Day 18—Friday, August 19—Big Fork to Holland Lake
70 miles; mid-90s F
Got up very early to use the coolness of the morning for a 2000 foot/10 mile climb. I left early and Jeff caught up to me after 5 miles: we said our goodbyes and blessing for a safe trip and he was off and trying to make 90 miles.
Today was gravel roads which were in pretty good condition and nicely graded (long, even grades with only a few pushers—get off and walk after you mph gets below 3: call it cross-training!).
The woods were very thick, thinned out for logging in a few areas. Not a lot of long views or meadows but there were a number of stream crossing which opened up a few vistas. It was me hanging out with the pines today.
I remember some folks from San Diego visiting my parents in Maine who left early because the thickness of the trees made them feel too enclosed and claustrophobic. Wasn’t exactly like that.
But the road felt like a channel cut through the trees. The shade was very protective until the sun was overhead. Got lost briefly (45 mins) but found other roads to get me back on track. Maps and directions are pretty good: but you need to pay attention. Jeff had an app that had every turn pointed out. Might look into getting the app—but where is the fun in that?😉
Got to Holland Lake after about 10 hours of riding averaging about 7 miles/hour. This is a national forest campground with a nice lake with loons. It also has water skiers, and folks running generators to a/c their trailers. Nothing like the natural world.
Making my way to Helena…apparently I will cross the continental divide twice before getting there. One pedal at a time.
Please get the 'Turn Here' App.
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