Coffee and muffin stop once I got out of the park
Coffee and muffin stop once I got out of the park

Day 75: Bonus Montana Adventure

Thursday, August 4th, 2022

  • Location: Big Fork, MT
  • Longitude: 114° 4' 34" W
  • Latitude: 48° 3' 54" N
  • Miles Today: 62
  • Total Miles: 3218

I’m rather ahead of schedule between some higher mileage days and road tripping through North Dakota with Noel. Given this time, I’m taking a detour through western Montana to Missoula where I’ll spend a few days with cousins before heading back to route with MJ.

Out of the Park

I got up this morning and bade farewell to Colin and hit the road. It was about ten miles out of the park to the little village on the west side. I got a coffee and a muffin there and enjoyed having cell service again. The traffic into the park was astounding. The line went for miles and miles beyond the park boundary.

With the magic of cell service, I sent a message off to David who had stayed at the same warm showers host as my mom and I back in New York to see if we’d be crossing paths soon. It turns out he was on his way to the park today along with his friend John. We made plans to meet up for lunch in Columbia Falls.

I had some headwinds on the way, but it was nice to have trees and mountains again. The change of scenery was much appreciated after the subtlety of the plains. I got to Columbia Falls a bit before noon and restocked on groceries (I was the lowest on food I’ve been this whole trip after four days in a park with limited services) and then walked over to the park where I found David and John. We traded stories and caught up on our different adventures and detours. He’ll probably be ahead of me when I get back to route, but we may run into each other again in Washington.

From Columbia Falls, I headed south to Big Fork. It was pretty smooth riding on back roads and some smaller highway. I got to Tom and Kara’s a bit after four and enjoyed an excellent shower and started charging all my devices. I sat on their deck catching up on logistics planning and enjoying a comfy chair with a back.

They got home in the evening and we continued to hang out on the deck chatting and eating and enjoying a beer. It was fun to meet Kara and functionally re-meet Tom. We sailed together a tiny bit like two decades ago, but never stayed in touch. Our mom’s and Noel connected us when my route took a turn down to this part of Montana.