Before, during, and hopefully after account of a Great Divide Route journey in the summer of 2010.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Day 26: Butte to Wise River

Ride time: 5:32
Average:  9.5 mph
Distance:  52.64 mi

National Folk Festival + sleeping in city parks= not a good night's sleep.  There were copious amounts of drunkos being super loud and talking about peeing on our bikes at 3 AM, so we didn't sleep that well.

Heading south out of Butte, we biked along pavement and then turned on to a dirt road and crossed under an old ginormous railroad trestle.  Can you spot me next to it?

We then climbed over our 6th Continental Divide crossing which then opened up into a huge sage brush meadow.  There's something delicious about the smell of sage.  The scenery was beautiful and we took tons of pictures.  Isn't Nate a hottie?


We then dove down to I-15, and instead of doing Fleecer Ridge, we opted for the Divide Alternate.  What a gorgeous ride!  We stopped at Blue Moon Saloon and had nachos supreme.  Then we entered a canyon that had a wicked headwind, but the scenery was breathtaking, making the ride a bit easier to endure.

Black Hole River from Nathan Currier-Groh on Vimeo.


We wound along the Big Hole River, a popular spot for fishermen (and women--fisherpeople?).  We rolled into the Wise River Club, an RV Park, restaurant, saloon, and make-shift campground.  It was only $5 to camp, and that included a hot shower in probably one of the most bizarre places I've ever showered: a brick building that's a sauna in the wintertime with a broken window, so it was kind of like showering outside.

Future GDR Riders: The owner of the Wise River Club is super cool, and I would highly recommend staying there.  I can't say what Fleecer Ridge is like, other than I know I would have been walking my bike down the other side.  What we missed in climbing, was certainly made up in beauty as we did the Divide Alternate.

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