Fernie to Butts cabin I slept well in the hostel “family room” shared with Will and Chris. We packed up and all met at Big Bang Bagels for coffee and pre ride food. I had a bagel sandwich called “the Griz” with hash browns, eggs, avocado, sausage and other goodies. I had an idea of eating half and saving the rest for later, but went ahead and just ate it all. We all parted ways at the shop—Will planning on riding the highway to get back home; Chris ahead on the regular GDMBR route, and me the Flathead alternate. I may see Chris again somewhere down the trail. The roads started out excellent as usual, nice smooth pavement in and close to town, transitioning to smooth dirt to rough dirt and finally to a very rocky powerline road. Fortunately, the powerline road only lasted about 2 miles, then it was “normal” forest service roads the rest of the way. I felt good, and the miles rolled by. The one good climb of the day was on pretty good gravel road, so it was steady and comfortable. I only saw 3 cars the entire way, one appeared magically right when I had to pee. I arrived at Butts cabin feeling good and not beat up. Compared to days 1 and 2 it felt easy. I spent the next hour or so getting the lay of the land. I found the best place to get water, the location of the outhouse, and admired the work of a very ambitious beaver. After this, I decided to go fishing and perhaps catch dinner. The river was surprisingly warm, and I waded around and rinsed out my shirt between casts. I was able to catch one fish, so I brought it back to the cabin. Upon my return to the cabin, I was pleased to see I had a cabin companion. His name was Zach and he was doing a “gap year” and adventuring. He seemed a nice, polite young man, and I enjoyed his company. It was fun to see such a young man doing the divide. I had the fish with instant mashed potatoes, and it was delicious. Certainly not gourmet, but after a long day of pedaling and walking it was pretty perfect. I went for a short walk after dinner—a cup of tea in hand—and listened to the sandhill cranes calling. It was a nice end to a good day. The day really was pretty easy, and it gave me more time to to explore. Still no bears…