Day 476 – US – Montana [Alberton to Missoula]


24/07/21

50km

  From Alberton (Montana) to Missoula (Montana)

North America


Meeting lovely generous people and a long run to Missoula, heading for a rest day

Jeff, Kathleen, me and Mark

Yesterday evening, as I was looking at the river that flows just by the camping ground, a group of friends came to take pictures nearby, a glass of wine in their hand. Not a common sight around here. Kathleen, her husband Jeff and brother Mark are on a cross country trip, they are Californian and into endurance running and triathlon. We chatted and soon they invited me over for drinks and dinner at the local joint. How can you say no! Thank you to the three of you for the wonderful evening, it was also a brilliant way to make me forget about the incident of that day 🙂

Out on the empty road to Missoula

I set out in the morning and I decided to stick to the main road (the Interstate) for the first half of the run. I had not been able, with Google Maps imagery, to verify all the paths. And in the light of the “private property incident” of yesterday, I decided against going there blind. Good choice, as the IS was really empty and I ran on that wide shoulder that felt really safe. With the river and railroad to my right, the mountains to my left, the landscapes were particularly stunning.

Hazy atmosphere, hard working helicopters

As I approached Missoula, the air became more and more hazy. To the point that it became really hard to keep running. It did not smell of burning. But the prolonged effort felt much harder than it should have. I multiplied my breaks, stopping every few kilometers. Overhead the helicopters were going all over the place with their buckets hanging low, ready to pick up and drop off water.

I reached Missoula and went straight to the local “draught brewery”. A lovely place with many locally brewed beers. Amber the waitress offered me the beer to greet me from my daily run. Beer is definitely a great tradition to wrap up a tough running day! Tomorrow is a rest day and I am looking forward to seeing a bit more of Missoula.

Check out today’s flyover video: https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qkkZEGj3q



Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: