Day 15 – I’m awesome
July 7, 2012
Start: The Pines Lodge, Whitefish, MT
Finish: BaseCamp, Bigfork, MT
Today’s miles: 42.1
Total miles: 398.4
Splats: 0
Divide crossings: 0
Wildlife: squished bullfrog, sled dogs, puppies!!!
“You’re awesome!” is what a 4-year-old boy just told me. Unfortunately, I had to excuse myself from our conversation; it was past my bedtime.
This morning, my debate on how to resupply continued. Lee helped me decide that I could ride the stretch to Seeley Lake faster than I had been thinking, so I’ve resupplied for four days. If I don’t check in from Seeley Lake in 4 days, that means I’m probably hungry somewhere.
I left town and hit the road around 11:00 his morning after bidding farewell to the guys. They, unfortunately, must return home to work. I had been dreading this stretch of the route because it was mostly pavement. To my surprise, this has been one of my favorite days on the trail. Traffic was light, the scenery was great, the seat actually didn’t bother me tremendously, and the roads weren’t banked! The miles went quickly, and I put in just over 40, pulling into Ferndale around 7:00. By the end of the day, though, dehydration and the day’s heat took their toll. The last several miles were done in autopilot mode. How did I get here??
Highlights from today include stopping for a real lunch and coffee in Columbia Falls, riding through amazingly yellow fields of flowers, and tonight’s camp. I’m staying at BaseCamp Bigfork, aka Mark’s backyard. Camping would have been pretty hard to find along today’s route, and I didn’t want to take the side trip into Bigfork, so this tent pad in Marc’s yard is very appreciated. Plus, there is running water and sled dog puppies! www.basecampbigfork.com
