Day 69: Like Castanets
I wake up at around 10:00am. Pack up my bags and head out the door to Whitefish. It's a pretty gray and overcast day. I get off Hwy 2 onto some back roads that turn to gravel.
I had read about this on other blogs, but found it to be pretty ride-able; I have no complaints. It starts to rain, and it's pretty cold. Luckily it's a short day. I ride into Columbia Falls and stop at... A BURGER KING... at long last!
The backroads between Columbia Falls and Whitefish are VERY SCENIC. I can't recommend this ride enough. It was a great day of riding.
As I rode into Whitefish, it started to hail... and I don't mean just large raindrops or little pellets of ice, but rather huge clusters that spilled from the sky, cracking against my helmet like castanets. Which brings me to something I've been worrying about lately:
This trip has turned from a fun summer jaunt into a race with Mother Nature to see if I can reach the coast before everything freezes for the winter. It's getting a bit ridiculous at this point:
Hail 5 straight days of snow in the Cascades Temperatures dropping below freezing most every night Rain predicted every day for the next week
So... I've been toying with the idea of chucking most of my gear (camping supplies included) and just staying in motels for the duration of the trip. Hear me out I've got housing already lined up for 6 of the remaining 13(?) days. So it's 7 days of motel-ing... now the thing to remember is that if I'm soaking wet or the temperature is below freezing, there's a good chance I'm gonna end up in a cheap motel anyways, right? so why not chuck some of the gear and make the ride a little more fun? So I'm asking: Am I just turning my back on my pledge to camp throughout the trip? Have I just gone soft? Am I justified? I'm gonna make my decision in the next couple of days, so any and all opinions are welcome.
I had time to kill, so I rode around town hitting up the thrift stores and pieced together rain/cold gear for under $30 (pants, jacket, facemask, hat). The Army/Navy store in Whitefish is incredible, and so is the sports store on 1st Ave Great prices, and used stuff too. I like this town a lot. Mom/Dad This is someplace you should consider moving to.
I am soaked and freezing, so I check into the Super 8 Motel. I watch MIAMI VICE and it's really bad. It makes me miss hanging out with my film snob friends talking shit about movies. Sigh... Oscar season is coming up... Lots of fodder for our smug condescension; Clint Eastwood and Paul Haggis... I'm looking your way.
I have a bad habit of confusing Montana with Washington. The change in scenery has me convinced I am already west of the Cascades, which is going to make for a few anti-climactic day when I actually do reach Western Washington. I keep trying to remind myself that I am still in Montana, but it's tough.
OK... So I'm really thinking about taking a day off in Whitefish tomorrow. I know, I know, I'm totally starting to get lazy in the last 2 week stretch to the coast. It's cool though. I'm real happy right now. I really am. It's been a great week.
1 comment:
Steve, it's good to see you're putting some space between yourself and the desolate waste that is North Dakota. I'm going to chime in on your housing plan, since you are welcoming all opinions. First I will say that growing up in North Dakota/Minnesota, I know what the weather and change of seasons is like. Also, my dad and I hunt at this time of year, so I know what it's like being out in the elements all day. I have also lived through 27 North Dakota winters, so I am not a pussy when it comes to cold weather. So now that I you see where I am coming from, I will tell you what I think. I can't imagine camping outside if the temperature is going to go below 50 degrees. If you were in your own backyard and could go inside to your nice, warm bedroom if you changed your mind, that would be one thing. But as I understand it, once you have set up camp you really are stuck with that for the night. Two other points come to mind. First, you once said that if you got sick during this trip you would be, to use the parlance of our times, FUCKED. You can't catch a cold from the cold, but the cold can really do things to your immune system. For me personally, this would be MY biggest fear. I can take cold, I wouldn't enjoy any rain, but I could handle it, but being sick and out in the middle of nowhere, I might want to kill myself. The last part is that I would like to point out that a beer cooler typically maintains an air temperature of 40 degrees. If you recall, in my previous line of work I spent quite a bit of time in a beer cooler. I can't imagine ever trying to sleep in one. If you get much below 50 degrees and decide to camp out, please include in your blog your impressions, observations, and any tips on how one might make a night next to 30 kegs of cold, cold beer an enjoyable experience. Whatever you do, stay safe...you're almost there for goodness sake.
Matty B
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