Ramsay, MT to Cardwell, MT - Dried Squid Snacks

6/19/26 – 55 miles – 5 hours seat time.

The day started out with a shuttle back to where the previous day had ended. It looked to the time, like I had two hill climbs in front of me. But it only turned out to be one, and it was relatively small.

That 'tower' on the right is the giant smelter stack in Anaconda, MT. The land around here is beautiful, but often quite poisonous with mining/smelting production byproducts leaching into the topsoil.

On the other side of the hill was the town of Ramsay and a the Silver Bow walking trail. An unexpected paved trail that lead all the way to Butte, MT. It was nice not to be riding frontage roads, but the headwinds were pretty heavy (and would be for the next couple of days).

I'll bet Whiskey Gulch was quite the party stop on the railway.....for a while.

In Butte I stopped at Safeway for a sandwich and fluids. No lunch support from Bunny today as she had to go secure camping ASAP. While at Safeway I would run into another couple of Geat Divide racers.

This is Hwy 2. That spec in the distance on the right side of the road is another Great Divide racer. He has ~25 pounds of gear on his bike. He dropped me like a hot rock.

Out of Butte I rode down Centennial Rd to the bottom of the pass over the great divide. Half of the ascent was on Hwy 2, which had much less traffic than I90. About half way up you can switch over to a section of the old Milwaukee Rail trail and make it the rest of the way to the top.

Almost to the top. The last trestle bridge before hitting the summit of the Great Divide.

There is no marker for the Great Divide here. I complained to the other people in the parking lot. They didn't care. They drove to the top.

On the far side of the Divide I had about a 15-20 mile descent. You would think that this would be amazing but in practice, down hills are not as nice as you want them to be. Steep downhills allow for fast speeds but you don't work your legs as much. As a result you just sit on the bike seat and this can lead to all sorts of discomfort. Movement is key.

After completing the descent, I had another 15-20 miles to meet Bunny in Cardwell. She had secured a camping spot at the Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park. The campground was not taking reservations until June 20 so it was first come first served.

At Whitehall, I foolishly passed up the opportunity to stop and eat the second half of my sandwich in the city park. Instead, I got to the edge of town and realized I was tired and dehydrated. I chowed the sandwich half and drank all but 8 oz of my water. I would run dry with about 8 miles left to ride.

The shoulder on the side of the highway disappears between Cardwell and Lewis and Clark Cavern State Park.

I rode into Cardwell feeling really shaky. The only appropriate thing to do was have a milkshake. I consumed a 22oz Bunny Track shake, 22oz of Arnold Palmer tea/Lemonade, a 22oz Coors Banquet, and 2x12 oz Brew Dr.

kombuchas (thanks for that new addiction, Amber) in the next 45 minutes. I did not have 'output' for 4 more hours. Clearly I'd messed up my fluid balance.

That's a grizzly bear butt getting out of the river. Sorry, for the poor photography. There was much gesturing and raised voices in the van.

Fiona was not as excited about the bear.

An amazing sunset.

Between the dehydration and the lack of shoulder on the side of the road, I got a 7 mile ride from Cardwell to the camping spot. This is the second time I've 'cheated'. Let me know what you think my pennance should be.