Riding the Great Divide Trail. Day 4. Holland Lake to Seeley Lake.

At about 1100 we started another long climb. Up to our left was the huge Bob Marshall Wilderness where no logging and no mechanical vehicles including bicycles were allowed.

Julie and I had once intended to hike the “Bob” but we never got around to it.

As we rose above 6000 feet, the forest opened and we could see the summits of the Swan Mountains

The last stage, about 17 miles into the ride, narrowed to a rocky, downhill path, some parts of which were a narrow ledge across landfalls and which, according to the guidebook, “riders either love or hate”, full of “downfall, overgrowth, rocks and washouts”.

My full-suspension bike handled it well and I whooped as I went down.

Jamie had a bike designed for touring, without suspension forks, strong enough for the Ortlieb panniers with the food and tools and all the other stuff he was carrying.

He got pretty “rattled”, as he put it.

We pitched our tent in the grounds of the Seeley Lake Motor Lodge.

At Seeley Lake there was a grocery with a pizzeria and a laundromat. We used the laundromat and sat outside while we waited, talking to some people about what it was like to live there.

There was also a Conoco gas station with a cafe where we could get access to the internet.

The death toll in Gaza has now reached over 1000. A seven hour truce has been declared.

The Big Bang cast have won contracts worth over $300m for the next few series.

“A little science goes a long way”, Jamie said with a smile.

I also picked up an email from Henry.