Northwest Odyssey - Part VII
Great Falls to Helena, Montana
On The Great Northern Railway
The Final Group Episode
Two Fantastic Days of Riding
Along the Missouri River
Peter Hoffman
From left to right, Ken, Bear, Michael, John, Peter, Arne, Mark,
Morgan and Dick. Eloy had left the tour earlier.
Several years ago the Great Northern discontinued service between Helena and Great Falls, Montana. This scenic section of railroad hugs the banks of the Missouri River for 65 miles beneath towering cliffs isolated from the highway on the opposite shore. We rode for
two glorious days before the group disbanded and we headed home our
separate ways.
Arriving late in the afternoon after our earlier ride at Choteau, we all holed up in a motel in Helena. The following morning we backtracked by car to Craig about midway along the river section of the railroad. From here we rode north toward Great Falls to the small community of Hardy.
The weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful and the wildlife abundant. The peaceful river was full of fishermen and
rafters who often gave us a friendly wave.
There were many tunnels, both natural bore and concrete, which cut through the
solid rock mountainsides when the river made turns to tight for the right-of-way. The roadbed was in excellent condition and if not for the rusty rails the line would appear to be still active.
A small restaurant overlooking the railroad and the river provided a mid-day break. Shade trees, cold beer and a few games of horseshoes gave us a chance to socialize
after several hours out on the rails.
After the first days ride the group split into three separate parties for the night. Michael and Bear took advantage of an offer of free bedding from a local hosteller. Dick, Ken Arne and Morgan camped out, and John and I headed back to our motel in Helena.
The following day John and I started our ride in Silver City, now no more than a sign post on the high plateau a few miles north of Helena, and rode down into the Missouri River canyon to meet the others who were riding south. We met between Sieben and Wolf Creek.
After lunching together both groups turned around and headed back to their original starting points and then on toward home.
It was tough saying goodbye to
all our friends, especially after so many days of riding together. John and I had joined Arne and Morgan eleven days earlier in Seattle. We had ridden on eight of those days on five different railroads.
Our odyssey had taken us on a branch line of the Canadian Pacific in the rain shrouded mountains on Canada's Vancouver Island to the baking heat of the high desert on the Milwaukee Road in Washington. We had ridden two subdivisions of the extremely
beautiful Camas Prairie in Idaho, and the
Great Northern in three different locations
in Montana.
We had some wild adventures
along the way, met some fascinating people, spent two nights in the Denver and Rio
Grande private car the "Abraham
Lincoln", and got together with
most of the worlds active railbikers, all ten of us.
The ride along the Missouri River was one of the most pleasant and relaxing days of
the entire 11 day odyssey.
John and I meet Dick, Ken, Arnie and Morgan in the Missouri River Canyon.
Not much left in Silver City but this marker sign along the tracks.
Although the Odyssey was officially over, John and I headed south to Butte, Montana to ride the Northern Pacific. Next month's tale will be of our ride there, and the design of the bike which was named after Homestake Pass.
