I90 into Missoula

[datatrident]

Good day all,

A group of us are biking a route next summer that is a combination of ACA's Lewis and Clark and Tour Divide. One week of riding from Jackson Hole to Missoula.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6026266

The last day of riding we want to divert a bit and head up Rock Creek Rd before finishing in Missoula. How is I90 west from Clinton?

Cheers,
Whit

[indyfabz]

Fine. You don't have to be on it for long. Get off at the first exit west of Rock Creek Rd. and then follow the parallel roads to the north of I-90. IIRC, there is even some bike trail/rideable sidwalk. Keep goingf past the post office and golf course and then you will evetually cross under I-90 and end up on E. Broadway. This is basically what we did to ACA's headquarters:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6669195

Rock Creek Rd. is a wonderful ride. Did it from the Jct. with MT 348 in 2011. If you want a commercial campground, there is a nice one right by the creek just before you reach I-90. No groceries near, but the restaurant is good.

http://ekstromstagestation.com/

I think we stayed in site No. 14.

Maybe 10 miles before you get there, you will pass Trout Bum, which is an outiftter and real estate agency. They have good coffee (including espresso). They also sell energy bars if you need a snack.

Just a bit of a warning: I see you plan to ride Skalkaho. This past June I rode the entire length, from MT 1 to Hamilton. Up from Hamilton, it's a long slog, and once you hit the dirt it can get steep, bumpy and rocky in places. The descent down to Rock Creek Rd. is a nicer surface and is actually paved for a decent stretch in the middle. Dirt ends just before Gem Mountain.

The Gem Mountain c-store shown on your map had very limited snacks and drinks, including bottled water (no drinkable tap water), and a few nukeable sandwiches. It's not really a store per se. They just sell stuff out of the office. If you have an hour or so to kill, I recommend buying a bucket of dirt and panning for sapphires. Make sure you have bug spray.

Once you turn left onto Rock Creek Rd., you will pass The Ranch at Rock Creek, which is an exclusive, all-inclusive resort where cabins go for over $5K/night. Doesn't seem like the place to pop in for a snack. Trout Bum, mentioned above, will be the next source for snacks. I think or more of the campgrounds shown on your map have water.

There is a really seedy bar at the I-90 interchange which is home to the "Testicle Festival." If they serve food, they were no longer serving it when we walked there for some take-out beer. Even if they had been serving food, I would have only eaten there if I had been starving. Treat yourself to a steak and salad bar if you stay at Ekstroms Stage. It's going to be a long day if you come from Hamilton.

[datatrident]

Fantastic information indyfabz, thank you so much!

Cheers,
Whit

[indyfabz]

I just made a few edits to my response.

If you go here, this photo and all but the subsquent ones but the last three were taken on Skalkaho (one at Gem Mountain) from near the junction of Rock Creek Rd. towards Hamilton:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/14577286403/in/set-72157645062932708

The top of the pass sign looked to have been broken off in an avalanche so I fixed it. I was there in late June and you can still see some patches of snow near the summit.

I will try to post some photos from Rock Creek this evening.

[datatrident]

Excellent! I am modifying our route to follow your suggestions. Loving the photos.

Cheers,
Whit

[indyfabz]

A couple of other things...Red Barn Bicycles, just off Sleeping Child Rd., is worth a look see. It really is in an old, red barn, and the people who work there have been nice the two times I have stopped in. There is nothing between Darby and the start of Sklalkaho if you take Old Darby Rd. and Sleeping Child Rd. (which I recommend), so you will have to go to U.S. 93 and into the center of Hamilton if you need supplies. There will be a Safeway supermarket on your right in the middle of town.

Don't know when you plan on starting, but Skalkaho can experience closures due to slides/washouts caused by melting snow in June. We intended to ride it in early July of 2011, but it was impassable at the falls. Earlier in the trip we fortuitously ran into an ACA employee at a hot spings. He is the one who told us about Rock Creek Rd. as an alternative out of Philipsburg.

When I rode it this year, part of it was officially closed south of the falls due a slide, but I was able to get through with a bike. Only had to walk a short distance, and the space between the barriers was wide enough to squeeze through with the loaded bike. There was heavy equipment up there but no road crews on a Friday afternoon. If you call 511 you reach MDOT's automated road conditions report. The best source of real life conditions are the locals. This year, the slide had already happened when I started my trip from Missoula. I cheked with the shop on U.S. 93 in the center of Hamilton and Red Barn on day one and was told I should be able to get through. Since I was riding it from north to south later in the trip, I inquired at the Gem Mountain retail store in Philipsburg and then again at the mine itself. Everyone thought I would be able to get through.

Closure can be a good thing. The only vehicles I enountered between Gem Mountain and the small, U.S.F.S. Black Bear Campground outside of Hamilton were a convoy of dump trucks taking dirt up to a small section of the road north of the pass that was being graded.

[CMajernik]

Whit:
Email me directly and I can send you a pdf showing the frontage roads you can ride on between Missoula and Clinton.
cmajernik@adventurecycling.org

[BobG]

I rode your proposed route west over Lemhi Pass on a trip back in 1983. The climb was rocky and rough but well worth it for the long, glorious descent into Idaho. Here's some pics of conditions back then.........

A rocky double track up the eastern side from Grant MT-



A cattle guard at the top-



A heavenly descent through the sagebrush into Idaho!



Enjoy your trip!

[datatrident]

Wow! I cannot wait!

Thanks,
Whit

[indyfabz]

Some photos of Rock Creek Rd.:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2007/sets/72157647572217733/

I went mostly with those that show road conditions. That white stuff you see if calcium chloride. The Forest Service puts it down in places to control dust. It makes the road surface damp, resulting in a dirty spray. We had to hose off our bikes at the campground. The cable bridge affords a nice view of the rapids rushing underneath. Finally, I included a photo of the I-90 entrance ramp. It was probably taken around 9 a.m. I ride to work in heavier traffic.