The Grizzly Man Adventure Race and Black Bear Challenge held outside of Missoula, MT has a mix of trail running, mountain biking, white water...all with map and compas.  No GPS, no phone, no bike computers...  Good old stuff.  www.grizzlymanrace.com  Unfortunately the web site was down when I checked it but should be back up soon.

Oh, and yes.  I still take maps with me in new areas and always have a compass.  I have 3 gps devices including my iPhone ( which is totally cool) but I am more likely to leave them home than my compass.

I've ridden down to +/-10deg F.  Not too bad as long as you don't sweat out and can keep your beverage of choice thawed.  I've heard about bearing grease freezing up in the colder weather, but have not run into that...yet

Less than 10% is paved, but that could be as much as 250 miles.  I would recommend researching the GDMBR (Great Divide Mountain Bike Route) and the Tour Divide.  The Tour Divide is the race following the GDMBR.  There are lots of forum links here about them.  You'll get a pretty good feel for what it is about.  Ride the Divide is a good movie about the Tour Divide and shows a lot of the route.  If you’re serious get your hands on the Adventure Cycling maps of the GDMBR.  http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/greatdivide.cfm   They spell it out mile by mile and are indispensible if planning to do the route.  You can also download GPS points for the entire route  on the link above.  I’ve heard there are also good books about the route but have not read any except Eat, Sleep, Ride about the Tour Divide.
My advice on the few busy sections…get up early and ride.  Get off of those sections of road before 5pm.
Good luck and Happy Trails.

Funny...at first glance I thought you were asking about Meth (the drug) and thought that would be an interesting trip. 
Meths , the fuel, is not available in the US.  Other denatured alcohol options are readily available in the northern half of the route as I am familiar with the towns you would pass through. I couldn't really say after that, but would expect it to be similar.
This is a link that explains pretty well what would be available.  I have used heet and other denatured alcohols in my stove without any problems.  I would recommend testing in your stove beforehand if possible.
http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/2011/08/alcohol-as-stove-fuel.html?m=1
Hope that helps.

My son uses a Cocoon CoolMax bag liner.  More stretch than silk or cotton, not as light as silk.  11oz. :-(   Not as much stretch as the Super Spiral though.  I have a No.5 and am looking for the same thing.  Will probably use his if I can't find something better.

Hello
I'm planning to cover the first portion of the route, Banff - Seeley Lake (and then off route to Missoula), with a group of guys from Missoula.  We are heading out July 13, 2013.  You're welcome to joing the group if it fits your schedule.  Also as we are close to the route, if you need some emergency assistance feel free to contact me.

Just added the ~50 mile loop from Missoula, Up Pattee, South into the Sapphires and down into Turah.  Same link as before.

Hello - If you saw some earlier posts, I apologize for the confusion.  I posted some links that did not work.  - Anyway, saw what you were doing.  I've been looking for a similar loop.  I have a 50 mile loop I'll post later.  This is a link to a ~80 mile route from Missoula to the Skalkaho Highway.  It might help with your search.  It has a GPX and KML file in it.  I'll add more files as I get them converted.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ih03gkk2aeabf1e/znlnp78GnN

Thanks.  The bag I'm making next is actually a little square-ish bag to go in front of the sling/bar bag.  Similar to the front bag JerryW has in his kit.  I decided to make a bar sling (holding the MSR tent in this photo) rather than a bag to give a little more flexibility.  The sling has ladder loops sewn on to allow secure additions like a smaller front bag.  I am also going to sew up a dry bag for the tent out of VX21 to be waterproof and more durable.  Just waiting for some friends to figure out what they need so we can do a combined materials order.

I've been watching and learing as much as I can from the forums here and have seen some great work.  I dove in head first a month ago and have finished my first set of frame bags.  I'm posting an overall shot for now.  I'm not happy with some of the minor details of the seat bag, and still need to make a front bag to go in front of my handlebar sling/tent.  As soon as they are done I'll post a full set of images. 

Thanks to everyone here who has posted their gear and tips.  I've never sewed a thing in my life so all of your tips and photos were invaluable.

Hey...That looks great.  I'm giving it a go for the first time as well.   Never used a machine in my life and yours looks better than mine.  Good job.  Looking forward to seeing the rest of your gear.

OK.  Makes sense.  Thanks.

So....What is everybodys opinion on other breathables?

Check out JerryW 's "Full Bikepacking Kit" post.  He did a beautiful job.  It uses the bottle cage bolts as you mentioned.  For the tent poles, make sure you can get them through the zipper.   Distance from the front end of the zipper to the rear of the pack inside needs to be an inch longer than the poles...

I'm in the same boat, getting ready to build my first set of bags.  Take the time to look at as many of these posts a possible.  There is a LOT of good info scattered through them.

Good luck!

Does anybody know of a source for eVent fabric?  I've been searching but all I come up with are clothing that is made with eVent or sale 'events' for fabric stores.      I need a couple of yards for a bivy.

Thanks