Finding the Quiet...

This past week has been full of activity. We went places, rode hard, picnic lunched, explored... we had great successes, disasters, and close encounters with wildlife.

Today I wanted to put together a kind of retrospective. A recap. I wanted perspective. I was going solo. The memorable rides of the last week took us to Mount Jumbo, to Rattlesnake, to Grant Creek, and savoring the sumptuous singletrack in Sawmill. Was there a way to re-experience all of them for myself in the same ride? A perusal of my maps suggested that there was.

I started up toward Lincoln Hills Drive just before 8am. The climb up the road was fast, a good wake-up effort after a 5 mile warm up. I made an adjustment to the cleat on my right shoe, attempting to address some asymmetrical discomfort. Stopping to stretch at the Jumbo Saddle TH, and just looking around was beautiful... it was dreamlike.

Riding into a Van Gogh.

Started the climb up toward the Ridge Trail feeling strong. The bike was SO much lighter without the trailer and Julian onboard. I started thinking about this... it was a good experience to be out here solo, but he would have just loved it. Once, I started to turn around to point something out to him, and realized he wasn't there.

I contoured around the saddle thinking about my route, consulting the GPS, and second-guessing a few uncertain trail junctions. I remember noticing, and even informing myself "Hey, there's an awful lot of stuff making a racket in my head right now... I should really just enjoy the ride."

Switchbacks up the Ridge Trail.

Then the trail came out of the trees for a second and the bottom dropped out of the world. My breath caught in my throat.

View from the Ridge Trail, looking down into the Missoula Valley.
Sentinel on the far left, Jumbo just left of center,
Lolo peak in the distance on the far right.

I reached the top of the first big climb and chatted with another mountain biker named Scott for a minute or three to catch my breath. I double checked my directions, and headed down Woods Gulch. This was a steep, undulating, and surprisingly rocky trail which sometimes ran alongside a creek, and sometimes became the creek.

I found myself daydreaming a bit, letting my mind wander and letting the bike run. I quickly realized I needed to be on guard as a hairpin switchback or two popped up.

Change of direction, change of altitude, change of attitude.

By the time I started cruising down toward the Rattlesnake Main TH I knew my ride was almost half over, and started thinking about how to approach Sawmill. Then I stopped on the bridge to put that thought down and pick up an image of the creek. It is truly amazing how much it changes, even from week to week.

Rattlesnake Creek near the Main TH.
So much water.

Up the main corridor, hook back to the Sawmill Gulch singletrack access, start climbing. I decided against doing a bunch of loops and just went for the most direct route. Not the fastest, the most direct. Also probably the steepest. There was some hiking. Not a huge amount, but a nice walk. There are far worse things than having to take a walk with your bike through the woods on a beautiful day.

And the riding... well... let's just say that my mind was starting to quiet. My singletrack fix for the day was turning into a real binge. I remember the thoughts just fading away until there was only the trail, the woods, and I didn't even notice the bike anymore. Maybe there was one thought.... "singletrack"..... maybe there was drooling... couldn't say for sure.

Sensational Singletrack up Sawmill.

Between the earth and the sky is this narrow road, tread upon it with mindfulness, be happy.
In the next moment it is gone.

Remains of a tree.

The next thought I had was when I reached the Stuart Peak Trail junction and looked at my altimeter... 5100 feet... and I looked at my arms covered in a sheen of sweat. I had been drinking, but barely keeping up with what I was losing. I drank some water and ate more shot bloks. Ravine trail had to be close, and with it the promise of a sweeping downhill into Grant Creek.

I reached the Ravine TH just before noon, and took a brief moment to check myself. Breathing was good, hydration okay, peed almost clear, feeling a little hot but it was warm out and the rain that was "likely" hadn't shown up yet. Back on the bike, and pointed down.

Switchbacks down the Ravine Trail.

Snowbowl through the trees.

Once again on Ravine I had that experience of inner quiet. The trail lost elevation quickly, but undulated and twisted like a snake. The mental focus was intense, and as speed picked up on the straights near the bottom a feeling of exhiliration washed over, soon replaced by relief at the sight of Grant Creek Rd.

Back on the road, 22mph down the pavement and having thoughts in pictures instead of words, alternating between reflecting on the experiences of the day and being fully conscious of the whirring of tires on the road and wind in my ears.

Back to town via Grant Creek Rd.

Up Lincoln Hills Drive to Jumbo Saddle, up the North Loop and Ridge Trail, down Woods Gulch,
up Sawmill, down Ravine Trail, down Grant Creek Rd. 33 miles, 4000 ft. of climbing.