Bikeetching

Bikeetching

Monday, August 24, 2015

Day 60 Missoula MT to Idaho

Day total 78
Trip total 3,237

In answer to many recent e-mail inquiries, yes, the fires currently raging in the Pacific Northwest are an issue. Actually the biggest issue we have faced so far. Planning this trip in snow covered Boston months ago we never anticipated forest fires, which now that we are here and understand more about the local climate that oversight is akin to planning a trip to the northeast in February and not thinking to plan for snow.

We left Montana today with only two more states left of this journey (Idaho and Washington). At this point we have survived the traffic and urban congestion of the northeast, a heatwave in the south, food deserts in the Midwest, desolation, thunderstorms and hail in Wyoming, and bears in the Tetons but this, the fires that continue to ignite (specially along route 12 our path out of Montana and into Washington) might be what brings our trip to an early end.

We have masks (which I judged when Nik originally purchased from the hardware store but are actually necessary) we are checking fire maps regularly and yes we promise to be careful. Many thanks to everyone for your concern.

As an aside we weighed our bikes at Adventure Cycling (the non profit behind bike touring) in Missoula. Nik's weighed 105 (that includes the bike)
My weighed in at 75 (but let me justify that discrepency by saying that is without food which I normally carry).

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