Odometer: 750 – 806 ( 56 miles, 90 kilometers )
When I finished my breakfast of french toast and fruit I returned to the cabin and packed up. I was encouraged that the rear wheel retained good pressure over night. Success!
No sooner had I re-attached the wheel when I discovered that my front tire had deflated overnight. I patched the front inner tube as quickly and as carefully as I could. I then took the time to drop in at the gas station / convenience store to replenish my supply of tire patches.
It is interesting how quickly our attention focuses on little things like patching a bicycle inner tube when so much depends on it.
At 10:30am I was on my way down the GDMBR and away from the highway. Given that I was later than normal I had to stick to McCoy’s plan for day 27. Besides, Red Rock Lake as he describes it seems like an enchanting place; a bit of an oasis in the middle of an arid valley.
The trip from Lima followed a flat valley perhaps 10 miles wide with mountains rising up on each side. Generally the land has been used by cattle ranchers but the cattle were sparse. Perhaps they had already been herded.
I’ve heard that some people are vegetarians because of reported animal cruelty. Putting the killing part aside the cattle in Montana are living the good life.
I continue to be aware of the winds. They invariably play the biggest role in the daily progress. Today they were from the south by south west. Generally the route for today followed the large valley from west to east meandering across the valley periodically. Progress was quite slow and difficult when following the roads crossing from North to South.
Today was a good day. It was cool – good for riding the whole day. For the most part the roads were deserted and in good repair; one or two vehicles passed every hour most of which were recreational 4X4s.
I arrived at Upper Lake Campground about 4:30pm and set up my tent. It was as McCoy had described: a different place. A large swampy lake stretched far out into the valley and the surroundings were filled with deciduous forests and birds which contrasted with the dry grasslands further west – from where I had come.
The campers were all very friendly and ready to help. One fellow camping with his wife had traveled the GDMBR years ago. Apparently he was a member of Warm Showers also and knew Barbara and her husband who had hosted me in the Lost Llama Lodge. He told me to watch out for the cold nights in Wyoming and offered a glass of wine which I couldn’t refuse.
Another fellow from Quebec was camping with his wife. He had lived in Utah were he had fallen in love and recently sold virtually all his belongings to travel about the country. I asked where he was going to next and he said he will go where it occurs to him. He had come up from Yellowstone where he had complained about smoke – I’ll be there soon enough.
I made my supper of rice, lentils, and dried vegetables. It was good but I didn’t cook the rice quite long enough. The strong wind made it difficult to work with the stove. Two chocolate granola bars for desert was a nice finishing touch.
