Great Divide - detour ahead, Lincoln, MT

Friday, July 21

My fully loaded bike.  My backpack is strapped
across the rear panniers, sleeping bag & shoes.
The solar panel is mounted across the tent.
The sign seems appropriate for the day.

After breaking camp in Seeley Lake it was a pretty quick ride over to Ovando.  Along the way I met a couple from Belgium headed north who advised me to check in Ovando to see if the route to Lincoln was open.  There have been fires in the area and the winds have been picking up.  I checked in at the General store in Ovando and they had heard of no road closures, some trails, but the route should be open.

I had lunch and then moved on.  As I was getting near the turn for the climb over to Lincoln, I ran into another couple from Slovinia heading north. They told me the route was closed.  They had just come from Lincoln and the forest service had told them to tell everyone they saw that the route was closed.  Shortly after meeting the Slovinian couple, I met 2 guys from Germany riding coast-to-coast.

Fires above Lincoln, MT

I appreciated the warning to take the detour even more when I met a couple of guys from Italy who had gone over the pass toward Lincoln yesterday and then camped only to be turned around by the forest service as they tried to get to Lincoln. They had to go back to Ovando and take the highway.  They weren't real happy.  That was a 1800 foot climb each way.

Anyway, I made it to Lincoln and hope to make Helena tomorrow, but it will be another tough day of climbing and crossing the continental divide twice.

But it is a little puzzling to me that I meet as many non-US citizens out enjoying the wonders of our great country by bicycle as I do Americans... Maybe more.