June 27, 2023 to June 28, 2023
Back in the US...Backflips in the US
When I was crossing the border from Canada they asked if I had any firearms. I said "What do you need?"
STEVEN WRIGHT
June 27, Surveyor's Lake, BC to Eureka, Montana, 1350 feet climbed
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(I don't know what the French words say. Hopefully it's nothing dirty)
I was pretty sad to realize this was the final day in Canada. It's been difficult and challenging, but also beautiful and the Canadians are really amazing.
August and Ellie went to look at the painted turtles at Baynes lake near the campground and I headed off down some singletrack and onto some dirt and gravel double track. I hit highway 93, immediately plummeting for about a mile, crossing the Elk River and then trudging back up. About 2 miles later the GDMBR diverts west around Loon and Edwards lakes, rejoining the highway a few miles further south. I elected to stay on the highway to save about 11 miles. The ride was fine, low traffic, good shoulder, slight headwind that made it slightly less than a slog. I stopped at the little store in Grasmere for some chips, Snickers, tea and delicious V8, which was perfect.
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I arrived at the Duty Free shop around
2:45, bought a Canada hat and some iced tea. The women working in the store were very familiar with the GDMBR and Tour Divide and were asking about my trip so far. Canadians are nice.
August, Ellie and Bill showed up about 15 minutes later and, after they got drinks and snacks, we busted through the border to 'Merica and Montana without incident.
The slight headwind I experienced earlier instantly transformed into a 15-20 mph monster, which made climbing up the long hill towards Eureka a brutal slog. It's about 8 miles but took about 3 million years. I think we rolled into the Riverside Park (free camping!) Eureka around 4:30.
There were about 7 other bikepackers on the route, a group from France, a statistics teacher from Austin named Zack and 2 PNW trail bikepackers. A while later a young guy named Misha from Minnesota rolled in from Whitefish with a broken spoke. He was clearly spent after a long riding day. Cool guy.
The gas station/convenience store across the street has a surprisingly good selection of fresh deli sandwiches, salads and burritos, so.i got a salad with fried chicken for dinner. It was great, and only $6.
I have been thinking about taking a rest day, and decide to take one tomorrow.
June 28: Rest day- August, Ellie, Bill and I ate at Jax Cafe in town- biscuits and gravy for me. Delicious. Wow. They headed off into the unknown, and I walked around town looking for a few supplies. I stopped at the outdoor shop, which mostly caters to fly fishing, to see if they had any camp fuel but they did not. The owner was great and said he'd get a few in stock for the cyclists that come through.
I sorted equipment, charged stuff, bought a little food for the next 3 days in the wild and talked to Zack and Misha. Zack had been there 3 days to he had to leave, so he took off around 4pm. Misha was an interesting guy. He and Zack arm-wrestled and Misha did some backflips. It was a good day to rest the legs. Dinner was another salad, just like last night. After so much camping food, I'm craving vegetables.
Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 208 miles (335 km)
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