Tag Archives: Trans-America Trail

Day 47

Day 47: Locus hot springs/Powell – Sities
Woke up at 6. I was glad I had another hour to sleep so I rolled over in my sleeping bag and suddenly my alarm went off. I was confused as I just checked my phone. I must have set the wrong alarm. I turned it off and saw that it was 7. Did I just fall asleep for another hour? I was the weirdest time jump that I had experienced. I couldn’t hear anyone else so I laid in my tent trying to hold on to the warmth. I could see on my rain fly it was heavy with dew. Or maybe it has rained. I called out if anyone was going to boil water. Mark said yes so I knew I had a bit of time to get ready. I grabbed my clothes and shoved them into my sleeping bag to warm them up. While they were cooking I gathered up my sleeping pad and random items to pack up. Getting out of my tent was difficult as the grass was soaked.

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Day 46 

Day 46: Missoula to Lolo hot springs/lotsa lodge 
I heard someone’s alarm go off at 6 but didn’t hear anyone get up. I fell back asleep until I woke up feeling hungry. Good thing there was continual breakfast. I wasn’t surprised to see Evan already there. We discussed the dynamic of the group while enjoying waffles, yogurt, biscuits and way too much hot chocolate on my part. We weren’t in a terrible rush as the adventure cycling headquarters didn’t open until 8. Last night we had debated on leaving our stuff in the motel room. We would have to bike past it again to get out of town. In the end it wasn’t worth it. The ACA takes your picture and puts it on the ‘wall of fame’ and I wanted my bike to have its gear. The headquarters was about 4 miles away. I really enjoyed biking through Missoula. It was a bike friendly city and we rode on a bike path all the up to the front door. Inside we signed the guestbook and got a tour of the building.

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Day 45

Day 45: Sula hot springs to outside Missoula

It wasn’t as cold as it has been but still chilly. Everyone else wanted a hot breakfast so they fired up their stoves. I don’t like oatmeal so I headed down the road. We still had part of the descent from yesterday so the first few miles I didn’t have to peddle. However it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees making my ears burn. At the base of the descent there was a gas station and a small cafe. I was really craving eggs but the restaurant was pretty pricy so I skipped a hot breakfast and settled for a clif bar. It wasn’t that far to the next town, Darby. The road was rather narrow but there wasn’t a ton of traffic so I wasn’t concerned. I got to bike along the Bitterroot river all the way into town. I really like it when there’s something to look at. I usually listen to my iPhone but it’s more enjoyable to look around at the landscape. In Darby I bought a huckleberry flavored soda even though it was still early. Hamilton was only another 17 miles away. I bought some banana chips to snack on. Continue reading Day 45

Day 44

Day 44: Dillion to Sula hot springs
Woke up at 6 thinking I had another hour to sleep. Unfortunately I really had to pee so I got up and immediately regretted it as it was cold. I was really getting sick of the morning weather. Coming back from the bathroom I saw everyone else was awake. So much for going back to sleep. I packed up my stuff and headed back to McDonald’s for breakfast. Even though it was cold outside it didn’t stop me from getting a large caramel frappe. We had a big day ahead of us so I wanted to get started. We were headed to Sula: 107 miles away. Three passes stood in our way. The first one didn’t look so bad on the map but the last two were going to be rough. I rode about 10 miles to the base of the first one. I called my mom to distract myself but had to hang up with two miles left. At the top I ran into the Chinese couple who gave me a high five for making it to the top. I smiled and said good luck and let’s go in Chinese. I’ve picked up a couple of words from them. So far my vocab includes yes, no, hello, shower, sleep, hard, good luck, downhill, bison, pretty scenery, thank you, let’s go, and food. 

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Day 43

Day 43: Ennis to Dillion Montana
Mark and Jolee wanted to have a lay in so everyone else packed up and hit the road. The Chinese couple gets up ridiculously early so I wasn’t surprised to see them gone when I got up. I wasn’t looking forward to this climb as it was one of the steepest ones on the map. At the base of it Brent and Evan caught up to me. I was feeling discouraged but after fist bumping them and promising to see each other on the other side I attacked the climb with renewed vigor. It wasn’t long before I climbed to the top. The view was spectacular. The last hour or so hardly seemed relevant as I stared at the landscape before me. The descent was trilling. I tried to get a new speed record but it was too curvy to really fly. I ate up the miles until I hit Twin Bridges. I stopped at the park for a snack break and to refill my water. I met an older man who said his daughter was biking the continental divide. I was impressed as that route is really challenging. It’s almost all in complete backcountry. Continue reading Day 43

Day 42

Day 42: west Yellowstone to Ennis 
Looking at the map the day before we saw that it was mostly flat/downhill. Google maps said 5 and a half hours for 70 miles. The elevation profile didn’t show any major climbs but it didn’t show any major descents either. I was skeptical of google maps but I followed it all the same out of town. Everyone else was enjoying a longer breakfast but I wanted to hit the road. Google maps took me out of town and soon I found myself on a stretch of road with no shoulder. I should have gotten the hint then. The TransAm ACA maps try to avoid taking you on narrow roads. I saw a sign coming up that said Ennis: 65 miles. I figured I was on the right road as Ennis was our end destination. 10 miles later I knew I had made a big mistake. I hit the Welcome to Idaho sign. ‘This isn’t right’ I thought. ‘I should be staying in Montana for the next couple of days…’ I took a picture with the sign all the same. I then did what I should have done from the start. I cross checked google maps with my transAm maps. Sure enough they were different. Google maps took me around the left of Hebgen Lake while the TransAm maps took you around the right. Oh well nothing I could do but continue. Continue reading Day 42

Day 41

Day 41: grand Teton to wear Yellowstone
Woke up cold again. Geeze this was getting old. I didn’t care that it was 5:20 in the morning. I wasn’t going back to sleep in this weather. I gathered my things and half walked/ half ran to the bathroom. It must have been 15 degrees warmer. I took my time brushing my teeth and getting ready. I ran into Ellen on my way back and we just gave each other a look that said ‘why is it so cold’?! I know I should expect colder weather now that I’m in the mountains but it’s still hard for me to deal with it. Not taking the time to balance my panniers I loaded up my bike. I saw that Dan had built a fire and everyone was gathered around it. Mark was starting to boil water so I knew it would be a while before everyone was ready. I was really tempted to join them but I knew once I got warm it would be impossible for me to leave. So I said goodbye and took off. The plan was to meet at Old Faithful and decide where to go from there. The first couple miles were freezing and it was a struggle to keep going. My nose kept running and I could see my breathe in the air. The air was so still it seemed like the world was frozen. My phone battery doesn’t do well in the cold either and was completely dead. It was a shame because I passed a lot of scenic pull offs. I tried to commit the scenes to memory but I’m sure I’ve forgotten most of them. Continue reading Day 41

Day 38

Day 38: 
I’ve been lacking in updating my blog so the details of day by day have faded from my memory. 

I woke up still in the tunnel. Thankfully the wind had died down a lot and my tent haven’t moved while I was sleeping. I packed up and pushed my bike back up to the road. It was a lot more difficult to get it back up then it was to get it down. The sage underbrush kept getting caught in my spokes. The mosquitos weren’t bad under the tunnel but as soon as I started riding they attacked. For the next 12 miles I was more concerned about not getting torn to shreds than the road. I got to Jeffery City without too much trouble. I debated on buying breakfast at the restaurant. However there wasn’t any wind so I decided to take advance of the weather. The sky was beautiful and the road clear of bumps. I couldn’t have asked for a better morning. There were a couple of small climbs but it was all worth it when I got to this sign: 6% grade downhill. This descent hands down ranks as one of the top 5 scenic downhills. I tried to take in the landscape as much as possible while not wrecking. The beauty of the descent stayed with me as I hit a headwind 10 miles outside of Lander. The magnificent outcrops continued and it was impossible to be annoyed at my slow pace. After getting into town I checked in with Brent. He was at the local bike shop getting a new chain. I headed to McDonald’s for a snack and use of their free wifi. It wasn’t long before everyone arrived. We headed over to the holiday inn motel. They let hikers and bikers camp in the back. We took turns showering and doing laundry. It was still too early for dinner so I set off to explore town. They had lots of outdoor gear shops and hipster looking cafes. Wondering around a shop I checked to see if they had any clif bars because I was out. Continue reading Day 38

Day 37

Day 37
Woke up to the sound of voices. It seemed like someone was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. I kept thinking I should go and help but couldn’t make myself move. Someone was knocking on my door and saying breakfast was ready. ‘How long had I been laying there?’ I thought. I reluctantly got up and headed down the hall. I felt lazy for not helping. After eating I went back to my room. Stupid I thought I should help clean up. I went back and washed the dishes and wiped down the counters. I went back to my room again and marveled at the mess I had made of all my gear. Slowly I got everything together and headed outside. Out of all the days so far I really didn’t want to bike today. For some reason I couldn’t snap myself out of my mood. I was feeling really sluggish and slow. The scenery was stunning but I couldn’t make myself care. I told myself I was being stupid and letting yourself get bogged down over one ride wasn’t a good idea. For some reason I wanted to cry so I stopped and sat down on the side of the road and for about 10 minutes sobbed. After I was done I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous I was being and caught up to the rest of the group. We took a break at a gas station right before we got on interstate 80. Unfortunately we were going to turn left and head directly into a massive headwind. We decided to ride in groups of two with one in the back. Every mile we would shift over so everyone took turns ridding in the wind. There was construction on one side of the road but the workers let us have the road to ourselves anyway. Riding in the shifting pattern reminded me of Ender’s Game. It felt like we made a toon to battle the wind. Continue reading Day 37