I thought seriously about skipping today because I was watching The Open in St. Andrews and it was pretty exciting. I dragged my sorry self out anyway and drove to Rogers Pass. I didn't want a major effort (like going up the CD Trail either way), so I took the road that winds around east of the Divide, what I think of as the back side, to the country below the cliffs on the CD Trail south of the pass. This picture shows the Divide, where the trail runs right on the ridge top.


This is just turning a little left (southward) from the same spot, and you can see the Divide. The trail is just on the other side of the peaks and right in the saddles.


On this little ridge, there's actually a trail (though I couldn't see it from here today) that goes up the back (east) side to the high trail on the Continental Divide. It's a shorter route than the regular CD Trail, and I've done it once, but it's rough and steep.

The road I ran on today actually winds its way around into the South Fork of the Dearborn drainage, with a side track onto Sunset Mountain where a cluster of radio and microwave towers stand. A short distance up the road, I met a guy from Minnesota who was just heading out to go to the highway and ride back home on Highway 200 to Great Falls and beyond. He was on one of those weird-looking super-fat-tired bikes, and had ridden what's being called the Great Divide Trail, which is not to be confused with the CD Trail. It's a bike trail that starts in Canada and finds its way, on bike trails, down the Swan, over to Ovando and Lincoln, and on. In fact, I've been seeing lots of riders going from Lincoln to Helena on the Stemple Pass (dirt) road, which in years gone by was unusual.

Anyway, we chatted for a bit before I proceeded.


This is looking down on Highway 200's single 20 mph hairpin from near the spot where he and I talked.

I went to the Sunset Mtn spot and peeked down into the Dearborn before turning around. It was a longer run than I originally intended, but I felt good. Beautiful day: started at 45 degrees and finished at 65, with a light breeze. I probably will skip tomorrow to watch the fourth round of The Open, then do a Flesher Pass run Tuesday on the way to Helena for some shopping and banking.

5; 34; 75; 655