Monday I split from Helena to drive to Boulder and Muskrat creek ride. Which I did. I found the gravel roads back and up to the TH. Stuttered bump that just shook the van contents. I found a suitable campsite just above the creek amidst the old splatter piles of cow manure. F…… cows and beef consumption. Tues I decided to take a rest day and stuck my nose into the book “The girl who played w/ Fire”. Sunny day w/ smoke from forest fires hanging in the air. The wind picked up during the afternoon. I was parked w/in falling distance to several large beetle killed P pine. The weather forecast called for gusts to 40 mph. Which would come first: winds topple the trees on me or I move to a safer spot. I chose the later and moved to a spot that was partially shaded by live doug firs.
Early evening a man walking 2 dogs came by. We struck up a conversation. He lives right @ the FS boundary and has hiked and snowshoed the local mountains of which we are in the Elkhorn mtns. He told stories of wolf and grizzly bear sightings. He carried a can of bear spray on his belt. If a local carries it sent a message to me. I searched my van till I found my canister of bear spray. I read that there is an expiration date for effectiveness. I read the container over and over and found no date. Is my spray current or not? I’m here, this is what I’ve got.
Tues night @ 11:00 the temp was still 75 degrees.
Wed AM I geared up for my Muskrat Creek ride. Per the USGS map the trail goes right up the creek bed @ a constant grade. The ride was to be 5 miles gaining 3,000′. The trail was cowed out low down in the P-pine forest. The cows lost interest as the tree cover turned into dog hair thickets of lodge pole pine. There was so much dead and down, a veritable fuel keg. The trail was rerouted away from the creek that lessened the grade, places there were excellent switchbacks. I rode what I could make my body spin up and walked the rest, sometimes collapsing over the bars to catch my breath. I climbed to 7900′ and stopped @ a trail intersection. The trail went thru several aspen thickets along streams that obscured my sounds so I hooted to announce my presence. The wind was blowing uphill broadcasting my scent that would also blow the pepper spray ahead of me should that be where a bear came from.
I turned around and headed back down against the wind letting gravity pull me forward at speeds well greater than I climbed. Speed, stealth from quiet bike, and against the wind spelled greater potential for surprising a bear. My eyes remained focused on where I was going to go which was down the trail and not sweeping the periphery for bears. I used my seat dropper down. What a downhill: never very steep, rough tread unaffected by dirt bikes or horses. Floating. Just grand. An old hiking trail, not a purpose built trail. I made my way back to my van w/ no incidents. Sweet. Just a grunt of 12.53 miles in 2 hrs 13 mins for 2858′ vert descent. Chip and Eric, I turned on the berm rock turn Eric mentioned.
So much forest fire smoke in the air. I checked the wildfire web site and saw all these fires burning between here and Spokane and are upwind. I decided to return to Helena to move away from the smoke albeit I am not out of the smoke. The sky has a pallor that makes the sun red and the full moon @ night also reddish.
Back in Helena I drove back up to continental divide for camp; it is 2,000′ above Helena and a bit cooler and quieter.
Today i drove back down to town. Today is weekly wash day. I washed my hydration pack that is now soft an pliable, I am prolly out of the sweating heat and humidity.
Smokey here. I started filling out the schedule D of income tax which will take a few hours to fill out. In the afternoon I have been stopping @ Blackfoot brewery tasting room to quaff a thirst for micro brew. Place is crowded.
I need to figure out where to ride where I am out of heavy smoke, perhaps Kalispell.