Day 10: Hot.
Monday, June 28
Elkhorn Hot Springs to Deadwood Gulch Campground
Mileage: 93.1, Feet climbed: 4,212, Cumulative mileage: 645.1
Packing up our bikes this morning was a challenge for both of us. Our hands were sore and tired after all the intense braking yesterday. We got a slightly later start than preferred so that we could enjoy our included breakfast which didn’t start until 8am. Our server Billy hooked us up with not just a huge pancakes, eggs, ham, potatoes, orange juice, and coffee breakfast but also gave us each a huge breakfast burrito to-go, free of charge (which we enjoyed for dinner). When we returned to our cabin to get our bikes and go, someone had left a giant bag of raisins and peanuts on our cabin doorstep. We guess someone thought we looked hungry.
Our day started on the bikes with a lovely and easy 24 miles on undulating paved roads through Grasshopper Valley. It was a welcome respite from the grueling technical terrain of the two previous days. For about 18 miles of this paved stretch, there were deposits of cow poop in long lines in the roadway. As if hundreds of cows were running and pooping. For 18 miles! There was so much of it that in spite of best efforts to avoid the land mines, some chunks got flicked up onto the top of Sarah’s frame bag. The whole valley was ranching properties with fencing along the highway (i.e. not open range) so our best guess is that ranchers sometimes use the roads to move cattle between parcels.
We passed by Bannock State Park which we knew had water but skipped it because we felt adequately stocked but just a few miles later when we saw turned onto gravel, we started second guessing that decision. The land was very exposed, dry sagebrush steppe with no shade in sight for as far as the eye could see, and no sign of human habitation. About ten miles later, some homemade wooden signs appeared on the road, offering food, a bar, and lodging. We needed water so we followed the signs and landed ourselves at the wonderful Horse Prairie Stage Stop in Grant, MT. When we arrived, there were several other bikepacking rigs parked out front and shortly after we arrived, three other bikepackers we’d met earlier and passed also rolled in. We enjoyed strawberry rhubarb pies, Coke, and refilled our water bottles. This was truly a little oasis in the middle of nowhere and we were so thankful for it!
We continued on our way toward our planned destination for the night on Medicine Lodge road. Temps were in the upper 90s and there was still no sign of shade. We conserved water because although we were steadily climbing, it was a very gradual ascent and there were no running creeks to be found. We kept pedaling and before we knew it, the temperature reached 107. Still no shade, still no creeks. Finally at around mile 50, we had climbed high enough for running creeks and when we spotted one, we jumped off our bikes like a couple of kids running to the ice cream truck and we dunked ourselves in the creek and filled our filter bottles. Words can’t describe how good it felt!
We continued climbing to our destination for the night which was supposed to be at around mile 65. It turns out the sign for it indicated a name that didn’t match what we had in our information so we missed the turn for it and 4 miles later, running low on water again, and wondering where the heck this lodging was, we realized we must have missed it. We kept riding until we found a tiny low-running creek and collected as much water as we could and decided to push on, riding until we found a suitable place to camp. That turned out to be Deadwood Gulch Campground, just outside of Lima, MT. There are only two other sets of campers here and one of them happens to be a cyclist, Mick, who started the Tour Divide as a racer with the Grand Depart but had to scratch in ID due to hand numbness. He and his wife and friend are now backtracking the route and camping at his favorite spots he saw during the race before heading back home to MN. He brought us beer, his wife’s homemade cookies and muffins, and offered to us to take whatever we wanted from a big pile of his supplies from the race including Clif Bars and Bloks, chain lube, batteries, etc. Trail magic at its best. Thank you Mick!
Published June 29, 2021