To say I had the entire campground all to myself last night is the understatement of the year. I was afforded such a luxury maybe because I decided to stay at an unsigned abandoned USFS campground. I was a little nervous because it was so quiet that I could hear every creature that moved all through the night. I may have woken up a few times in the middle of the night and laid quietly listening to make sure the noise I heard was not that of a big creature walking around nearby all while my heart was pounding loudly.

This morning was the coldest yet and I used my rain jacket as another layer to keep me nice and cozy. My fingers and toes just had to hush it until about 8 am. I had a large herd of elk take off and run parallel with me momentarily and then go down the hill out of sight to only have a couple more reappear. I am truly blessed sometimes during this adventure. This definitely took my mind off the cold temperatures

The ride to Butte was very pleasant and I am glad the route was designed to climb up to a ridgeline to allow for a great view of the city. Butte looks great from such a distance and vantage point.

My top priority in Butte was to get breakfast, lunch and dinner at a convenient store. Yep, just like old times. Victory.

After leaving Butte, I ended up arriving at Thompson Park and there seemed to be a bunch of mountain biking routes displayed at the kiosk. The first trail taken was short, but really neat as it was an historic railroad line made into a trail. The second and only other trail I was able to explore today as part of the GDMBR was obviously a mountain bike trail.

I was passed by one local rider and he was having a blast. I was too busy hiking at the beginning of the trail to show the same enthusiasm. It did get rideable soon enough and my spirits were indeed lifted.

The last segment of the day would be to get to the campsite closest to Fleecer Ridge. This will allow me to make tomorrow’s attempt at the gnarly descent after climbing up to the amazing ridge with me as fresh as possible. I enjoyed some great views today as I climbed higher and higher while on my mission.

I made it to the campsite and picked my site as fast as I could since there was a storm coming. As soon as I was setting up my tent the rain started. I hurriedly got everything that needed to stay dry in the tent and the bottom dropped out. Lightning immediately followed by loud thunder along with some pea-sized hail to give the ground that salted look. After the torrential rain ended in about fifteen minutes, I reevaluated my tent location and promptly moved the tent to a better situation, one without water flowing underneath.

Expert Tip Of The Day: Waterproof bags are only waterproof when they are closed.