Day 94 — Recovery Spin

Waking up from the 90 mile epic was a bit rough.  Eventually hunger won out over being tired (the dinner of popcorn didn’t really hold out), and we headed to the Crossing for yet another big breakfast.  That means big plates of food, a milkshake and piece of breakfast pie, of course.  Yum.

By now, everyone in town pretty much knows us, and knows what we are doing.  Wisdom isn’t a common stop for hikers, so they can’t really understand what riding the CDT means. But they seemed to really like the big loop we did, between two fairly major passes on the divide.  “Did you hear that?  They rode 90 miles, and it’s rugged up there.  It’s not like 90 miles of pavement.  That’s crazy.”

We took a late checkout from the kind motel owner, and took a lazy approach to the day.  A zero day was possible if we needed it, but a recovery spin on pavement back to the CDT was a secondary goal.

Food was a major motivator.  Our bodies were sore and tired, but energy levels were surprisingly decent.  We may have killed our phyiscal recovery, but mental and energy is more important.  We were still feeling good in that department.

So we finally left Wisdom, mid-afternoon.  It was time to leave the MT/ID border and go deep into Montana, at last!  The crux of the route is behind us.

The Pintlar Wilderness meant we were on a 30+ mile paved detour.  Fine by us, especially when we saw the significant snow accumulation on the highest peaks!  Yikes.

It was just what we needed — a true recovery ride on smooth surfaces, mostly slightly downhill and gentle tail breeze.  We followed the Big Hole River all the way to the turn off to Anaconda, where we turned up to rejoin the CDT. It was a beautiful ride with lots to look at and plenty of sunshine to soak up.  The traffic is, as expected, so low that I’m not too worried about finding an off-road route (through the Pioneers?).  After riding the border, I figure any CDT rider rightly deserves a break and it’s a pleasant ride.

We’re camped in a small grove of trees on the edge of a hay field, in some sort of state wildlife management area.  Tomorrow we climb into the mountains above Fleecer Ridge, and hopefully make it to I-15 and the promise of MTB-friendly CDT beyond!