07/21/23 Marias Pass to Whitefish

July 21, 2023

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The main northern east/west rail line crosses the continental divide together with US 2 and is right across the road from the campground. The trains are loud, long, and run all night and there’s a bit of decoupling as the helper engines which were added below are removed. So, not a very solid sleep.

No matter, today was mostly downhill, and I was shedding elevation at a rate far too rapid for all the work put into attaining it. The grades at the top were so steep I had empathetic nausea for anyone riding in the opposite direction. The trains were a constant feature, I could hear them passing all the time. There are long trains of oil cars going over the pass, I shudder to think what an accident would look like. There are also tanker trucks carrying petroleum going west, each one leaving the smell of hydrocarbons in their wake. Now that I think of it, that might be where the nausea was coming from.

It got hotter and hotter the lower I got, and even though I had my sights set on Kalispell I started looking for a place to stop once I got to West Glacier. Yikes! High season near a popular national park is insane. I found a piece of dirt in Whitefish for $98 and was glad it was so cheap. Gag.

The scenery was not particularly interesting, but it was nice to be back in the trees again. US 2 cuts through a corner of the national park, so I guess I did visit

I waved to the passengers on the Amtrak Empire Builder as they passed

I could make out ripple marks on some of the surfaces

It was getting late so I skipped the Montana Vortex, which I’m sure I will regret

But mostly I regret not spending time at the Ten Commandments Park

There’s a nice bike path for many miles out of West Glacier

Today's ride: 74 miles (119 km)
Total: 2,557 miles (4,115 km)

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Gregory GarceauEarly on, you wondered if you should post a journal. "So much work! So much responsibility!" you wrote. True, but I'm glad you did it. Good stuff.
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9 months ago

David ChavezTo Gregory GarceauThanks. It’s gotten easier, now that I have a system. Key is to not go back and reread anything
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9 months ago