The next morning, I was feeling sicker than ever. Mixing wine and whiskey was a very bad idea, and my stomach was still raging battles with me... A funny little lady asked if I was going to be OK, Mike let her know that I just went a bit too deep the night before. She mentioned I should drink some 'Underburg', at which I just nodded. I was in no mood to drink or eat anything, much less talk to strange women! After slowly walking to the diner for breakfast and a quick shower, I was at about %60, and the ride at to go on. Everybody was patient enough to wait for me to get my crap together (Fud was even ready!), and we hit the road. Trust me when I tell you, wind buffeting on the helmet and a hangover do NOT mix! Ugh...
It turns out that Fud needed some special medicine that needed to be on ice and could only be picked up in Missoula. We rode to the first Walgreens we saw, which wasn't the Walgreens he called into for the prescription (I think that was the case... I was still a little fuzzy but just knew we had to ride into Missoula). After he told us we needed to go to the other Walgreens on Reserve Street, he took off down the road with Mike in hot pursuit. Scott and I got stuck at the first Walgreens exit and Mike lost Fud through a traffic light. So there we were, in Missoula trying to find Fud at the 'other' Walgreens...Fud didn't know Missoula, he was just following his GPS...that he hadn't used before...great situation! Thankfully, I'd driven around a bit in the town so I knew how to get to Reserve street. I swear to god it was almost 100 degrees on the pavement while we were fiddle-fartin' around downtown Missoula trying to find lost Fud. Needless to say, my hangover didn't last long in that heat! I think I sweated out the last of the whiskey/wine in that hour...
We found the 'other' Walgreens and a happy Fud packin' his meds out the door. Scott bought a 'Liter a' Cola' for drinks that night and we were on our way again! It was so hot Mike's bike started pukin' coolant....then it started pukin' gas! A quick panicked check made sure it was just overflow and not a leaking tank. Whew!
Once out of Missoula, the scenery mellowed everyone out...I was just happy to be moving again and cooling off... I think I lost 10 lbs in water weight that day...
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| Day 3 Track |
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| The mountains west of Hamilton Highway |
The guys stopped for a quick beer and a bite to eat, but I wasn't having any of that! Just the smell of the bar didn't sit too well with me, and the mexican food looked like dog food (no offense to the restaraunt...all mexican food looks like that). I stuck with chips, salsa, and water...
Off to Magruder Corridor! On the way we stopped at the Ranger Station and were lucky enough to run into a couple nice rangers that gave us whatever info we could get. Our hopes were sinking a bit when they told us the road was closed at a point just past the highest peak...but we were determined to try it anyway!
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| Castle Rock, at the beginning of Magruder Corridor |
The road to the corridor is kinda strange...it starts out paved, then turns into a nice gravel road, then it turns into a fun windy-curvy paved road up to the top shown here...
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| The Mule, baby! |
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| I like this pic...the large mountains and valley makes my packing look small : ) |
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| The rest of the guys rolling in...is that a pinky, Scott?! |
...and then it turned to gravel again...
Scott took this pic...and the 'Liter a' Cola' strapped to the back of his bike was long gone at this point, but Mike found what was left of it in the middle of the road after it was bucked off Scott's bike. After three days of drinking whiskey straight or cut with water, Mike was determined to have some damn cola that night! Mike dumped what sun-tea he had left in another jug just to carry the cup or so of cola to camp. Tech tip: if you want cola for drinks that night, don't let Scott carry it! Bugee straps aren't rated for mach 10 speeds and jarring that rivals 8 seconds on the largest bull...Scott rides fast and rides over EVERYTHING...
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| Bitteroot river following the road |
As we rolled in, we noticed a deer in the tall grass. Turns out all the deer in this area were REALLY friendly. They were everywhere...
I think Fud's R.E.I. butterfly chair (a.k.a. 'granola chair') was starting to grow on everyone...except for Mike. I started liking it because it had a backrest. My $10 Cabelas chair was great, but if I sat on it too long me arse and toes went to sleep! The first time this happened, the tingling sensation caused by blood returning to my digits (and tush) made me think I had ants in my pants...
...this buck really like Mike's bike...he was using it for cover until Mike turned on his red headlamp...he wasn't havin' any of that! For whatever reason, he didn't like the red light and he took off like a bat out of hell...I didn't see him the rest of the night...
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Scott's date for the night... |
This doe seemed to really like Scott...she kept him up all night! That sounds dirty...
I mean she bedded down next to his tent and was eating grass all night 2 feet away from his face. Every time he moved in the tent she bounded away...just to come back again a few minutes later. These deer were NOT bashful! We figured someone had to been feeding them...
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