Free REFILLS

Day 17—Thursday, August 18—Whitefish to Big Fork, MT

50 miles; 94F

These trains ran by our campsite all night long with screeching and horns blaring.  

I had earplugs and they saved my sleep.

Got a good start and 13 miles before breakfast at the Outlaw Diner in Columbia Falls. 

Farmland between Whitefish & Columbia Falls; smoggy look is smoke from area fires: could smell it.

“Dusty” might be the given name for this bike

Outlaw Diner “Lawman”: no I don’t know why they called it that…gravy was good!

Trip today was warm and through a low lying valley with rolling hills mostly on paved roads that seemed to follow property and township lines: lots of right angle turns. Neighborhoods included some near suburbs of Whitefish and then ruburbia: inexplicable but tasteful subdivisions dotting former grazing and ranch land. Waving fields of tall brown grass made beautiful foreground for dark pines and hazy mountains below.

Typical landscape from Columbia Falls to Swan River

Started out solo at 7:30 am this morning but caught up with Jeff Whitecotton (great name) from Kansas City, MO who I met at the Whitefish campground last night. (O.K., truth be told, he caught up with me).  He has to be in Denver in about three weeks.  He waited for me in Swan River at a cafe:  he had a pancake and I had three tall glasses each of lemonade and ice tea (really getting used to the free refills concept, especially when you feel perpetually parched). Although he needs to make serious tracks he decided to camp at Big Fork tonight and attack two big climbs tomorrow in the cool of the morning.  I think I can probably do one of the climbs—it has been hot—might have gotten up to 95 today and may be hotter tomorrow.

Late lunch: peanut butter, salami, apple, cheese, raisins. So good.

Makes sense

Went for a swim in Flathead Lake. Three days in a row I have found water to swim in. Sounds like the beginning of a policy. Flathead Lake is enormous and, like Whitefish Lake, filled with pleasure boats and surrounded by shoreline development. The water felt great!

Shooting for a 5:30 am wake up to avoid the heat. In the mountains, I think until Helena, so it may be a few days before new posts.

Flathead Lake.  Sunset enhanced by distant fires.