Which prepared foods do people find carry well and last at least a day without getting nasty? I've carried xtra cheeseburgers from McD's, fried chicken, fries, and sandwiches...

Frozen burrito in my jersey pocket was perfectly warmed by the time I hit Red Meadow Lake, perfect for a lunch.

Subway sandwich without the mayo, ask them for the mayo packets to go.

Grilled Ham and Cheese one time was also a fantastic dinner, got it at the same place as lunch.

I used Gaia last year. Worked great on my galaxy note phone. Minimal power usage. Just remember to download the maps for offline use.

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I just remembered what caught my attention in that area originally. Look up the Berryman Trail, or BT Epic MTB race. That should get you some good info. You might be able to find a race promoter and get their opinion via email on a loop.

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I've heard of great MTBing SW of St. Louis in the Mark Twain forest. Not sure how far away that is, but I'd research that area. 

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Not allowed per the spirit of the race.  However, enough people around that unless it is serious, you will be fine.  Especially early in the race.

I toured it solo from Banff to Lincoln last week of June.  I probably came across someone every hour or so.  Two hours at the most. Another rider, a car, someone at a picnic. 

Be prepared for the worst, by yourself.  Then all will be ok.

See if you can find out the Salsa Ride Camp routes of the past. That might assist as well. I believe they were in that area.

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I'd check out the Camba trail system in the Chequamegon forest.  Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin.

Plenty of options for long days.  Singletrack that crisscross the roads and birkie trail.  Could do a base camp and out and back as well as overnighters.  Besides the Camba maps, cross reference them with the Cheq Fat Tire 40 course and the Cheq 100 course, that might give you some good ideas.  There is also a bikepacking event in that area, but I forget the name, if you find that and it's route, that would be another resource.

Fly everyone into Minneapolis and carpool to the start.

Weather should be great, could be on the hot side, but that depends on what you are used to for heat.  Only downside that I can think of will be the possibility of fires.  But, seems to be a strong winter in that area this year, so hopefully the snowfall will keep the summer fires to a minimum.

Have a great trip!

Tagging myself for future purchase.  Great stuff!

Subscribing, so if you find out please report back.  I also use the Specialized shoes in the past. I did find on my last week long trip that my xc fitting shoes became a problem as my feet swelled up.  Lost a good portion of a toenail and the width became a problem.  Sizing up and HV might be my answer and these shoes have always intrigued me.

Anyone have experience carrying prescription meds across the border?

2x crossing by bike without them looking as well. But, I've heard that you should carry them in the prescription bottle or original packaging. You could do that until Eureka, then consolidate into something else.

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Primarily resting the legs and stretching, but a good excuse to keep the hr below zones 4/5. I also found that it allowed me to easily access the bags and food while still moving.

I'll certainly try to nibble at other times as well, but this started during my fast tour test of the Tour Divide route. Mostly easy roads to eat on, but my test was being able to move forward for 12+ hrs. To do that, I wanted keep my hr low. Thus if I found a pitch that was sustained over 9-10%, I'd walk for 5-10 min (even more of I hadn't gotten off in a few hrs). The goal was to keep fueled and moving for the majority of the day.

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I will look for a spot each hour or so, usually on a somewhat steep climb.  Even if I could ride it, I'll force myself to jump off and walk it and eat at the same time.  I figure the forward movement is good, rest the legs somewhat and keep myself out of the red zone.

If you could sacrifice 3/8" of dropper, then you could use one of the seatpost clamps that also incorporate a rack mount.
https://problemsolversbike.com/files/product_images/ST06086.jpg

It appears that your frame doesn't use a seatpost clamp, but placing this at the normal seatpost clamp spot with enough force to not hinder the dropper should work.

^^^ this...I'll also add that you really need to experiment with what you pack in the seatbag in order to get the minimal sway nirvana. My only personal requirement was that once closed, I don't want to have to get into the seatbag until the end of the day. It took some experimentation to figure out the proper gear and order of stuffing.

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Thanks for the info, no idea as to travel details yet. I'll check out the hostel

Can anyone offer some tips on boxing up a bike for a flight? I've never had to do so before. Is there a particular box that works well?

I got a fat bike box from LBS, that held bike plus all gear in the bags. Bought propane upon landing (was touring), can't remember the rules on CO2 . Remember that it has to be under 50lbs, so I also had a throw away carry on bag with a few extra items.

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Maybe try a layer of painters tape first, then overlay some duct tape for strength/wearability.

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Not sure if the annual (2018) race prep thread has been started (I didn't look), but this could be it if not.

Start is always the 2nd Friday of June, so June 8th this year.  Supposed to be a heavy snow year in the Montana and lower BC rockies this winter.  I'm training as if I'll be at the start line, but not if there will be a super heavy snow year. I can be flexible on my start time and either save it for 2019 or do an ITT later in 2018.

edit:  here is the link to the 2018 prep/training thread:  http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/ultra-racing/tour-divide-2018-race-preparation/

It was difficult to make sure i was clean for installation in the morning. On at least one morning, I did the first few hours without, until I made it to town to clean up. 

Get a sample of the daily wear from your doc.  I was surprised at the difference.  Noticeable for skiing and biking, no dry eyes in my case.

Following....  I may also be in for 2018.  Did a week on TD this past June using daily disposable contacts.  For years I have been using monthly disposable, the dailies are much thinner so they appear to breath better and were more comfortable for being outside all day.  I was using a set of Oakley sunglasses during the day and clear lenses for night. 

My current plans for 2018 would be to get a set of clear, prescription sport style glasses.  Nothing like an Oakley, but something with broad eye coverage.  The plan would be to use those at night and on cloudy days, saving the contacts for sunny days.

I do have it slightly easy.  -2.00 in both eyes so I can run without in an emergency without a problem. Also makes it easy to pack just one size/style of contacts to use.