Big sky - Day 20, Darby to Jackson

Another Trans-Am racer passed me around 5 AM while I was packing up to leave. You can tell the racers from their gear – casual tourists like me have big, puffy bags sticking out to each side, while the racers just have streamlined frame and seat bags. I left with the goal of catching him, and actually succeeded when I saw his bike stopped outside a cafe in Sula. I spoke with him a while, wrote the previous blog posts, and left to attack Chief Joseph's Pass.

I had to stop frequently throughout my 3,200 ft climb due to allergies that kept making me cough and get short of breath. I'd been dealing with these all through the Bitterroot Valley, so it was nice when I finally summitted and felt a little better. Chief Joseph's Pass is also the Continental Divide, which I think means that I get to go downhill all the way to Virginia. I'll have to double-check that.

In the meantime, I've stopped in Wisdom, MT to clear my blog backlog (backblog?), which was starting to get pretty heavy. Wisdom is in the Big Hole Valley, land of 10,000 haystacks, which is clearly where Montana keeps its famous big sky. I skipped the Big Hole Battlefield Monument on the way because I expect it's more triumphant than contemplative. Maybe it'd prove me wrong, but I didn't really want to deal with it otherwise.

I think I'll push for Jackson tonight. Here are some pictures from today, including the current state of my beard, which grows much faster out here in the wild west. Also, I can't help but constantly squint if I'm not wearing my sunglasses.