Today’s Date: June 4, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Lost Trail Hot Springs, Montana

Today’s End Point: Jackson, Montana

Today’s Miles: 53.43 Miles

Cumulative Miles: 1,098.88

I must have hit the snooze button 20 times this morning, I was pretty tired. Luckily, today was only going to be 50 miles with a monster climb in the beginning and then primarily downhill to my destination, Jackson, Montana.

I was sorry to see the little cabin go. It was the first time on the trip that I was able to lie on a couch, but it was time to see what else was out there. Unfortunately, it was in the upper 30s outside, but with the climb at the start and the rapid increase in temperature with the sun (yes, there was sun), it wasn’t that bad. I packed extra food and water since there would be no place to pick up any food or water for the next 30 miles.

As I said, I started right in with the climb. The total climb was 13 miles, but I had already climbed five miles yesterday to get to last night’s cabin. It was nice to cut down on the climbing today, but it did mean that I had to start climbing without warming up the legs. It didn’t matter much, with the average gradient of 7% they warmed up quickly.

I slowly made my way up to the summit of Chief Joseph Pass (elevation: 7,241 feet). In the beginning, I was surrounded by a thick forest of firs, which thinned a little as I climbed. Along with the thinning forest, snow also appeared at the side of the road. Although I was not cold, I noticed that I could see my breath as I huffed and puffed my way to the top.

Finally, the road crested and dropped sharply down. At the top, there was a rest stop on my right and wouldn’t you know it, a sign saying I was going back to Idaho.

I started the descent but my Garmin was still on the climb page but the numbers were not moving. I stopped to check and everything seemed alright. I descended some more but the Garmin still seemed to be off. I stopped again and looked at my second app that provides directions and realized that at the point that I saw the rest stop, I should have gone left and continued climbing another mile. I was so busy looking at the Idaho sign and the rest stop, I missed the turn.

By this time I had descended a couple of miles in the wrong direction. I was never meant to go back into Idaho. There was nothing much else to do but go back up and get back on track. There was no need to get upset, this is bound to happen multiple times over the next few weeks (and knowing me, the next few hours).

Once back on the correct route, I climbed the remaining mile and started the descent. I would be descending into the Big Hole Valley. It started steep and then leveled off. I had a strong tailwind as I headed to Wisdom, Montana.

Along the way, I passed by the Big Hole National Battlefield. Since I wasn’t familiar with the battle, at the end of the day I looked on Wikipedia and for those interested, this an excerpt:

“The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Nez Perce withdrew in good order from the battlefield and continued their long fighting retreat that would result in their attempt to reach Canada and asylum.”

With the tailwind and the slight downward slope, I was moving swiftly. The road was straight and I was surrounded by mountain peaks: left, right and forward. Spectacular.

I passed cattle fields which stretched for miles. I learned later from Justin (more about him later), that in the spring the ranchers flood their pastures. I noticed this as I was passed through, there was standing water everywhere. Justin informed me that in a couple of weeks the mosquitos will really be a problem.

Once I arrived in Wisdom, I stopped in a local market and picked up a sandwich for lunch. To get to Wisdom, I went due east with that strong tailwind. When I left Wisdom, I went straight south to get to my final destination of Jackson, Montana (not to be confused with Jackson, Wyoming-which I have done numerous times).

That blessed tailwind from the morning turned into a devilish cross/head wind in the afternoon. I slowly made my way south down the valley. I was still surrounded by mountains and cattle.

Eventually I made it to Jackson, Montana (upon my arrival I know now to never confuse Jackson, Montana and Jackson, Wyoming). As I was pedaling through town, which literally only takes a handful of minutes, I looked for my lodging for the night, the Bunkhouse Motel.

I called the proprietor Rick a couple of days ago about lining up a room. He told me he would be out of town but not to worry, he gave me the key code to the front door and told me that I would have the room with the open door. He also said that there was wine, beer and snacks available and that he worked on the honor system-if you took something, just leave the money on the front desk before you leave.

I must have gone back and forth down the only street in town but could not find the hotel. There were a couple of churches, a couple of restaurants that had either gone out of business or were only open seasonally, and a post office. No gas station, no convenience store-nuthin.

I finally noticed that the post office was located in an old timey building that said hotel. I stopped and sure enough, it said the Bunkhouse Motel. When I entered, there was a man behind the counter and I assumed that the proprietor, Rick, had come back early. As I began to say “hi, Rick”, the man behind the counter said that he was the local postmaster and that Rick was still out of town.

The postmaster’s name is Justin, and he is a great guy. He moved to the valley about three years ago from Alabama. Justin showed me around and when I inquired about food, he said that the only places to find food were Wisdom (the town I just left 18 miles ago) or Dillon, Montana (the town I am staying in tomorrow about 50 miles away).

Justin could see my predicament (lack of food in a food desert), and offered to bring me breakfast and new supplies in the morning when he comes back to work from his home in Wisdom. As I said before, Justin is a great guy. This trip has been amazing.

I have the entire building to myself. I have a room (bathroom and shower down the hall), laundry room, and a TV lounge on the second floor with couches (oh how I love couches). I also found in the refrigerator with the beer, wine and other drinks, a microwaveable dinner (hamburger and macaroni) that is listed on the price sheet for $8.00. Honor system, of course.

Words fail to describe how cool this setup is. It’s as if I have stepped back in time where people actually trusted one another. There are some hidden gems in these one horse towns.