Eureka, MT to Red Meadow lake Slept well last night—awoke to the sound of truck exhaust brakes at 6:30. Brian was already up and about, and suggested we ride together for the day. He had a route mapped out to Red Meadow lake—and according to his map, only a few more miles than I was planning on going. I was exciteded about the company and the lake sounded beautiful. We got on the road after I stocked up on a gas station breakfast burrito and a sandwich; both jammed firmly into my bulging bike bags. The beginning miles rolled along smoothly, Brian talking about the bears he had seen—me talking about the bears I hadn’t. Brian is a very interesting person—he has biked all over the world; he estimates maybe 250,000 miles or so. The miles out of Eureka rolled on, transitioning from pavement to really nice pavement to smooth forest roads and finally to a rocky forest road climb. All the while views, beauty and peace once again washed over me. After the climb, a fast, bumpy descent brought us down to the flathead river, with a panoramic view of Glacier NP across the river. A bit more traffic awaited us in this section, but we were content with this, as the lake was just a few more miles ahead. We passed the campground I was originally planning on staying in, and started thinking ahead to dinner and camping on the lake. The timing seemed perfect, as we were both getting tired and low on water. We made the right turn toward the lake and saw the sign “Red Meadow Lake: 12”. Brian didn’t appreciate my joke when I asked if that was kilometers! Brian unleashed a Buffalo-worthy tirade of expletives; I unleashed the rest of my gas station sandwich as we pondered our next move. After quickly going through all the stages of grief, we agreed “how hard can it be?” and began pedaling. Our biggest silver lining was that it wasn’t raining. Fortunately, of the 12 miles, only 11 were uphill. The reward for hauling our gasping carcasses up the hill was one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever had the pleasure of camping on. We had some time to enjoy the lake and scenery before it got dark. There was also a single female bike packer in the next campsite over, and we got a chance to visit a bit. She was on a 3 day loop ride. We turned in the minute it got dark, and I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit my inflatable pillow.