Western Wildlands from Jasper Alberta to Tucson AZ
You have likely heard of the Great Divide, but have you heard of the Western Wildlands? A much quieter route, I think of comparable beauty, running a state west of the GD, where I saw no other cyclists on the route.
If you love nature and wild camping, I highly recommend at least one extended tour in the Western US. Theres so much public land, it's as easy camping here as it is in Scandinavia with their right to roam laws. But the nature here is better.
You can go for days without seeing anyone in Idaho, where most people are migrants from other states. People there just want to be left alone to do their thing, which often includes hunting. Don't expect people to greet you. They might not even acknowledge your presence. The nice ones I did talk to though were very friendly, even the group from Northern Idaho which I was warned by many to avoid. The mountainous west of Montana was similar. Most towns I stopped at here had fewer than 500 people. Many were old mining or logging towns, with a skeleton of the population they used to have. Some were now tourist towns.
Utah and the Mormons surprised me. I was given many warnings about them, but they turned out to be some of the nicest people I met on this trip. One group invited me to pitch my tent on their spot in a packed RV park that otherwise turned me away. I was mostly up at 3000 meters in Utah, and given my slower pace I was happy to get warmer than usual weather as the week before had several nights below freezing.
Arizona, especially further south, was much busier. I spent a few days in both Flagstaff and Tucson, 70,000 and 800,000 people respectively. Both very liberal areas compared to the almost purely conservative areas I had passed through before, largely due to an influx of people from other states. Before this I had to skirt around the Grand Canyon, passing through land owned by natives. They have quite a different culture, one that I wish I could spend more time understanding. I did get to know a couple part natives more, and from them I learned just how poorly the natives were treated in the past. It's quite brutal.
I'm now in Mexicali, Baja. I'm riding the Baja Divide next, and then heading into mainland Mexico until the rainy season begins. The culture is much warmer here, and even though Baja is Mexico light, the difference having crossed the border are so noticeable I feel like I'm back in Africa.
If you want to continue following me, I'm on https://instagram.com/marcog1
Route info: https://bikepackingroots.org/project/western-wildlands-route/ (also has info on several connector routes between the WWR and GDMBR)
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/821994998008070/
by marcog