Day 9: Two passes plus a bonus climb

Sunday June 27

Butte to Elkhorn Hot Springs

85.4 miles, 551.99 total miles, 7432 ft climbed

We refuel. We lube our bodies and bikes. Butte was good for the refueling and every place is good for lubing. Sun was warm in the morning already. Our mornings are getting more efficient in how quickly we pack up camp. It’s a daily Tetris game as we fill every nook and cranny on our bikes with gear and food.

We gazed towards the hills in front of us as we pedaled south out of Butte knowing that we’d be climbing one of those ridges. On the first climb, Sarah stops for a bear spray canister roll out of the quads.

The first steady climb revealed stunning views - they just keep getting more impressive. We again ran into our friend John and we roped him into taking some pictures of us. It was a wonderful descent on a winding road down and we kept admiring the scenery. But we knew that the legendary Fleecer Ridge was still ahead. A pronghorn ran across the road right in front of us! We battled the climb most of the day and it was hike a hike up a steep slope and then hang on to the bike slipping down on loose shale rock and dirt. Treacherous going but the view was unbelievable. Once we got into more rideable terrain we descended into Wise River which was about 50 miles into our day. It was early evening and hot. As soon as we stopped at the well-stocked general store, mosquitoes swarmed us and we ran inside. We needed to resupply for the next couple of days and it’s hard to make decisions when you are hot, hungry, and tired. We also did some quick research about what it might take to make it to Elkhorn Hot Springs since it was later in the day than we anticipated. We decided to press on since the next 35 miles would be paved. But we underestimated the climb that stood in between us and the possibility of a nice hot soak. The scenic byway had campgrounds, trailheads, picnic areas every few miles and not many cars went by. It was quite the grind but we made before it got dark and 15 min before the pools closed.

We had a beer. Ate our sandwiches. Had a lovely cabin to ourselves and soaked in the hot pool.