Jill - I agree, lots of deviations. Not sure if people are more unprepared, tougher conditions or what.  I blame it on the popularity of the Facebook groups getting to a larger population of people that are not fully prepared.

As for Ben, he is doing his music tour.  He played at Whitefish Bike Retreat Monday night. Plays in Missoula tonight or tomorrow.  Playing various locations along the route.  A little odd that his dot is not on the touring page, but it does get him more coverage from those that might be interested.

Dots locations on that terrain is way too fast for hiking/bushwack pace with loaded bike to be legit.  It's either random pings, or it's 1 legit ping indicating wrong way (on Rice Ridge Rd) followed by a course-correct back to and then down the route but with no pings in between to truly know.  Either way, it's gotta be legit and she's on a decent pace through 4+ days.

I am thinking similarly, no way that she packed straight up (thru snow) and over the top.  I've been in that area and doubt it would even be possible.  Likely took the wrong road down and then had to backtrack to the actual trail.

Does the lead female (SOBO) have an interesting story about hiking around Richmond Peak?  Or, do you think those were just random pings?

flyboy - I haven't ridden it, but Koko Claims does appear to add a few hours to the overall route.  On the map, the descent from the top of Koko looks fast, but there is a climb or two in there that sure seems to slow people down this year and last year.  Then, out of Fernie, the climb up and over a pass to the Sasquatch sign is a tough one.  I rode that last year and was surprised at the length and steepness.  Bigger than Cabin Pass in my opinion.

Thanks for the update/info - I was used to hearing the cars pull thru town this morning (and the birds)

Angler- no longer hearing sound out of the camera - did you mute?  Or, something wrong on my end?

Bill Littman appears to have had an adventure coming off Koko claims - took a left instead of a right and didn't go thru Fernie.  Now back on Hwy 93 just above the border - likely too long of a detour to go back and take the correct route.  Has to be a great story of figuring his way back to the Hwy.

Thanks for the wave and comments as you pulled into work this morning Angler  

That camera is a great addition

Richard Dunnett of England made it into Ovando around 10:35 pm and Lewis Ciddor around 11:45 pm and just because  they are #1 and #2 and I'm an idiot.......I went back to Ovando to get their photos.  And a bit of stories despite their exhaustion.  Will post photos tomorrow cuz I'm pooped!  Suffice it to say, two great guys having the time of their lives!  They are spending the night in the jail and the sheep wagon and made it in just before a new sleety heavy rainfall came thru.

Caught Lewis and Gareth Pellas leaving via the web cam between 6:15 and 6:22 MST - both pulled up to the cafe and appeared to to the mental calculation to opening time before moving down the route

New snow on the top of Whitefish Mtn Resort(6800ft) this morning.

http://skiwhitefish.com/webcams/

Ha! And I, of all people knew that Angler.

Alum of UM here, thus the online name.

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Angler, I'd guess that the front runners will be approaching Eureka around 1pm and Whitefish tonight. That should put them to Ovando mid-afternoon Sunday (?). But that is just my best guess.

Remember that Mike's dot didn't go thru Fernie. Plus we expect snow at Red Meadow again. And Richmond, as you stated.

The gravel road from Seeley to Orlando was worked on last year. Any guesses on how that will hold up too the forecasted rain on Sunday? Will it stay firm? Or, turn to mud?

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Etsy has several options - I just recently found one by a big named brand, but can't remember which brand.

https://www.etsy.com/market/bike_tool_roll

You had front and rear panniers for 65l, plus the handlebar bag and want to see if you could switch to 45l - correct?

What type of riding/touring and what were you carrying?  What could be left behind?  It probably depends on what you can leave behind and what are your bulky items. 

I run Revelate seatbag, Frame bag, Sweetroll and the attached pocket.  That easily covers me for 2 days, but longer trips will require me to add fork cages/bags.  But it all depends on how remote I am going and what my supply options and weather will be.

Fast touring both times. Not packed as light as a racer, but not super heavy either. The Icon was very durable.

Rode them from Banff to Lincoln last June, then the rest of the MTB session and they still look good now.  Look for something that is fast rolling, while giving you decent flat protection (I run tubeless).

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No experience with the Ardent, but it looks aggressive. Ardent race might be a faster roller. I ran the Maxxis Ikon last year and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.  You really don't need much for tread on the TD route.  A few years back, I ran the Specialized Renegade and if they hadn't recently changed it to what I hear is less reliable, I'd run it again.

Snow appears to be melting fast in Montana.  66 degrees at 4pm at Lake McDonald in Glacier Park. The snow on Big Mountain Ski area in Whitefish has been melting quickly, but it is south facing.  http://skiwhitefish.com/webcams/

Snotel at Graves Creek outside of Eureka is approx 950ft below the Whitefish Divide Summit, melted 30 inches since 5/1. https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/reportGenerator/view/customSingleStationReport/daily/500:MT:SNTL%7cid=%22%22%7cname/-29,0/WTEQ::value,WTEQ::median_1981,WTEQ::pctOfMedian_1981,SNWD::value,PREC::value,PREC::average_1981,PREC::pctOfAverage_1981,TMAX::value,TMIN::value,TAVG::value?fitToScreen=false

Racers will likely still have snow at the summit thru that pass and Red Meadow but not as much as I was expecting.  Maybe similar to last year?

Planet Bike on the left seat-stay for several years without a problem. Even have it loose enough that I can rachet the movement up and down to facilitate taking it off and on.

The hydraulic brake cable was a little in the way, but with some work, you can get it under the hose and in the proper location.

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that URL doesn't work - Google didn't help either

Front rack looks promising. I'd tell them to consider working in some aero bars (or similar). Or, map clip, way to mount GPS,etc. Seems it would be easy to integrate into the top of those mounts. Perhaps  just additional options for aftermarket purchase.