Day 17 miles: 40 Total miles: 716
By bike:
Adam, my childhood best friend, told me the best scenery was Going to the Sun Road, and it was. Unfortunately the fog today blocked that scenery at the top, so I’m glad Lauren took me by car the day before. We still got some good views before approaching the fog though!
Jim and Moss were no joke. Jim’s last words before we started were, “Now it’s not a race!” Well, I thought it was given their speed. We climbed up the pass and I thought once and for all I was done with mountains. Glacier is packed, especially on the holidays, but by 8 a.m. it was out of control. We only saw two other bikers and one was just in a carbon fiber bike and spandex. Moss looked at me and said, “That guy is going to fucking freeze!” As we went up it got cloudier and cloudier and cold. Low visibility made me feel like I was traveling in the clouds.
Lauren was at the top with snacks and we went inside the gift shop to look for potential mugs to add to her already monstrous collection. We met up while Jim and Moss got their gear from a friend they met along the road. One of their lodging hosts offered to carry all of their gear in his car so they could make it up the pass before 11am.
Going down it was COLD. I put on all my clothing and stopped to warm my hands.
At the bottom I stopped where there was a crowd of people and a visitor showed me with his binoculars where a grizzly was messing around.
Lauren took the time to secure a site for the four of us at Chewing Black Bones Campground and met us back at the cafe in Babb.
By car
I woke up with Matthew and met up with the guys before they took off. Sometimes I feel like a mom taking pictures of her kids on the first day of school- I had to get photos of everyone as they headed towards new ground with no clue what to expect. Only instead of potential bullies and drawn out lessons, they had potential bears and drawn out inclines to consider.
The speed with which I can set up and breakdown camp is improving at an alarming rate! Clearly this is not nearly as great of a feat as biking 80+ miles in a day, but…small victories. Also, I think I had a little pep in my step from a minor spook this morning. Both Matthew and I were slightly startled when we woke up to what sounded like a very loud snarl…or some kind of sound only a large animal could make. It was slow and repetitive. It was deep and even had an echo to it. I even got inside of my car at one point for shelter and asked Matthew if he could hear what I heard.
It was the man in the campsite next to ours snoring.
Once packed up, I made my way up the mountain. My attention was keen on the road, or what little of it I could see. The fog was so dense that maybe I had 50 ft visibility at one point! It wasn’t fun driving through. I wondered how the guys were doing
I made it up to the peak of the pass and found a parking spot at the visitor’s center. A tip for any of you hoping to stop at this spot along Going to the Sun Road– go EARLY! By 9am the parking lot was full and cars were endlessly circling around looking for an open spot. There are several hiking trails from the visitor’s center. I attempted a hike, but visibility was just too low. Also, part of a hike was closed off due to bear danger.
Matthew found my car and sat inside to refuel his body. It was absolutely freezing outside, so his hands were numb. We spent some time in the visitor’s center and eventually met up with Jim and Moss, who had to stop earlier to grab their gear from a kind man they met earlier. The plan from there was to meet up with them outside of Glacier at St Mary for lunch and I would secure a campsite for the four of us.
On my way down the mountain, the fog finally lifted and I could see what the other side looked like. I noticed several cars stopped over along the side of the road, which could only mean one thing. Some large animal, likely a bear, had been spotted!
While it was exciting to see a black bear, I was a little bummed it wasn’t a grizzly! I’ve already been approached by a black bear while hiking in Virginia. Like full on, adult black bear walking directly up to me while I had a backpack with food strapped to my back as though I were a walking buffet. At least I got to enjoy a black bear sighting from the safety of my car this time.
We all had the same alternate route planned for the next day. There’s a back route that the ACA maps don’t mention that allows you to go directly from Babb, MT to Cutbank, MT. The ACA maps offer highway 2 or another highway that takes you up into Canada and back down into Cutbank. This smaller road shaves off a lot of miles. Based on what I had read online, multiple cyclists take this route and even the rangers at Glacier recommend this road.
Given this, I decided to pick the campsite that was located closest to the offroad: Chewing Black Bones. This is a campsite run by a family belonging to the Blackfoot Indian Tribe. This campsite is located on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. For an additional fee you can reserve a tipi.
I secured a spot large enough for three tents after spending some time with T-Rex, the camp greeter! T-Rex became my companion for a while as he lounged by my car while I set up the tent.
We finally met up for lunch and planned the rest of the day. The campsite was among the best we’ve stayed in- it offered laundry services, showers, and even wifi so we could send out e-mails and make phone calls.
Jim + Matthew 
Matthew looks like a GIANT next to Moss!
Matthew wants tomorrow to be another high mileage day, maybe another century. The goal is to get to Cut Bank, which would mark the end of the second ACA map! Jim and Moss were originally planning on staying in Browning, but might change plans to go farther. I offered to carry all of their gear to help them gain speed, which they gladly accepted.
Looks like tomorrow I’ll be the SAG van for three cyclists- hopefully this helps them all make it to their goal destination! As for now, we’re celebrating our bear-sightings-from-a-distance and another successful leg of the journey with s’mores and ramen noodles.
No Jobs, No Home, No Worries. A Shared Journey by Bike and Support SUV Across the U.S. 