Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 53 - July 19 - Cut Bank, MT to St. Mary, MT - 67.3miRough sleep last night. First off, we had been warned about feral dogs in Browning, a town we went through today, so I was up worrying about that. Second, the fish tank in the basement started making an awful noise in the middle of the night. However, the day ended up turning out pretty well. As soon we got out of the valley, we could see the Rockies in the distance. It was really cool to see them getting bigger all day, and then all of a sudden we were right in front of them. We had some pretty rough headwinds most of the day, which sucked. We were also pretty nervous about going through Browning, so a bunch of us left the first rest stop as a group. Turns out, Browning was absolutely nothing to lose sleep over, and we only saw two dogs who had no interest in chasing us. After leaving R2, we started to climb up into the foothills of the mountains. I really cannot describe how amazingly beautiful the scenery is here. At R2, we saw some wild horses running across the road! After R2, the climbing got more intense. Not as intense as it will be tomorrow, but way more climbing than we have done in the past month. One thing I did not expect, is the number of cows roaming the roads of the mountains. The first one I saw, I thought it was a bear from a distance. Cows are now the latest animal to be added to the list of animals I never thought I would be afraid of. The last 5mi into camp were an amazing descent into St. Mary. We are camping in Glacier National Park tonight, and the scenery is unbelievably gorgeous. Photos can't even do it justice. Stefan, Alison, Catherine, Chandler, and I grabbed pizza for dinner at a spot in town, and Andrea, Luke, and Grant joined us later. Currently, I am sitting in front of a campfire with a group of people. Kind of nervous about the possibility of bears tonight, so we'll see if I get any sleep! Day 54 - July 20 - St. Mary, MT to Fish Creek, MT - 52.7miWhat an incredible day. First off, I didn't get eaten by a bear in my sleep, which is always good. Second, the first thing I saw when I poked my head out of my tent this morning was Andrea sitting up in a completely collapsed tent, which was pretty hilarious. We got ready to go, and then Catherine and I headed out for our first mountain climb in over a month. Less than 2mi into the ride, I saw a bear standing in a meadow on the side of the road. At first I thought it was a statue, but then in turned and ran into the forest, at which point I shouted "BEAR!!" at Catherine, who turned just in time to see it running away. This had me freaked out for the next couple miles, but soon the beauty of the park completely overwhelmed me, and I was able to put the bear out of my mind. We stopped every couple miles to take pictures, and even did two short hikes on the way up. The headwinds were pretty bad at times, but we pushed through them. Eventually, we made it to the top of Logan Pass (elevation 6646ft), cheered on by everyone who had already gotten there. It was an absolutely incredible feeling, and I couldn't have wiped the smile off my face even if I tried. We celebrated, took pictures, put on some warmer clothes because it was colder at the top, and then I ate my lunch. There is nothing quite like making a PB&J while sitting at the top of a mountain pass, looking out over the valley. We toured the visitor's centre, got some souvenirs, and then most of the team took off while Vikki, Catherine, and I stayed at the top to do the Highline Trail hike. This was one of the biggest highlights of the trip so far. Part of the hike involved walking along a cliff with a wall and rope on one side, and a shear drop on the other. We also saw some big horned sheep, a marmot, and a mountain goat! After the hike, we went back to the visitor's centre where our bikes were locked up, and Catherine discovered that she no longer had her key. We spent about an hour talking to park rangers, trying to call the route leaders, retracing her steps, and trying to find bolt cutters, but had no luck. Fortunately, a ranger who was just about to get off work offered to drive her down to camp where she could grab a spare key, and I descended the mountain solo. The descent was pretty incredible, and I stopped for lots of pictures. Eventually, I made it to Lake McDonald Lodge, and attempted again to call the route leaders, to no avail. I grabbed a snack at the gift shop, and was outside talking to some teenagers about Bike the US for MS, when Catherine and Luke saw me, and let me know that Catherine had got the spare key, and Connor was driving them to the top to retrieve her bike. I finished the last 14mi, and arrived at camp a little while later. We are camping right on Lake McDonald tonight, and the view of the lake almost makes up for the fact that there are not many good spots to pitch a tent. It was pretty quite around camp, so I set up, relaxed by the lake, and ate some snacks while waiting for everyone to return. When most people were back, we made dinner, and then had a campfire to celebrate Catherine's last night with us before she leaves for med school. Overall, probably one of the best days of the trip. Day 55 - July 21 - Frog Creek, MT to Whitefish, MT - 34.9miMy tent was set up on a slight hill last night, so I kept sliding down to the bottom of my tent, then I'd wake up and have to shimmy back up to the top. Not a fantastic sleep. We did get to sleep in until 8:30 though, which was nice, and then we had a big group breakfast at Eddie's Restaurant in Apgar. It was only a 30mi day, so Vikki, Catherine, and I decided to go kayaking on Lake McDonald. It was pretty amazing, and interesting to be using our arms instead of our legs for a change. After the kayaking, it took less than 3 hours to get into Whitefish. It was our last mail drop day, and I got a box full of snacks from Austin! We had a group meeting at 5, and then Catherine left for the airport shortly after. She'll be back for the ride into Seattle, but we're all going to miss her for the next two weeks! Julia, Vikki, and I wandered around town for a bit, and then got pad thai at a restaurant called Wasabi. What an adorable little town! Very touristy, but there are lots of great shops, and we were able to find an ice cream place for dessert. Later in the evening, I biked to the movie theatre to see Tarzan with Eddie and Stefan. Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow! Day 56 - July 22 - Whitefish, MT - Rest DayStarted the day with breakfast at the Buffalo Cafe with Julia and Vikki, then we headed to a service project in Columbia Falls. We were helping clean an apartment, and the family made us a delicious lunch. We were there for about 3 hours, and then we headed back to town and I ran some errands. Went to a bike shop and picked up a few things, then Sharon and I went to the laundromat and grocery shopping. After I finished my errands, I went back to Buffalo Cafe for dinner with Chandler, Sharon, and Frank. After eating, we went to the ice cream place for dessert. Back at the church, I got some stuff done on my laptop, and then went out with Eddie, Connor, and Stefan. We ran into Andrea, Julia, and Alison, and ended up back at the ice cream place where we met a nice couple that bought everyone's ice cream! This kind of generosity from total strangers never ceases to amaze me. Day 57 - July 23 - Whitefish, MT to Eureka, MT - 57.7miVikki, Frank, and I started off the day by going for breakfast at a crepe place in town. Frank and I split two crepes, one with banana and Nutella, and the other with sausage, cheese, egg, and some vegetables. Hands down the best crepes I have ever had, and a fantastic way to start the day. Vikki stopped to go to a pottery studio a few miles into the ride, so Frank and I rode together for most of the day. We chatted for a bit, and I was also able to get a lot of podcasting done. My current favourite is 99% Invisible and I listened to several episodes over the course of the day. We stopped at a small cafe for lunch at R2, where I got tacos and enjoyed some free wifi. In the lest segment of the ride, Frank and I saw a ton of deer, just chilling on the side of the road. We are sleeping in Lincoln County High School tonight, and are joined by two BTUSFMS cyclists who just started the great divide. We also had a fantastic pulled pork dinner provided by Theresa, who will be joining us as a segment cyclist for a couple days. After dinner, a bunch of us went to the rodeo that happened to be in town. Neither Megan nor I brought enough cash to buy tickets, but the guy selling the tickets took what money we had, and gave us a second ticket for free. As we are only 8mi from the border tonight, they played the Canadian national anthem, as well as the American. We saw tons of events, including barrel racing, calf roping, and bareback riding, but my absolute favourite was the mutton busting. This is a crazy event where kids hold on to a sheep for dear life as it runs around the arena. On the way out of the rodeo, Sharon and I saw a pickup truck with a "free puppies" sign, and three puppies in the back. I was so tempted to take one to keep in my trunk bag on the back of my bike! Day 58 - July 24 - Eureka, MT to Libby, MT - 76.1miDidn't have a fantastic sleep last night, as I chose to sleep in a hallway where we couldn't turn the lights off. I rode out with Frank, Jen, and Alison, but Jen was going at a much faster pace so Frank, Alison, and I quickly fell back. It was a hilly, but beautiful ride along Lake Koocanusa. Eventually, we crossed the lake via bridge, and took the much closer quieter road on the other side. Immediately after crossing, we came across a huge sign warning us that this was a grizzly bear habitat, and to be aware. This made me more than a little nervous for the rest of the day. I had a PB&J tortilla at R1, and then just as we were about to depart, Alison got her first flat of the trip. She stayed at the rest stop to fix it, while Frank and I headed on. The smell of the pine trees was really strong, as we cruised through the forest, and the ride went smoothly, until just before rest stop 2. We were on a beautiful descent, and I was going pretty fast, when all of a sudden a bee flew into my jersey and stung me! I clutched my jersey, killing the bee, and held it away from my body until we got to the bottom of the descent and I was able to stop. We had to go back up the hill slightly to wait where the rest stop was going to be, and I was able to examine the sting and clean it up. The last section of the ride took us past the Libby Dam, across the river, and onto an even quieter backroad on the other side, which brought us into town. We are camping at Fireman Park tonight, which brought on some confusion as I was under the impression that we were camping at the fire department itself. I cleaned off with a freezing cold spigot shower, and then grabbed dinner with a big group. The burger I got was huge, and it was one of the first meals of the trip that I was unable to finish in one sitting. I did however, have room for ice cream a couple hours later, so Frank and I went out to get some. After ice cream, we went to the grocery store, and then I did some bike maintenance because the chain has been acting weird lately. Turns out, it is stretched way past what it should be, and I have to replace the chain, which I can do in Sandpoint on our rest day. Cassie, the super awesome executive director of BTUSFMS, joined us tonight, which is always fun. She'll be with us for a couple of days, until we get to Newport, Idaho.
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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