A BEARy muddy and epic day!

For the first two days of the Tour Divide we have managed to dodge horrible weather. Not today.

After our ride to Fernie yesterday, we decided to make a big push to Eureka just over the Canada/US border. We knew it was a stretch for us, but damn, this was something else entirely.

We left Fernie at 0700 under cool and beautiful blue skies.

Our first test of the day was to make it to Butts Cabin. Another iconic spot in the TD. We did! We actually stopped and made a full Ramen lunch in preparation for the afternoon.

This is where the day took a decidedly different turn.

Before climbing Cabin Pass we stopped to filter water, having already consumed about 3 liters each. After that, the climbing started and the weather began to look ominous.

We made it over the the pass, but not before having to put on rain gear. It wasn’t a big deal, but it did give us pause as we were hoping to make more headway before the building clouds let loose.

Now, it has been a VERY wet spring in the Canadian Rockies and the roads are a mess. Even the smallest potholes are filled with water, and every depression at the bottom of a swale are mud pits that could be an inch deep or a foot deep. Many are more if the latter and take up the entire road.

So even before any rainfall, our bikes and persons were saturated with water and caked in mud.

As we did the grueling ride in mud toward “the Wall”, a famous Hike a bike section on the TD, it started to really pour.

The .5 mile hike-a-bike section before the Al wall is through a low section of grass and fallen trees and was an absolute swamp. We trudged through calf deep water walking our bikes. This was a preview of the extremely wet and muddy bike drag up the Wall.

The Wall is actually the start of Galton Pass. A 7.5 miles 3000’ grind of a climb.

Shortly after the climb started, I was on the front (a rarity) when we came around a small corner to find a juvenile Griz in the road. He wanted nothing to do with us and ducked into the trees. 3 for 3!!

At this point, all the fun was gone. The climb, starting at 7PM, after a LONG day of riding was a mental and physical test. I almost failed. Luke, being a much better climber rode at his pace as we individually suffered in the mud and rain up the climb, often forced to walk our bikes.

After two hours, and in fading sunlight, I arrived at 9PM to find a frozen Luke who had waited at the top for me. The temps were in the mid to upper 30’s and I’ve was near hypothermia.

I added a layer of gloves and we bombed down the 12 mile descent. Frozen!

Another 2 miles of pavement and we arrived at the US border at 10PM.

8 miles later we arrived in Eureka.

After we grabbed a room and realized it was 11 PM, the reality of NO food hit.

After grabbing some chips at a tavern next door, I found out another lounge a bit away made frozen pizzas. After walking over in wet Tevas I finally got our Pizzas at 1200AM.

Back to the room, scarf down a pizza and hit the hay at 0100.

This will probably force us into a zero day tomorrow, as we need to wash EVERYTHING we have. Time will tell.

Ride On!

Shane