GDMBR day by day

GDMBR 1st USA section Eureka to Helena, Montana.

This hilly section heads east/southeast across Montana, mostly following the southern edge of the mountains that form the border with Canada, and finishing in quite open, rolling hills that used to be full of gold mines, now a mix of forest and sparse ranches. We were in a heat wave, in the high 30s, so it was tough going over multiple passes. It was too hot to ride hard in the afternoons so early starts meant we could get to the passes in the morning and get down in good time to camp, and sometimes to shops/cafes in the afternoons. The valleys are populated with a string of smart towns often set by lakes. The first two days go over to the North Fork Flathead valley, back almost to Canada, which is quite remote but the rest is never far from civilisation.

Day 7 GDMBR 6th August 2022 – Eureka to Ford Cabin, North Fork Flathead valley.

45 Miles, 3425 ft ascent.

This felt much more like our first day on the divide. We were in the USA and heading into the wilds., with a fair amount of ascent. The forest road was fine and gradual until a final bumpy track over to the North Fork valley. We had planned to stop at a campsite just over the pass, but it was closed because of grizzlies in the area, and this proved fortuitous as the stop by the river at Ford Cabin was great: I even had a swim/cold float about in the river. Here we met a group of cyclists who we pretty much followed and off all the way to Helena. One was an Italian/Canadian who had spent a lot of time in Blackpool and Europe as a star ice-skating performer!

One of a few roadside signs, welcome to the GDMBR!

Looking across the North Fork Flathead to mountains near Glacier National Park.

Day 8 GDMBR 7th August 2022 – Ford Cabin, North Fork Flathead to Whitefish

49 miles 3000 ft of ascent

Another climb out of the North fork river valley over to Whitefish, a smart town beside Whitefish Lake, with a state park campground. The bike ride was a quite manageable grind to Red Meadow lake at the top of the pass, which is a popular camp spot but full of mosquitos, followed by a long downhill/roller coaster to Whitefish lake. Had a fancy smoothy in the popular Hucks juice bar then cycled to the campground. Unfortunately, the main railway runs right by the lakeside campsite so we had a poor night’s sleep. I also left my fancy OR sun hat somewhere and lost it! Good showers though!!

Day 9 GDMBR 8th August 2022 – Whitefish to Big Fork

47 miles, 1250 ft of ascent

Fairly flat and easy ride through pleasant farmland, though very hot. Stopped at Columbia Falls at a large supermarket, enjoying the oversized American fried chicken ( what do they feed them on??) and a cold drink at a great cafe, Echo Lake, a few miles before “town”. Big Fork is a tiny touristy spot. They had a craft market and a band playing, very nice. Really hot though, so we gave ourselves a soaking with the campground water pump. The camping was in a small cyclist/walkers area: great as no booking needed, by the lake just out of town.

Emerald lake between Columbia Falls and Big Fork

Band playing at Big Fork

Day 10 GDMBR 9th August 2022 – Big Fork to wild camp on Fatty Creek, by Swan River

48 miles, 4000 ft of ascent

Tough day: started easy enough along a riverside track, but then endlessly climbing up and down the side of a mountain to the south side of Swan River. Saw an Osprey in a tree by the river just outside Big Fork. Camped wild at a day use only site on Fatty Creek, by the Swan River. This is used as a boat launch for fishermen, nice spot. Joined by the 3 Americans/Canadians we met at Ford Cabin and late on by a group doing longer days. Quite busy in the end. A nearby semi-official small wild camp called cedar creek was occupied and full of mossies: our site proved much better.

Day 11 GDMBR 10th August 2022 – Fatty Creek to Holland Lake

29 miles, 1700 ft ascent

Easier day – just one climb out over the next hill then rolling through the forest to Holland lake. This is a beautiful lake with a Scottish style hunting lodge and a large state park campground. We had some cans and chocolate bars from the lodge on its lawn overlooking the lake, but it was booked out to a private party so could not linger. The campsite was good, with benches by the lake and the host/warden let us charge our phones up at their RV.

Holland Lake

Day 12 GDMBR 11th August 2022 – Holland Lake to Seeley Lake

35 miles 3250 feet ascent

A hot grind up the shoulder of the mountain to the southeast, to a pass that is the start of one of the best downhills of the route, a single-track roller coaster followed by a fast forest track. Possibly the hottest day so far so we stopped for ages at a great ice cream and snack shop in Seeley Lake and then camped in the state park campground. Had a swim in the slightly murky lake, and got a free hat from a gun shop- with “Glock” embroidered across it. It was that or buy one for $35! The gun shop owner was a character, an ex-policeman with lots of bear stories. He said there were lots of them around, especially on our next day over Huckleberry pass, and was impressed with our plans. He did ask about my position on guns, so I told him, surrounded by guns right across the wall, I thought they were nuts!…..maybe ok for hunting though. Still got my free hat.

Jane on the way up the pass

View out westwards Glacier Peaks north of Missoula, Montana

Start of the downhill to Seeley Lake

The ice cream place at Seeley Lake: ice cream milk shakes and cheesy “pots” yumm..

Day 13 MDMBR 12th August 2022- Seeley Lake to Lincoln

67 miles, 4500 ft ascent

A bit of a monster day but felt ok: still following the southern edge of Flathead mountains, over a lowish pass out of Seeley Lake then out of the wonderful prairies around Ovando, which has a great shop/cafe/B&B straight out of the wild west, and then over the 6000 ft high Huckleberry pass to Lincoln. Sadly, Ovando is where a divide rider was killed by a bear last year having left some food in her tent( camping next to the shop) and Lincoln was the base of the “Una Bomber” who terrorised parts of the USA from 1976 to 1996, from a hideout in the woods nearby.

Good campsite by a stream coming into town. Lincoln was a shabby one-street village but had a few bar-cum-restaurant-cum-casinos, so we got a good meal. First thunderstorm, just as we arrived at Lincoln.

Road into Ovando

Ovando stores/cafe

Post box in the plains below Huckleberry pass

Day 14 GDMBR 13th August 2022 – Lincoln to Llama Ranch, Montana

23 miles 2500 ft ascent

This felt a hard day for a short ride, probably feeling the previous day’s effects. Over Stemple pass via a steep “poor man’s creek”. We think we saw the back end of a grizzly on this track, which gets steeper and steeper, eventually a walk. Then onto a better forest road over the ridge which is on the continental divide and down to Llama ranch. This bit of the continental divide is quite stark geographically, dividing the headwaters of the Missouri/Mississippi from the southeast end of the Columbia basin that goes out to the Pacific. Llama Ranch is one of the few focal stopovers on the whole trail. It’s free, run on a “give forward” charitable model by a very amenable couple. Drinks, sandwiches, quirky cabins, llamas, and an open-air water tank shower( gave that a miss!).

An old hopper ( the brown thing, not Jane!,at Empire mine, an old gold mine in Poorman’s Creek.

Top of Poormans Creek

The shower at Llama Ranch

Our little hut at Llama Ranch

Day 15 GDMBR 14th August 2022 – Llama Ranch to Helena, Montana.

38 Miles 3000 ft Ascent

A good day, over rolling hills, through a mix of forest and open prairie to Helena, with a fast downhill down the paved highway into town.

First thing in the morning, as we set off from Llama Ranch we met Bruce Elliot, who we ended up cycling with on and off for the rest of the trip. The first encounter was a typically loud shout that sounded something like “Arse-um!” in a North-East US coast accent, which we never really got used to!

Helena, approx the size of Carlisle back home, is small for a state capital but was the first proper town we had been to so far. Didn’t know it at the time, but it’s pretty much the last big town to stop in until Silver City in New Mexico! We had a motel break here and a rest day. Enjoyed a Mexican meal at the Malaque near the Ramada motel and good coffee/milkshakes at a popular community hub in “Last Chance Gulch”. This is the main street, named where the founders of the town eventually struck gold after searching ground across the new territory of Montana in the mid 19th c. Before that, the capital was Bannack, now a ghost town further down the trail.

We took the chance to get some bike gear and more pills in case my gout flared up again – got them almost for free at the town’s main medical practice, same day appointment. I think it was just too much trouble to bill me, but the service was very good!

Typical mid-Montana hills, part way to Helena

Heading down towards highway US 12 which leads to Helena

Dave, needing a motel

Montana state buildings, Helena. The city is low-key, especially the city centre which was tiny, but pleasant: red brick, old wooden houses on tree-lined streets. It sits on the edge of the hills, above plains that are the source of the Missouri river that feeds the Mississippi. Locally, much is made of Lewis and Clark who made an early exploratory expedition across the northwest USA, opening up the wild territory miles from anywhere. We visited the museum, well worth it but didn’t leave enough time for it!