We’ve left the northern Rocky Mountains behind, and entered a parched land dominated by the spirits of ancient volcanos. While we’re no longer climbing over big mountain passes, every cycling day brings new challenges. Baking sun, shorter-but-steeper hills, scarce water, and difficult road surfaces all add to the sense of wildness and adventure. But then you come upon a town with bubbling, carbonated springs, or a massive freshwater lake that seem like mirages in this arid land.

Forest fires continued to impact our cycling on the third segment of the Western Wildlands Bikepacking Route (WWR). Smoke from the fires shrouded the mountains, and several fires burned close to our path. Would we make it through or have to detour? Eventually, the forests gave way to wide open, sage-covered hills. The immediate danger of fire had passed, but the smoke still followed us southward.

We were tested both mentally and physically by the second leg of the Western Wildlands Bikepacking Route (WWR). Several long climbs over mountain passes, in record-setting heat, took us through quaint old mining towns in the heart of the Northern Rockies. But the big test was the “infamous” Magruder Corridor - three days of tough riding across a massive wilderness area. Were we up to the challenge? We were about to find out.

We’re finally cycling on the Western Wildlands Bikepacking Route. It wasn’t long before we were experiencing both the joys of the gorgeous Montana and Idaho backroads, as well as the tribulations of laboring up rugged mountain roads. But we eventually found our climbing legs, so that we can more easily tackle the region’s iconic mountain passes.