Today we cycled from the Kilbrennen Lake Campground to the Tobacco River Campground 18mm before the Canadian border. The day started completely clouded, and as forecasted, the rain started at 10:30. After 13:00 it became better again with one or two short rain showers. We rode non-paved for most of the day, only a few kilometers on paved roads.
Riding statistics: on Saturday June 15, 2024, the 38th day on the Western Wildlands Route route, it took 09:48h (07:33h moving time), between 06:40 and 16:28, to cover 113 km (70 miles), including 1469 m (4820 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph). During today's ride the average temperature was 10 °C (49 °F) with a minimum of 6 °C (42 °F) and a maximum of 21 °C (72 °F).
Totals: So far, it took 11 days, 17 hours, 38 minutes and 24 seconds of cycling time to cover 4063 km (2525 miles), including 45750 m (150106 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.7 km/h (9.1 mph).
When we got up this morning it was already completely clouded, and therefor quiet chilly. We left the campground around 7am and continued the road we had been riding yesterday afternoon. We passed some more mountain lakes and saw some elk. The sun tried to get through a couple of times, but did not succeed. Around 10 the first raindrops started to fall. Not many, but already a warning that there was more to come. At 10:30 it got worse and we had to get our rain gear on. The first two hours after that was a changing scenario between real rain and hard drizzle. But eventually the hard rain won, and it got even worse. Around noon it was really bad weather. Fortunately when I came around a corner I saw a pit toilet. The pit toilets here have a standard design. Meaning they have a roofed outside section before the door. I immediately drive my bike in there. Fons followed. We were now out of the rain and out of the wind. Much better. We used the time to eat, of course.
Fortunately, about an hour later it stopped raining, and we continued our ride. The rest of the afternoon we only had one or two more short rain showers.
Most of the day we drove through dense pine forests and usually a stream close by. Today included a few more climbs, of which the biggest one was a 7km long one, with an elevation gain of almost 400m. Nothing to serious, a good one to end the official route.
Around 16:00 we arrived at the Tobacco River Campground. It is an official USFS campground, but has very limited sites (6), there are a few strange people, and it is only reachable via a very difficult dirt road (especially for a car). We’ll, we need a place to sleep, so be it. Tomorrow we will ride to the border, and go back south to the town of Eureka to do some groceries. After that we will ride some more in the direction of Whitefish. On Monday we will arrive there, pick up out bike boxes (which I already arranged with Glacier Cyclery and Nordic), and continue to an RV Park close to the airport (that is the plan at least).
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