On this morning, we would start an uphill ride toward Lolo Pass. I believe this was approximately 1200 feet of climbing in 10 miles. Around 8am, we reached the pass and enjoyed free coffee provided by the US Forest Service staff at the visitor's center. From here, we coasted downhill toward Lolo and eventually Missoula. Along the descent from Lolo Pass, we passed by what must have been a somewhat recent forest fire. It appeared that the highway acted as a buffer of sorts, because on the right trees were entirely scorched whereas on the left the were only slightly burned. By my best guess, there was 70 feet that separated the tree lines on each shoulder. I can only imagine how massive these flames were! When we arrived in Missoula, we stopped at REI to stock up on dehydrated food since we had about a week of camping ahead of us after Missoula. After this, we checked into a hotel in the northwestern part of the city, as we had a planned rest day for the 2nd. After checking in and cleaning up, we had dinner at the neighboring Montana Club (does dining make us members?). From here, we called it an evening, because we were going to be on a search for an open bike shop on the following day.
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