Day 90 — A Wise Nearo. Days 91, 92 .. and? Rest in Wisdom

The rain kept me up for sometime and had me checking the time, hoping for sunrise. 12:30am. Ugh.

Next thing I knew it was 6:30 and though the rest of the world was soaked, we were dry! Our little tarp did its job… and at half a pound, has sure carried well on all the nights we haven’t needed it.

It wasn’t currently raining. Time to get moving. It was tempting to continue along the trail, but a bailout was in front of us and we needed it badly.

Right away we met a curious colored grouse of some kind. It fluttered its feathers up at us, dancing around and strutting towards us. We’ve seen many types of grouse, all hopeless at flying and/or running away, but none so colorful or behaving so. After snapping a few photos and marveling at the amount of control the bird had over its tail feathers we saw another bird in the trees. I think it’s protecting its mate!

The divide was blanketed by clouds. The ground saturated. We coasted downhill on a route that seemed straightforward,  but soon we found ourselves following nothing more than trampled grass across a meadow. The adventure continues…

The trace of a road eventually brought us to a more major road.  20ish miles to breakfast! Go!

I had the opportunity to correct a route blunder from 2008. Mike Curiak and I had also bailed a Big Hole Pass on our bikepack trip.

Which would you choose? The longer one starts out with a climb and looks less used. In 2008 we chose the shorter after a quick scan of the GPS. Incorrect choice!! It climbs and climbs and ends up being 8 or more miles longer. Luckily I documented the blunder here on the diary and had read that entry. Not going to make the same mistake twice!

Are we there yet? — may have been asked more than once. We rode out of the fog and into the sun shining throughout the Big Hole Valley.

Breakfast was glorious. We had eaten well on this leg, but no trail food can compare to a ginormous breakfast in town.

We have secured a roof and are pretty content watching it rain here in Wisdom. The Crossing has good food, a diverse menu and the best pie since Pie Town. Work and emails are getting caught up. Netflix is streaming movies. Bodies and minds are resting.

Wisdom is incredibly quiet, and small. The Big Hole area is one of the least inhabited of any divide community we have thus visited. A good place to slow down and convalesce.

We’re hoping to head out to hit the last section of the Idaho border, as a day ride, even though it is very much out of the way, and it’ll be the third time returning to Wisdom! We’ll see how the weather cooperates for that.

One thing I love about long distance travel such as this is that is really makes you appreciate sitting still. Not being on the go, when you are so used to moving, brings such a settled state of mind and a peace that can’t be found when you are stationary.

And yet, we crave movement. A fluid landscape. New horizons and the thrill of the unknown. Though we have stopped in many beautiful places, where one might be tempted to be content and live out their lives, it isn’t long before static beauty and wonder become old. The world is a dynamic place and meant to be explored. We feel the itch and the trail calls again.

At the same time, a journey this long is beginning to have an effect. Recovery is slowing, bikes and bodies are getting tired. I wonder how much of it is true fatigue and how much is the mind allowing some fatigue now that the end is nearing. If we still had another 3000 miles to go, fatigue wouldn’t be an option.

Of course traveling this trail by bicycle is demanding, physically. It is emphatically not a bike trail and there is a pretty good reason that no one has completed it before. But the mind and soul have a way of keeping bodies going. In Colorado getting deeply tired couldn’t be allowed — with so much to go. But in Montana,  perhaps we can get away with some?

I don’t know, but it’s not just us. As soon as we hit Montana the talk changed to finishing, worrying about it and being tired — among the hikers. It’s interesting.

Here’s to blue sky and sun ahead!