Circling the U.S. Chapter 33: When the Sun Came Out (and the Rain Came Again...and Again)

Sunday, August 25, 2019 (continued)

We made it to the summit of Logan Pass. Now we had to get down.

In 1980 I cycled up Logan Pass in the other direction. When I summited, it was raining. Not trusting my brakes on the steep road in the rain, I caught a ride down with someone in a camper. This time we have disc brakes that are supposed to work when wet. Still.

Inside the visitor center, I took off my rain jacket and pants and hung them on a railing. I put on warm tights, wool socks, and another sweater. I wrung the water out of my socks, hat, neck gaitor, and riding gloves, and hung them up on a railing, with little hope that they would actually dry. There was water everywhere, on the floor and on the bench where we were all sitting.

Rob had brought in our lunch food. The day before, in St. Mary, I'd bought bologna in memory of my previous bike ride through this part of the world. And I paid $6 for a pack of American cheese with 12 slices, the only cheese they had. I devoured one bologna sandwich and one bologna and cheese sandwich. Rob made a peanut butter sandwich and ate some cheese slices. We ate some snack mix and spilled some all over the bench we were sitting on. I wasn’t in the mood for any of the fruit we’d bought before the climb, but still shared an apple with Rob. 

Other bicyclists trickled in, a dozen from an Adventure Cycling tour. We’d met several of them the day before on the road. They didn’t seem interested in talking to us, just to each other. So we passed the time getting to know Michele and Kevin. They're both from Michigan, making them the fourth fun and friendly Michigan couple we've met so far. I suggested that if the rain didn’t stop we might get a room together. 

Someone said it was sleeting outside. We couldn't see; the windows were all fogged up.

The view from the visitor's center.

It’s twenty miles from the summit to Lake McDlonald where there is lodging and restaurants. The road from there to Apgar Village, about eight miles, is closed to bicycles between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. I was for riding down to Lake McDonald where we could at least dry out and then make a plan for the evening. Kevin said he didn’t want to go through the whole deal of getting dressed to go out in the rain, then go through it all again at Lake McDonald to get down to Apgar Campground after 4:00. He wanted to wait until late enough to go straight through to Apgar Village where he and Michele were planning to camp. He had a point.

We made the most of our time hanging out, getting to know one another. That's Kevin and Michele. Michele was resourceful, going outside and making herself a cup of coffee. She spent three years bicycle touring around Europe.

I walked over to the information desk and asked one of the rangers, "Do you know what the weather is doing at Lake McDonald?" Maybe it wasn't raining there.

She handed me the weather forecast for the day. "That's all we have," she said.

A woman standing next to me said, "We just came from there. It's raining."

Eventually the Adventure Cycling group trickled back outside to take the shuttle bus down to the park entrance, two at a time because that's how many bikes each bus could hold. I thought about that as a possibility, but neither Michele, Kevin, or Rob brought it up. I guessed we were riding down.

Michele suggested we start down at 1:30. Around 1:00 we started getting dressed to go outside.

I asked, "Do you guys have disc brakes or caliper?"

Michele said, "I have a new bike with disc brakes. Kevin still has caliper brakes."

Outside, while we were getting on our bikes, the clouds started to lift.

We turned on lights and agreed to stay together. It was still raining. We took it slow, taking up the entire lane. My brakes worked beautifully on the narrow, winding road. I didn't care if cars had to ride slowly behind us. If the road were dry, we'd be stuck behind them wanting to go fast.

Then, just a few minutes after we'd started, the magic began.

It's difficult to describe the overwhelming sense of joy I felt as we were riding down wet roads and started seeing patches of blue sky and the mountains with clouds below us scattered about. The pictures cannot possibly capture the majesty of the scene.

It was still pretty cold. We all had plastic bags on our feet. Michele and Kevin had plastic bags over their gloves. Rob's gloves were wet and his hands cold.

When we passed the waterfall, I was still too cold to stop and take a picture. I was happy to be able to capture it when we were further down the pass.

If we looked carefully, we could see the road near the summit and the road below where we were headed. It was impressive to think we were doing it under our own power.

At one of the scenic stops a church youth bible group was tailgating. As we pulled in they called out, "We have four extra hotdogs!" They were terrific, along with chips and juice.

The clouds kept lifting, the sun shined down on us. How could it possibly rain again?

The sun was out; we were at a lower elevation; it was time to take off all those extra clothes. But Rob and I were too optimistic and had to stop a few miles later to put some back on.

With just a few miles to go before Lake McDonald, dark clouds rolled in ahead of us.

We arrived at Lake McDonald around 4:30. Michele and Kevin had plans to go on to Apgar Village. Rob said he was too wiped; we'd camp nearby at Sprague Creek. But first, we had to share celebratory beers. As we were walking our bikes to get them, I said to Rob, "Order me a beer while I check out the rooms at the motel we just passed. They had a vacancy sign out."

I stopped in at the motel office and found out that a room with two double beds cost $195. No way could Rob and I afford that. But maybe if Kevin and Michele shared a room?

It started raining while I walked my bike back to Jammer Joe's where beer was waiting. Rob, Michele, and Kevin were at the counter ordering. I sat down at a table by the window and watched the rain come down. When Kevin and Michele joined me, Michele said, "We're not going to Apgar. It's too late. We'll camp here."

I was glad to hear that. It would be fun having another couple to camp with and share dinner. If we camped.

I said, "We can get a room for $195 if you guys can handle a double bed."

Michele said, "It's a thought."

I didn't push it. The woman at the motel had said they had several rooms left. I figured if we decided to get a room and they were all gone we'd just deal with it, putting up our tent in the rain, if it was still raining.

Rob joined us and we drank a toast to Logan Pass. I said, "What an amazing experience that was." Both ways.

The rain didn't stop. We finished our beers and decided the motel was a good choice. We paid for our room and unloaded our panniers. While we were spreading all our wet gear around the room, the sky cleared and the sun came out. Michele and I both said, "We could be camping." The men both said, "Don't worry about it."

Over dinner, back at Jammer Joe's, the rain came pouring down while we enjoyed inexpensive Italian dinners with beer and wine and forged new friendships.