:: shift7 ::

:: north/south adventure ::

montana: day 01, fri 29 aug
canada border (cardway) - columbia falls

stats:
75.6 @ 14.8 = 5:06:59, max 38.1, trip total: 75

eats:
donuts, gatorade, smoked turkey (everything is smoked!) and provolone sandwich, pasta salad, pringles, DQ oreo blizzard, four cheese rigatoni

sleep:
Lasalle campground, $5

thoughts:
it was an awesome day. i'm already in a daydream. it started out colder than i thought it would be - we were prepared for it but not really adjusted to the idea. we all packed our cold weather items at the bottom and had to riffle through it all to get to the long sleeves, gloves, hats and jackets. layers of stuff to keep us warm. odd, its august.

and it was blue outside, with a dense fog that reminded me of the blue ridge. but more expansive and wide open. the spaces are quiet and seem to reach forever. it was easy to identify with how spiritual it can be. how calm.

from the canadian border we headed south (brilliant right). luckily we took off before the police could tell us we could be fined $5,000 for not checking in at the border station. apparently once you pass the building you need to check in regardless of exactly what country your in. kristin found out as she tried to drive away. you have to understand, there was not one other car in the vicinity and it took us about 20 minutes to unload and get ready. they saw what we were doing, and besides bill none of us had a chance to do anything illegal. i thought about taking a leak, but even that was risky. i guess they don't get much action in these parts and the opportunity of busting someone is to overwhelming.

but we were off into the wind as it started to clear out the fog and make way for the rocky mountains. they started to appear from nowhere. it was an exhilarating thought that in just about an hour we'd start our first real climb of over 2000 feet in glacier park. a gradual 8 - 9 mile climb that left you looking over your shoulder to see yet another massive formation.

it will be hard to narrow down the photos for the day- probably every day- at every turn there was another breathtaking shot. over 100 images just from my camera. and i would say i'm pretty conservative about taking photos- not anything like jonathan. after all it is a bike trip-- plus its the type of situation that i know it will never do it justice in pixels or on paper. its the air, crisp. the 360 degree panoramic view. the chipmunk trying to outrun me. the elk starring at me from 20 yards as if i was out of place- i can see his point.

anyway, at this point, due to the lack of technical capabilities fewer images will have to do. of course i'm not even sure when we'll have a chance to upload these.

so the climb was beautiful. and my concerns about the altitude quickly dissolved - the dry air was so much easier to suck in than that humid mess we've been training in. it wasn't any white bird (dan) but it was enough to get us in the right frame of mind on the first day. when we got to the top we still had to drive down the other side. it may seem like a small technicality. drive downhill for 14 miles. but if you've been down a mountain at 40 miles an hour screaming around the turns (for 14 miles!) you know the rush. its the payoff for working the previous hour. its a 15 minute joy ride. i'll let it go. i did go back down 3 miles from the way we came- you know, just to test the brakes.

the fires were blazing and the smoke was so heavy you could look straight at the sun. it was like an eclipse in the middle of a sci-fi movie. looking across the lake was like flying through the clouds and there was no end in sight- just soft light and soft shapes that disappeared into neverland.

then came lunch - we were starved, partly because i told the team we could eat at the summit and there was no food up there. the closest food was in west glacier, the town right outside the park. not all that but well deserved. at this point it was time to get going and find a place to stay the night so we could go pick up gregg and scott from the airport. so we rode a bit further and actually found a campsite a couple miles from the airport. the timing was excellent - they were a bit late and after getting our site we ended up getting then as they got in.

dinner at roccos. italian, montana style. we polished it off.

and now its 10:30, the camp is quite - they are all asleep. tomorrow is close.

thanks to all for the music picks- they have been a blast to listen to so far. missy elliot and peaceful fog- what better combinations. obviously i've just started but its definitely a great addition. dance party one song and captivating the next. yeah yeah blah blah- you gotta be here. or you need a better writer to depict what's going on.

its getting cold! my hands are getting numb. the only thing i can see is the screen- everything else is pitch black-- especially since the smoke has blocked out all the stars and moon. i think tomorrow we should be leaving the smoke behind.