Butts Cabin to Eureka MT Now THAT was a proper adventure ride… The cabin was a nice break from tent-pitching and bear proofing and I slept really well. My cabin-mate Zach was still asleep when I got up, so I migrated outside as quietly as possible. The morning was perfect: cool, clear and calm. I was excited to get on the road. I talked with Zach a little and we compared plans for the day. I knew the day was robust for me—with 2 significant climbs—but I was feeling good and ready to make some miles. Zach was going to stop at another cabin at about mile 45. I loved the roads and terrain for many, many miles. The forest roads were in decent shape, and I could pick out the best line, as there was no traffic in 40 miles—not a single vehicle. I followed several creeks and rivers in utter peace—no sound but breathing and gravel crunching under my tires. Things changed quickly when my navigation told me I was “off route”. I turned around and eventually found a pile of rocks with a singletrack trail heading off into the woods. My GPS confirmed this was the right way, and I did see some bike tracks on it. I bounced along for a mile or so—across roots and bogs and creeks and logs—until the “trail” went nearly straight up a muddy root riddled slope. Again, I confirmed the GPS and vaguely recalled watching a great divide youtube where they talked something like this. After some trial and error, I ascended the slope by shoving my bike up 3 feet, grabbing both brakes, scrambling up 3 feet, and repeating this process about 50 times. I was a sweaty mess when I got to the top! Again, bike tracks suggested I was on the right track, but my brain couldn’t believe it. I kept going mostly on faith that it HAD to get better. GPS said I was on “Phillips road “. Sure enough, I was relieved when the trail broke out onto an old overgrown roadway. I was a bit nervous as the roadway was barely wide enough for a bike, and regular bear scat had me rehearsing my quick-draw bear spray technique. Fortunately, the road continued to get better, and improved to a normal rocky logging road just in time to tip up once more. I stopped to filter some more water before tackling the last climb of the day. It was a tough climb, and I was happy I had mountain bike gears. The carrot of a great descent kept me motivated. I made the top and rested there for a good while, looking out in all directions. A red-tail hawk landed in a tree about 20 yards away and studied me with curious eyes. I was filled with gratitude about it all—the place, my family, my health, the hawk—all of it. The descent was as I had dreamed—the road condition improved to “pretty smooth”, and I felt like I was flying down the hill. Gravity earned in three hours was spent in 20 minutes, and it was worth every second. My original plan was to ride to the border and hope for a campsite there. I did make short work of getting to the border—3 miles of highway. It was a bit shocking to see vehicles again! I asked the border agent about camping nearby, and he said there was an RV park about 3 miles away—but Eureka, MT was only 10 and a restaurant there had “the best cheeseburger you’ll ever have”. He had me at cheeseburger. The flat, paved 10 miles to Eureka rolled on easily. I quickly found a great place to camp behind the Eureka town hall and met another bikepacker named Brian who was also camped there. I jumped into the river clothes and all, and quickly changed into my best cheeseburger eating outfit. As promised, Dewey burger and fish co. turned out possibly the best cheeseburger I have ever had. Please go there the next time you are in Eureka, MT. With a full heart and belly, I made my way back to “camp” and set up my tent. After a phone call to my love, and a cup of tea I was DONE! What a great day…