Motocaching the Top of the Big Sky – Day 2

I was on the road again before 6:30 am eagerly anticipating riding through Glacier National Park.  I had been to Glacier on a bicycle tour many years ago but it was in June and the “Going to the Sun” highway wasn’t yet open so I really hadn’t seen much of the park. 

I thought I’d better gas up before entering the park so I stopped at a station at Hungry Horse.  That’s when I made the panic inducing discovery that my Visa card was not in my wallet.  I had last used it at the restaurant and figured I must have left it in the little folder they give you to pay by card.  No excuse, but I had been busy studying my maps for my next day trip and I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention to the business at hand.  I used my Discover card and went inside to borrow a phone book.  Of course, the restaurant wasn’t open yet but I did get their number.  Motel 6 did not have a number in the book.  Another little efficiency I suppose.  At least I remembered the name of the restaurant so I’m not a complete dunce.  Nothing to do now but press on and try to contact the restaurant after they opened.

There was traffic in Glacier but it wasn’t all that bad.  The “Going to the Sun” highway is a spectacular drive.  Unfortunately, since I don’t have a helmet cam I wasn’t able to take pictures until I reached the summit at Logan Pass.  I’ve seen a lot of spectacular scenery throughout the West but what struck me about Glacier was the enormity of the mountains with rock faces and almost sheer drops of thousands of feet.  It was truly unique and awesome.  It took a long time getting through the park because the traffic moves at about 25 or 30 mph.  The road is very twisty with about three foot square rock blocks on the outside edge.

I was very concerned about finding a cache in Glacier County because there were only two anywhere near my route.  The first opportunity was a ways out of St. Mary on a long grade with a beautiful view.  It was located about 100 yards off the highway so required a short hike.  To my relief I had no trouble finding it.

By now it was after 11:00 am so I called the Mexican restaurant and to my relief they did have my Visa card.  I gave them my address and they said they would send it to me.

I had to turn south to pick up Pondera, Teton and Chouteau counties.  Not far down this route I ran into road construction and it was terrible.  It was a mixture of mud and gravel and my motorcycle was a mess.  Later in the day I noticed that when I was stopped my radiator fan would come on which is unusual for this bike.  I inspected the radiator and found that cement-like mud had hardened on part of the radiator and it was so hard I couldn’t chip it off.  Since the bike would cool down when I was moving I didn’t worry too much about it.

I found a couple of caches in Pondera County but I was really worried about Teton County because there was only one cache on my route.  I had a couple of alternatives but it would mean a detour on my return route.  To my immense relief I located the “Lonesome Pine” cache which was really neat.  Pictured is the old cabin there in the middle of nowhere along with the cache hidden in the leg bone of a cow.

Shortly thereafter I hit the Interstate and headed north toward Shelby.  In spite of the zero per cent chance of rain forecast the sky began darkening and I could tell I was heading directly into a thunderstorm.  Because of the forecast I had considered not even packing my rain gear.  Luckily I rejected that thought.  I stopped and donned my rain gear just before the storm hit.  Another piece of good luck was the underpass I spied not far up ahead.  Now it was raining hard.  I pulled over under it to find a half dozen other bikers already there and another pulled up right behind me.  We huddled together on the incline at the side of the underpass.  They were all Harley riders (mostly couples) and for some reason not particularly friendly.  I guess they didn’t think much of the hot shot on the Triumph sport bike trying to tour.  The rain let up in 20 minutes or so and I resumed my travel but kept the rain gear on because there was still a little drizzle.

I got off the Interstate and onto Highway 2 at Shelby.  I could see the big thunderstorm right behind me to the west which caused me to go a little faster than the law allows.  I would stop and pick up a cache or two and the storm would catch me.  Then off I would race and get back ahead of it.  That little tag match went on most of the afternoon.  I picked up caches in Liberty, Hill, Blaine and Phillips counties along the way.  When I got into Blaine County the gnats began.  On every stop thereafter I was plagued with gnats.  If it hadn’t been so hot I would have left my helmet on.

I arrived in Malta late in the afternoon and checked into the Maltana Motel where I had reservations.  My most urgent concern was getting my bike cleaned up.  The motel owner was very accommodating and gave me a rag and directions to the car wash.  The car wash took one of my dollars without returning change but it did have enough pressure to get my bike reasonably clean.

I like staying in these little towns because they are interesting and the people are friendly.  However, sometimes it’s tough to find a good place to eat.  I ended up dining at the Great Northern Hotel.  It was expensive and the porterhouse pork chop was so bad I didn’t eat much of it.

The Maltana Motel didn’t look like much on the outside but it was very clean and modern on the inside.  I liked it better than any place I stayed on the trip.  I traveled 411 sometimes very hectic miles this day [to be continued].   M/W