Lolo Pass

To Apgar Camp, Idaho -- 77.1 miles, 14.3 mph, 1400 ft

Whew! We have finally and officially finished Montana! It’s been our longest state to date; vast and wind blown, it took us eleven days to cross.

Although it rained overnight, which meant the tents were drenched this morning, the bright side was we were treated with cool temps for the last and steepest six miles to the top of 5220 ft Lolo Pass. The visitor’s center once again described the travails of Lewis and Clark as they crossed these mountains late in the season (September) of 1805.

Sue, wrestling control of Kylie's unruly hair

All done with Montana!

The first eight or nine miles after the Pass were a blast, no pedaling required, while the rest of the day followed along the beautiful rushing waters of the Lochsa River. As a result, we were almost always losing altitude, though, the increasingly strong headwind took some of the fun out of it. Still, we managed a respectable 77 miles. We hadn't planned on quite that much, but the first campground was full, forcing us a few extra miles down the road.

Lunch stop

Now that we’re in the mountains, the trick to our route planning is to try to increase the mileage on the “mostly down” days and reduce it in the mostly up. And, with the higher temps, climbing in the morning it always a big plus.

Elevation profile from Baker City, OR to Missoula, MT

Once again, Laurie, met us the campground. As usual, one of the best parts of the day, besides just getting off the bike, is eating. Food almost always tastes fantastic, and thanks to Sue and Laurie, tonight was no exception -- pasta, white beans and tomato sauce.

As we were finishing up, we noticed two other bikes rolling down the highway and called out that we had leftover food. I'm not sure if that swayed their decision to pull into the camp or not, but they did and were soon sitting at the picnic table with full plates. Mitch and John, from San Jose, no less, looked to be in their mid twenties, in incredibly good shape, and happy to help us consume the extra food. The two life-long friends were heading east following the TransAmerica trail. They happily told us of the people they'd met, the wonderful hospitality they'd received, and a few vicious dogs they were glad to escape from. We'll have to keep our eye's peeled as we continue west.

Mitch and John on their way east