Another day, another two passes to climb! I woke up to a very chilly morning and was thankful I bought a 20 degree sleeping bag before the trip. The weather here is very interesting as it seems to go from 90 degrees in the middle of the day down to near freezing at night, once the sun sets its gets cold fast.
From Twin Bridges it was about 26 miles of gentle uphill to Dillon, then I started a 2,000ft climb to Badger Pass. From there I dropped about 800ft into a valley between these two mountain chains, where I stopped to grab some lunch.
As I started back up the second 1,500ft climb to Big Hole Pass, I got my 2nd flat of the trip! Boo! Thankfully I got it right near some trees and a little stream, so I was able to pull off the road and hang out under some shade as I changed my tire. The culprit was a small metal wire that shot straight up through the tire, probably from some re-tred tire scraps that litter the roadway shoulders.
Back on the road, I made my way to the top of Big Hole Pass and then enjoyed the following downhill into Jackson and then Wisdom. It turned out to be a long ride but I pushed ahead as Wisdom had free camping! I had been eating the food that I bought at the grocery store in West Yellowstone and decided to just dine on some PB&J bagels and a can of chili instead of taking a chance at the local "saloon & grill".
As I rode to the American Legion park for my free camping site, I saw another cyclist sitting next to a stream behind a fence about 100 yards before the park. He walked up and introduced himself, he was a younger guy from the UK who was following his own path and was about to stealth camp down by the stream before I told him about the free camping right down the road.
We hung out under the pavilion and chatted for a bit until the sun started going down and it started getting cold fast. An older guy in an RV came over and warned us that it would get down to freezing tonight. Its cold up here in the Montana mountains! As I was escaping into my tent, the guy from the UK was braving a cold shower from the water pump, which he didn't know how to operate and needed an American (myself) to show him how to do it (just keep on pumping!)
Day 55
Start: Twin Bridges, MT
End: Wisdom, MT
Distance: 97.81 miles
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