Day 2 - Tuchuck Campground (Flathead National Forest)
to Upper Whitefish Lake Campground (Kootenai National Forest)

Above Left: Breakfast, clean-up, and item packing tasks are completed and all items to load onto the bike are on the bike or on the table. We are missing a strap and we will have to pack 2 bags onto the rear rack with 2 straps. It's a minor inconvenience but no more than that.

Above Right: We're packed up and we hit the GDMBR. This is Tuchuck Creek (for what the campground is named), it is the same creek that runs through the campsite, and it is the same creek from which we filtered our water last evening.

Above: Our initial descent from the Tuchuck Campground is in pristine old forest.

Above: We found a huge forest fire area; the burn scar went for miles.

Above: The creek is dead. There is no water retention; ALL of the water runs off in one massive flood every time that it rains.

Above Left: The hillside previously washed away in a rain/mud avalanche; now there is a roadside erosion and debris wall to protect travelers.

Above Right: We (Dennis & Terry Struck) take a picture of ourselves on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (because we often forget to take pictures of ourselves).

Above Left: This photograph was taken in the proximity of where we saw a bear and the photograph is close to the terrain and vegetation of our bear sighting.

Above Right: Our only BEAR ENCOUNTER (nothing happened).*
* First of all I never got a picture of our bear; this bear picture is from the internet from the http://www.examiner.com/article/following-the-footsteps-of-bears website/link. I selected this picture because it is very close to what we saw (close and slightly uphill).

I heard Terry say "Bear" at the same time that I caught a motion to my direct left side. I saw the Bear just as he raised his head, presumably to investigate the source of the bicycle noise (the Bear had been sitting or lying down). We were riding the tandem downhill at about 10-15 mph (15/25 kph). The tandem is relatively quiet going downhill. THE BEAR WAS 5 YARDS/METERS TO OUR LEFT, DARN CLOSE. I saw the Bear look at me; we had micro-second direct eye contact. The Bear quickly looked to its left - He was looking for an escape route. He immediately started running in the direction that he was looking. My mental geometry realized that HIS ESCAPE ROUTE WAS GOING TO INTERSECT WITH THE BIKE'S ROAD PATH. I had just a flash micro-second of worry and mentally told my hands to start braking. Then something incredible happened, THE BEAR ACCELERATED TO 25-30 mph (40-50 kph)! The adhoc plan was working, we were decelerating and the Bear was accelerating. WE MISSED EACH OTHER BY 2 YARDS/METERS!

THE BEAR RAN ONTO THE SAME NATIONAL FOREST ROAD THAT WE WERE RIDING UPON and he was running directly away from us and in front of us. This was good. I had managed to stop the bike, grab a pocket sized digital camera, and turn the camera on; by the time that the camera was photo ready, the Bear was about 50 yards/meters down the road. The Bear slowed and turned its head back to see where we were and without stopping the Bear turned to the right and ran off the road, down a steep grade and then THE BEAR DISAPPEARED INTO DENSE SHRUBBERY. The second that the Bear disappeared into the thicket is when the camera became ready - We have NO Photograph of our Bear Sighting.*

Immediately Afterwards I realized three points:
1) Even on the bicycle, we could never have out-run the Bear had it decided to charge us.
2) I can still hear the "clickity-click" of the Bear's claws upon the ground as it was running (PTSD) - That's how close we were, otherwise, the Bear made no other noise.
3) That teeny-weeny thought, to hit the brakes, maybe saved our lives.

Above Left: Great gobs of Moss in the Montana Pine Trees. There were times when it looked like a Spanish Moss Forest from the USA South. The Moss seems to be Green at first, then Grey, and then turns Black as it is dying. I do not know if this moss type is killing the tree, but it seems that it is?

Addendum - Later we learned from a Biologist, that we met on the roadside, the Moss is called Horse Hair Moss and it will not grow on live needles. The moss is not a parasite.

Above Right: Alas, we find signs of civilization, Mail Boxes. For the past half hour we have ridden by fences with No Trespassing posters, so we know that we have departed the National Forest and we know that we are riding amongst Private Properties.

Above: Several things are happening here. We've been heading ENE for 30 miles, now we turn right, toward Polebridge, south for 10 miles. We will be following the North Fork of the Flathead River for about 10 miles. We are presently only 6 miles from Canada. Everything east of the Flathead River is part of Glacier National Park (we are on the west side). The road ahead will be flatter riding but only for 10 miles.

Above: Looking southward down the Flathead River Valley on the GDMBR. Many trees are stunted, much like the trees of the northern tundra that live over a permafrost. This view with the stunted trees reminds me of Alaska.

Above Left: North Fork of the Flathead River (GDMBR - NF 486). By-the-way, the word "Flathead" is the Native American name for their Nation. Naming in the same manner as the "Black Feet" Nation.

Above Right: North Fork of the Flathead River. This area is in and advanced state of forest fire recovery but signs of a fire are still quite evident.

Above Left: Wurtz Cabin, we did not know what it was but we dropped in to visit and partake of our morning travel snack.

Above Right: Wurtz Cabin. It is rentable through the NF but for only 3 days at a time (See the National Forest Cabin Rental Link National Forest Cabin Rental (Wurtz Cabin). A little bit of history is available at the Missoulian website, a local newspaper.

The Wurtz Cabin, a tragic story. Frank and Ella Wurtz arrived from Kansas, in 1913. They'd finished their first cabin, now known as the "bunkhouse, in 1917. While working on the "big house" in 1919, it burned down and there is a little bit of mystery to that as the children disappeared at about this same time. Now, no one knows the story or the connection, if any, to the fire. In 1920, Frank and Ella began rebuilding but they just did not have the spirit to continue. The home changed ownership a few times and in 1991 the National Forest Service bought the home, one year after it was registered on the National Register of Historic Places.

Above Left: It is labeled as a Woodshed. My first thought was that this was a Meat and Food Locker (a common dwelling and need in Grizzly Bear country).

Above Right: This is a functional National Forest wheelchair accessible Outhouse. The house has no facilities, not even electricity or telephones. The bike is our tandem, the Bee.

Above: Moose Creek and Hawk Creek, respectively.

Above Left: We took a little break near the turn-off from NF 486 (not signed) to NF 115. That is Terry and the Bee on the GDMBR, Montana

Above Right: NF 115 - We are now heading WSW and uphill (on the GDMBR), first to Red Meadow Lake (far sign) and then over the pass to the Upper Whitefish Lake and Campground.

Above: Fence Posts on the initial leg of NF 115 west bound (GDMBR, Montana).

Above Left: We will execute a gentle climb for about 8 miles and then about 3 miles from the pass it gets steep and we will need to push the bike for about 200 yards of total pushing.

Above Right: The handlebar bag cover is curved and the camera often cannot see the top half of the map. Since we have traveled about half way down the exposed map area, we can now see where we are with a camera. X marks the spot with our Global Positioning System (arh arh), our destination is just below the bottom edge of the photo.

Above Left: Moss covered creek bed.

Above Right: Dennis Struck and the Bee on the GDMBR (NF 115, MT).

Above Left: It is about 2 pm and we had been looking for a place to take a snack but found no place, so we stopped here and broke out a Space Blanket to sit.

Above Right: Near the end of our snack, Robert from Plymouth (perhaps Portsmouth), England, happened to meet us while riding the GDMBR from the opposite direction. Rob is the only rider that we met on the route. We had a pleasant interchange.

Above: We continue to ride uphill on the GDMBR (NF 115, MT).

Above: We are still riding uphill on the GDMBR (NF 115, MT).

Above Left: We are within a mile or two of the Red Meadow Lake Pass and it is steep (steeper than captured by the camera). We have run into loose gravel and we had to push the bike, this time, for 50-60 yards/meters. This is the bike pusher.

Above Right: Climbing is now performed from the saddle and the push slopes are behind us.

Above: Red Meadow Lake, Montana, on the GDMBR, NF 115. We have cycled near the pass but we still have a half mile (1 k) to pedal yet.

Above: The mountain meadow of Red Meadow Lake Pass, MT, GDMBR.

Above: The actual pass and first hairpin turn of Red Meadow Lake Pass (~5600'/1700m). The rear end of our tandem's load is barely visible in this 180 degree composite image.

Above Left: The bad news is that we still have 6 miles to bike, the good news is that it is all downhill.

Above Right: GDMBR, NF 115, heading south for the Upper Whitefish Lake and Campground.

Above Left: GDMBR, NF 115, heading south for the Upper Whitefish Lake and Campground.

Above Right: Bear Warning signs about half way to our campground destination; we change from the Flathead National Forest to the Stillwater State Forest.

Above Left: We could camp almost anywhere at this point; it was easy to find water.

Above Right: Our first glimpse of Upper Whitefish Lake. We still pedal another mile to find the campground.

Above Left: The very first campground site next to the lake is empty (Upper Whitefish Lake Campground - No Fee, No Water, Yes Toilets). We had a tent up and water boiling within 15 minutes.

Above Right: The Trout are biting.

Above Left: Dennis typically pitches the tent and then lays out the Sleeping Pad and Sleeping Bag.

Above Right: Terry typically starts dinner and the first step is to boil water. If we are out of water then we need to get water first (a water filter and chemical treatment procedure). Otherwise getting water can wait, it is best performed as a joint operation.

Above Left: The Bee starts to look naked as we pull off loaded items.

Above Right: There are ripe Raspberries in the Camp Area. I actually put my scent marks up high on all of the nearby trees - It must have worked because we had zero late night visitors.

Above Left: We took turns operating the Water Filter.

Above Right - WARNING SIGN: TWO KINDS of Bears Here!.

Above: A perfect picture of our camp. We ate dinner, cleaned the dishes, cleaned ourselves, and put everything away. The Laundry is hanging on the bike to dry and the food, trash, hygiene, and medical supplies are all stored in the Bear Proof Safe which is sitting on the picnic table. We just left the Bear Safe there on the table for the night; we often hide it from people about 50 feet from camp.