Today we rode from Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada to Butts Cabin in Flathead Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Sunny weather with little clouds, and a little rain. The road conditions were: paved roads, different kinds of gravel roads, and even a rocky riverbed that merged with the road for about 1 km). Highlights of the day include remoteness of the Flathead Valley, enjoying a Subway wrap in the sun after a long day.
Riding statistics: on Thursday August 4, 2022, the 4th day on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route route, it took 08:33h (06:41h moving time), between 07:22 and 15:56, to cover 91 km (57 miles), including 979 m (3212 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14 km/h (8 mph). During today's ride the average temperature was 22 °C (74 °F) with a minimum of 13 °C (56 °F) and a maximum of 30 °C (90 °F).
Totals: So far, it took 0 days, 23 hours, 49 minutes and 30 seconds of cycling time to cover 318 km (197 miles), including 3720 m (12205 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 13.4 km/h (8.3 mph).
Leaving Sparwood
Today our alarm clocks went at 6 am. I was only just awake before the alarm clock went. We packed up our gear and went to the entrance of the campground since our food and toiletteries were in a bear box. Once there we ate something and brushed our teeth. During the final packing of the bikes I met a guy from a group of 3 Divide riders. We chatted about the route so far, gear, etc. Then another one from the same group appeared. I found that one of them had a kind of ‘french’ accent. Before I could ask where he was from, he started talking with his bike budy about some of the gear, and I noticed that it sounded Flemmish. So I asked where he was from and yes, he and his friends where from Belgium. He was from West-Flanders, the other from Turnhout. There was also a third but I have not spoken with him. Two of them were attempting the Divide towards the Mexican border. The third did not have the time available for that and would join them until halfway and leave via Denver. After that it was time to leave Sparwood. First we bought a lunch at Subway which we could eat later that day. After that we left the town of Sparwood via a busy (morning traffic) road, fortunately with a wide shoulder.
Getting to Corbin
We had to follow the main road for about 11 km. After that we made a turn onto another paved road, but hardly with any traffic. We only some some pickups for people working in the area and some with ATVs in the back or on a trailer. We had to follow that road for about 20 km. After that we arrived at Corbin. 5 houses and a very large mining area. We decided to have a first break on a bridge at a parking lot before the unpaved road starts. We had some fruit and something to drink. Meanwhile several persons made their ATV ready for riding in the Flathead area. We had chats with a few of them. The nicest was a very large man on an ATV joined by a couple on another one. They were interested in our ride as well. They planned a day riding in the area.
The FLathead area
After our break it was time to get onto the bikes again. Pavement had ended and we started with a road that was dried up mud. But, it was full of very deep tracks of heavy traffic that used the road when it was still mud. Not too much of a problem, but important to look forward and pay attention. It turned out we needed to that a lot more today. The road changed into different types of gravel road (loose gravel, rocky gravel, bigger rocks, and eventually this road merged with the small river that was close by. A rocky riverbed (including streaming water) was our road for the next 1 km. Not driveable, we had to walk. In this section we have were passed by three ATVs all kind people, one of them confirmed we already passed Flathead Pass. When we were at the end of the riverbed section the road turned back to gravel. But in between there was a deep ditch, not too bad when walking with the bike. However, at the same moment we heard another engine. When we looked around we could not believe our eyes. It was a 4×4 pickup with high clearance and he just rode that careful, but without any issue. This mans was riding with his son and he new the area very well. Not his first visit. He passed us but he was not that quicker than we were. Eventually we passed him again when he was inspection a bridge before moving over. A little later we let him pass us again. Again we could follow him for quite a while, but when the road got slightly better he went of. We had road surfaces with big stones. So far we had been walking those sections to make sure we do not ruin the bike. Over here there were so many sections like this we just had to continue biking. Meanwhile raindrops started to fall and after about 15 minutes I decided to put on the rain jacket. While getting them on, it stopped. Looking around us we had luck, it seemed to have rained more around us. We had our next break at the Pollock campground. A nice spot where we ate part of the Subway food and filtered some water. We also met some other ATV drives we saw earlier, they were surprised we were already there and they were about to leave. After getting water and eating the food we continued our way. The Pollock campground had been a possible destination. But since it was only 1:30 pm we decided to continue to Butts Cabin. A famous cabin for Divide riders that take alternate. Also very popular by hunters in full, and for people that snowmobile in winter. During the reminder of our ride to Butts Cabin we saw large cloud of smoke from wildfires. Somewhere in the south appeared to be a forest fire. 10 km before our destination we met a couple in a pickup truck and they just came from the cabin. There was nobody else and they told us that we had about 10 km to go. All went well and we enjoyed the ride.
Butts Cabin
Just before 3:30 pm we reached Butts Cabin and we were the only ones. A very nice primitive cabin. Build somewhere and of the eighties begin nineties. It has a stove which can be used to burn wood and heat the cabin. Not needed for us. There were also all kinds of messages written on the door and walls by people who visited the cabin. There was a picknick tablet outside and inside, and it had enough beds to sleep 5 people. All in all a very location for spending the night in bear territory. After eating something and hanging around, we heard two ATVs. It were people (the very big guy and friends) we met earlier today at the parking lot where we had our first break of today. We had nice conversation and also discussed the wildfire. Based on the information they had and the map we had we should be OK for tomorrow!