GNARLY Trail

Day 25—Friday, Aug 26—Basin, MT to 15 miles south of Butte (as the bike flies)

50 miles; cool in the morning

Wake up at the community center came early. I was able to dry out the tent and other things from the rain in Helena. The four “amigos by circumstance “ got some calories and we were on the road by 8:15 am. The three of them were out of sight before I got on my bike (Louis, the Australian, is on a tight schedule).

Bedstead gate; local color and materials

Basin historic jail

Who can argue?  I know that much Latin

The day began in the 50’s and slowly warmed. The trail gods heard my plea and the grading on the roads was much more gradual—still lots of climbing but at a reasonable rate, as though someone actually plotted out the road on paper before building it.

Cows are my preferable free ranging black 4-legged mammals to encounter on the trail

Typical, beautiful scenes from the trail

The interstate system initiated during the Eisenhower Administration has made traveling much easier and faster: an amazing public works project. At the same time, where state routes connected small town to small town, the interstate highway bypasses them, no longer bringing tourist dollars to Main Street cafes and shops; it's easier to get a Big Mac on the interstate. This has been well documented for Route 66, but there are thousands of similar conditions. My photos of Basin reflect how the town has suffered over the years from I-15 bypassing it. At 75 mph, who has time to stop at the Silver Saddle where the food is good and the beer is cold (more on this later).

I made Butte by early afternoon after 30-35 miles and hid out at a service area along the interstate in a Subway until a blustery thunderstorm did it’s thing and then passed over.

Butte is home to a huge copper mining pit called the Berkeley Pit. I did not get close enough to visit it but the multi-colored tailing dominate the eastern views beyond this mountainside town.

Berkeley is no longer active but it is enormous. Linda, my host in Helena, mentioned that it has been filling up with water (toxic) and that snow geese have been landing here on their migration north. It is a superfund site that may take decades—if not centuries—to cure, having potentially devastating effects for generations to come. An active mine (Continental) is next door, mining copper, manganese and rare earth metals for many things we rely on, including this phone I am tapping away on.

 Mining-related building composition

Berkeley Pit tailings above the city of Butte

Part of the trail followed an old rail line up in the mountains—I couldn’t help but think of outlaws in the rocks

Yes, this is the “trail.”  Got a little gnarly here!

Granite outcroppings are in a constant state of decomposition; 

fracturing and eventually crumbling into gravel.

Added a few hours of climbing after passing through Butte and made my way to a national forest and a lovely dispersed camping site. Got dinner on, set up camp, hung the food in a tree and got a great night's sleep except for a few bump-in-the-night forest noises that woke me up and had me reaching for bear spray.