Epic Great Divide - Day 15

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Butte KOA Campground, Butte, MT to Beaverdam USFS Campground, Butte, MT

37.6 miles/60.5 kilometers

3523 feet/1074 meters elevation gain

Semi-primitive camping. Pit toilets, no showers but water pump, no electricity, no potable water, picnic tables, trash cans.

Elevation – 6605 feet

Another shorter ride today. Not exactly sure why but regardless, it was quite scenic. Last night we stayed at a KOA campground that for some reason, had bright lights shining all night long. There was also a lot of highway traffic nearby and hardly anyone slept well. The pretty ride today was good for everyone’s disposition.

Well, that is until perhaps the end of the ride … Stephanie finished first and had to wait more than an hour for the van to show up with cold drinks and our duffles. I finished just five minutes after the van arrived and I was not happy that I had to wait even fifteen minutes to get a cold beverage. This trip was very expensive for all of us except the five college affiliated riders who didn’t pay a dime themselves. For some reason, the college riders are being catered to in every way and it is really becoming quite problematic.

The van driver today was Adrianne and she had five hours to drive the van 15 miles to our campsite. What the heck was she doing during those five hours? I hate to be grumpy about this but the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) has done an extremely poor job in hiring this person as a tour leader. I’m pretty sure I could write at least a thousand words describing why I think this but for now, I will try to refrain. Denny, the other leader who started with us will be back and Adrianne will eventually depart. Our one constant leader, Richard, is excellent.

Oy. On to more positive notes. The ride. The first ten miles were on the side of the highway which was not great but because it was 8:00 am, there actually wasn’t much traffic. After that stretch, we turned off onto a side rode that became gravel. That’s when the beautiful scenery began.

In addition to many boulders and tall evergreens, the forest floor was covered in what looked like light green soft moss in many places. It reminded me of Ireland – I expected a tiny fairy person to jump out in front of my bike at any moment! Yellow, white, purple, red, orange, pink and bright fuchsia colored wild flowers were scattered abundantly everywhere. So pretty!

At about mile twenty, after a pretty long descent, the route opened up into a vast meadow covered with a low type of shrub. It was amazing! Pictures don’t do it justice but I did try take some. I captured a few grazing cows but they were definitely not the superstars of the day. The vastness was breathtaking.

After a couple of pretty steep descents, the last eight miles of the route were a bit of a slog. Still pretty in varied terrain, but a gradual ascent until the end. Tomorrow we will have to travel back over those same eight miles to leave the camping area. It will be nice, however, to descend instead of ascend,

For dinner, Adrianne and Dave made quinoa, stir fry vegetables, and tofu. It was colorful but unfortunately, very bland. Most people put hot sauce on it. I did not eat the tofu. A former vegan, I don’t mind meatless meals one bit. I do mind, however, the attitude with which it was served. The vegetarians and gluten free person acted like they were doing everyone a favor by educating us what a healthy meal looked like. All three of those peeps eat so much junk food throughout the day that it’s impossible to take any of them seriously.

Anyway, I have obviously allowed my grumpiness to creep back in. I think I will retire for the night. We have another shorter-than-forty-mile ride tomorrow but this one will be single-track with a couple miles of more than 30% grade descents. I will definitely be walking my bike down those! Some of the riders are opting to take an alternate rode route but for now, I’m planning to tackle the main tour divide mountain bike route. We’ve been told it’s pretty gorgeous!

Okay, time for sleep. Goodnight from Montana!