It's summer, and that means it's time for our annual run at another BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route). We've been doing these for a decade now, and - at least for the western states' routes - we're starting to run out of options!
Luckily, the good folks over at RideBDR must have a sixth sense about these kinds of things, because just a few weeks before our departure, they released what they called the "final link in the Western BDR system," a 900-mile route from the southern border between Idaho and Montana to the Canadian border.
Crossing more than thirteen mountain ranges, the MTBDR takes climbs high into Big Sky Country, weaving together alpine ridgelines, remote valleys, dense pine forests, historic mining towns, wide-open ranchlands, and rugged two-track roads. With perhaps the best first stage of any BDR we've run, it kicks off through the Gravelly Range, before working its way north through the Ruby River Valley, and the Pioneer, Highland, and Cabinet Mountains.
Of course - and as usual - we wouldn't limit ourselves to the exact route; straying to investigate nearly-on-the-route attractions has become one of our favorite parts of the BDRs
Stage 1: Island Park to Virginia City | 127 miles
Stage 2: Virginia City to Butte | 139 miles
Stage 3: Butte to Lincoln | 146 miles
Stage 4: Lincoln to Seeley Lake | 72 miles
Stage 5: Seeley Lake to St. Regis | 133 miles
Stage 6: St. Regis to Thompson Falls | 72 miles
Stage 7: Thompson Falls to Libby | 113 miles
Stage 8: Libby to Canada | 125 miles
As usual, BDR routes can be found on the RideBDR web site. I always find there's a little work to get them into tip-top shape, but that just gets you a little more familiar with the route before you embark yourself!
Island Park to Virginia City - Mud, Snow, and Motorcycles Only | MTBDR #1 - It's summer, and that means it's time for our annual run at another BDR (Backcountry Discovery Route). We've been doing these for a decade now, and - at least for the western states' routes - we're starting to run out of options! Luckily, the good folks over at RideBDR must have a sixth sense about these kinds of things, because just a few weeks before our departure, they released what they called the "final link in the Western BDR system," a 900-mile route from the southern border between Idaho and Montana to the Canadian border. Getting There As always, the…
Virginia City to Butte - History on Display | MTBDR #2 - Virginia City - a self-described ghost town; full of living people. After surviving the sloppy descent into Virginia City, we wasted no time in fueling up and getting back on the road. We'd covered significantly less ground than we'd planned to on the first day of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR), and @mrs.turbodb had informed me that we would need to cover 200 miles per day from here on out if we were going to complete the route in the time we'd allotted. That's a tall order - even for us - but we hoped that the long mid-summer…
Butte to Lincoln - Mines! | MTBDR #3 - I'm not sure "on Earth" is really true, and there isn't really a hill, anymore, but we'll get to that in a moment. Butte was by far the largest city - or town, if you ask @mrs.turbodb - that we'd pass through on the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR). Being the hub between Stage 2 and Stage 3 was nice, as it meant that anyone who had run into trouble on the first couple of stages could pop into a local auto parts store or shop to get those issues addressed, before tackling the final six stages. And the three…
Lincoln to Seeley Lake - Wide Open | MTBDR #4 - Where the first three stages of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR) were more than 125 miles in length, Stage 4 was a mere 72 miles and contained no expert alternate routes that would - at least in concept - suck up more trail time. What it did contain, however, were a couple of BDR-suggested attractions that were high on our list to see. The first of those was just outside of Lincoln, so before even really getting underway, we were out of the truck and traipsing into the Sculpture in the Wild. Once so ubiquitous in Montana and the…
Seeley Lake to St. Regis - Buddhas and Bikes | MTBDR #5 - Rolling into Seeley Lake at 6:31am on the Fourth of July, we'd be forgiven if we'd thought it much later in the day. The town was bustling with activity in preparation for what was surely going to be a huge celebration. Perhaps this was - as their slogan insisted - The Middle of Everywhere. With a couple of errands to run - we needed to pick up some milk for breakfast, some small chocolates to offer as gifts to future fire lookout occupants, and something else I don't entirely recall - we cruised down the main drag, the entirety of…
St. Regis to Thompson Falls - Nothing to See | MTBDR #6 - Having made the decision to eat lunch at the top-rated restaurant in town - technically, the Conoco gas station - we glanced at each other as we entered the establishment to a sign notifying us that the wait time was upwards of twenty minutes. Sure that this must be the time for to-go orders - as opposed to priority customers that opted to eat there - we grabbed a table and quickly homed in on the special - Huck's Burgers. Top tier St. Regis eatery. Placing our order, we were sure that our starving stomachs would be imminently satisfied, but…
Thompson Falls to Libby - Gold and a Go-Around | MTBDR #7 - Having both very much enjoyed the dam at Thompson Falls more than I thought we would - and having already completed two stages of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route over the course of the day - we had no aspirations to make it deep into Stage 7 before settling down for the night. Rather, our only hope was getting out of town. If we found a nice spot with a view, that would be icing on the cake. Headed out of Thompson Falls, into the Cabinet Mountains. As they'd been earlier in the day, the roads started out smooth. Pavement…
Libby to Canada - Land of the Lookouts | MTBDR #8 - Welcome to Libby. As we pulled into Libby, the sign welcoming us to town was fantastic. Unlike the other small towns we'd been through in northwestern Montana, there was no WordArt here. Surely a sign doesn't say much about the people in a place - Lincoln, Seeley Lake and Thompson Falls had all been quite nice - but it was cool to see something a little more permanent as we transitioned onto the eighth stage of the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route. We weren't planning to spend any time in Libby - we had plenty of fuel to take us through…
The Best First Stage; Otherwise, Idaho's Better | MTBDR Epilogue - After completing the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route, we're up to ten BDRs since we started running them in 2017. Through the running of each one, @mrs.turbodb and I are - as you can imagine - regularly comparing the current BDR to the past ones. Now that I've been writing down these thoughts for the last five or so, it seems like a good tradition to continue into the future. TL;DR - The Montana BDR had the absolute best Stage 1 of any BDR we've run. Working through the ridgelines of the Gravelly Mountains - especially early in the season when…