Summit of Lost Trail Pass

Ascending Chief Joseph Pass from Sula is actually a 2-stage process in which one first summits Lost Trail Pass and then proceeds on a different highway continuing upward to crest Chief Joseph Pass. At the summit of Lost Trail Pass (elevation 7,014 feet), I came upon these 3 hikers who were trying to hitch a ride to the town of Darby.

As I labored my way uphill towards them, they started cheering for me and when I topped out I rolled over and chatted with them. They were hiking the Great Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada, and had been walking for 4 months now. They had traveled 2,100 miles on foot and had another 600 miles to go. Amazing! Their adventure makes my little trip look like – dare I say it – Child’s Play.

The young lady told me that they were getting kind of tired of walking and were anxious to finish. They were going to the “big town” of Darby for some R&R before continuing. I was pretty impressed by their stamina and drive - now that's an understatement!

If I had continued on Highway 93 I would have rolled back into Idaho, as the summit is the shared border. However, my path to Chief Joseph Pass ventured off eastward on Highway 43 so I didn’t cross back into Idaho - while Idaho was fantastically beautiful, after the incredible effort it took for me to escape from the smoke and fires, I wasn't yet ready to go back. Another day perhaps.

Gadzooks! I Don't Want to Cross Into Idaho Again and Suffer More Time Zone Confusion

With just one more push, I reached the summit of Chief Joseph Pass.

Chief Joseph Pass, Continental Divide - a New BAR!

Not only was this a new BAR for me and Harvey, it was also the first time we had crossed the Continental Divide. We will cross it another 7 or 8 times before this journey is complete (I’m really not sure if it’s 7 or 8 more times, we’ll just have to count them and see). My path now ventured through the Beaverhead National Forest.

I Was Now Traveling in the Beaverhead National Forest

I stopped at a turnout on the way down for a drink, and was chatting with some folks in a motor home when a lady passing by in an SUV rolled down the window and yelled “Go B-cubed!” I had no idea what she meant; maybe she calls all cyclists “B-cubed” now that the Bandana Bicycle Bandit craze has been fueled by the liberal media. Whatever, people are strange, I thought as I rolled onward. A hawk caught my attention so I stopped for a couple of pics.

This Hawk Caught My Attention (later learned it is likely a Red-Tailed Hawk)

Hawk - I Guess? (later learned it is likely a Red-Tailed Hawk)

As I rolled on, a deer bounded beside the road and disappeared into the woods before I could shoot a pic, but you’ve already seen a ton of deer photos anyway. The traffic was so light that Harvey and I could and did stop for breaks most anywhere we wanted.

A Roadside Rest Break Is Easy When There's Hardly Any Traffic

My route went past the Big Hole National Battlefield where 90 Nez Perce were killed.

My Route Passed By The Bighole National Battlefield

I was in the Big Hole Valley, and most everything here seems to be named “Big Hole” something or another. The air may have been getting a little bit better, as one could now see blue sky above the smoky haze we all had to breathe. My destination today was the town of Wisdom, MT, and I could see it from about 5 miles away.

Wisdom As Seen From 5 Miles Away - Was This Wisdom From Afar, Like a Distance-Learning Thing?

I wondered if I would find wisdom in Wisdom; surely there must be wisdom in Wisdom, where else would it be? But my hopes for such were shattered on the entry into town when I saw a sign bragging about the attributes of Wisdom.

Wisdom Brags About Having 10,000 Haystacks Nearby, Among Other Things

If the town's claim to fame involves being located near 10,000 haystacks, I think it unlikely that true wisdom would be found there. However, the town did have at least one unique attribute, as this was the only USBRS signage I had seen in all of Montana.

This Was The First USBRS Signage I Had Seen in Montana - And It Was the Last

I checked into the Nez Perce motel, cleaned up, and walked a couple of blocks into town to eat at the local bar/café. On my way I met a husband/wife duo on a tandem, and they told me they thought they were probably the tail end of any westbound cyclists. I tended to agree, there likely won’t be many cyclists on the road other than me now; the high season is over. I had salmon at the bar and it was excellent. I’ve really been surprised by the excellent food to be found at many of these small towns, usually in the town bar. Of course, after one cycles for most of the day, food just seems to taste better.

The locals were all chatting about the Bandana Bicycle Bandit; it seems that he’d hit 3 banks now with the same M.O. each time; he threatened everyone with bear urine and demanded to be let inside the bank vault where he breathed clean air for a minute, then he forced everyone into the vault and left. By the time the police arrived, all the witnesses were so giddy from breathing fresh air that they had confused memories about the Bandit and offered conflicting stories that left the cops dumbfounded. Some folks didn’t believe that BBB was real, they thought that the bank employees just made up the story so that they could breathe the fresh air in the vault.

As for me, I don't care if he’s real or not. I was desperate for clean air myself, and I could understand the guy robbing banks to get it. All I knew is that I was exceptionally tired that night; I suppose the pace was wearing me down. I needed sleep, and I needed more of it than I had time for in one night. So good night all…

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 3,359 miles (5,406 km)

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