Day 37: August 11, 2024 - Darby, MT, to Sula, MT
End: Sula, MT
Miles: 25.4
Feet climbing per mile: 63
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/211022115
I was awakened at 6:30 by a camp in my left leg. My recent cramps and my dark pee suggest I need to drink more water. It was about 50 degrees and felt cold, so I stayed in my tent doing email until 8:15, by which time the temperature had risen almost ten degrees.
My study the night before of the route for the day indicated that there would be nowhere to obtain water until I reached my destination at Wisdom, so I filled my water bladder.
The profile of the route showed a gentle climb, like that of the previous day, for the first 24 miles, followed by a challenging climb for 8 miles, and finishing with a gentle descent for the remaining 25 miles.
Early in the ride I saw a lone bison (not a buffalo).
Five miles out I realized the my water bladder was leaking from around its cap. I couldn’t tell whether the cap itself was leaking or if there was a puncture near the cap. I put a plastic bag around the end of the bag in hopes that it would catch some of the leaking water which I would later recover.
A short while after I discovered the leak I saw a church that was holding services so I went in, drank a half bottle of water, and then refilled the bottle.
Several miles later I saw a sign for an airbnb and a car parked in front of the building. After drinking a half bottle of water I knocked on the door and asked to have my bottle filled, which the person who came to the door gladly did.
Despite dealing with the leaking water bladder I enjoyed the scenery.
About six miles before the challenging climb began I saw Camp Sula and that it had a store. I went in and bought a breakfast burrito. I thought that I would eat only half of the hug burrito but I ate the entire thing. Before leaving I filled a water bottle which was half fulll.
The first 24 miles of the ride had been a gentle climb similar to the previous day, but this day there was a strong headwind, so I was working much harder than yesterday, even though I intended to take it easy in preparation for the challenging climb. Through the few miles I rode after leaving the cafe I had no energy to ride the gentle climb, never mind the challenging climb. About a mile. Before the challenging climb would start I saw a sign for the Indian Trees Campground and thought I might spend the night there. As a jeep entered the road into the campground I waved to the driver indicating I wanted to speak with him. He told me the campground had only vault toilets, no electricity, and probably fresh water. But he suggested that I forgo camping and continue for about another mile to the Lost Trail Hot Springs where I could camp or stay in a room, have a good meal at the restaurant, and enjoy the hot springs. I decided I would follow his suggestion and found that I had energy to ride the mile to the entrance.
At the office I was told a room in a motel would cost $130, which I chose to take rather camp because I was exhausted. To get to the motel I would need to ride further into the property and then climb some stairs. Mary Dell, with whom I was dealing in the office, then offered me, for the same price as the room in the motel, a cabin that was back in the direction from which I had approached the office. She said I could have the cabin provided I slept in only one of its threee beds. I accepted her generous offer.
Mary Dell told me the restaurant was closed, but fortunately at the store I could buy Mountain Dew and ice cream bars. That and a can of sardines I had bought at the Gateway Cafe the first night I spent at Woodhead Park Campground would be my dinner. And remember that I had already eaten that huge burrito.
After settling into the cabin I returned to enjoy the hot springs, my first such experience.
I decided that next day I would ride not to Wisdom, which had been my intended destination for this day, but to continue for an additional 18 miles to Jackson where I would stay at the Bunkhouse. This plan shortened the distance to my next destination, Dillon, by the same 18 miles.
So why was I unable to complete the ride to Wisdom? The headwind certainly contributed to the difficulty, and dealing with the leaking water bladder and then stopping to get half bottles of water contributed to the delay. But if I hadn’t eaten that burrito, if I had had instead some ice cream, I wonder wether I would have been able to make the challenging climb and then continue to Wisdom. I have made a practice of not eating anything like a hamburger or a burrito during a ride, and I think that today confirms that I ought to continue my practice.
On the other hand, if I hadn’t eaten the burrito I almost certainly would not have enjoyed the hot springs.
How much of an adventure can it be if everything goes according to plan?See all of my daily routes here: Cross Country 2024
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