Montana along the border

[minte]

Hi all,

Planning a summer trip.  I'm planning on taking the Tour Divide route northbound towards the Canadian border from Whitefish.  However, instead of following the route west after it leaves the Flathead Valley towards Roosville, I was considering continuing north up the valley to the 49th parallel, and then heading west along the clearcut that runs along the US/Canadian border.  I'd still formally cross over into Canada at Roosville.

Has anybody ridden along the 49th parallel on the westerly side of the Rockies in Montana?  I've been to remote parts of it on the eastern side, and all there really are is a few rock cairns and some lonely steel monuments.  Much of it looks ridable, and where its broken up by lakes, I could divert down to forest roads for a bit.  It seems like a really fun backcountry way to get to Roosville from the Flathead area.

Does anybody know how ridable portions of the clearcut are?  Also, do the US/Canadian border patrol agencies care if you traverse along there so long as you cross at a legitimate checkpoint?  Naturally I'll have my passport and identification with me. I might smell a bit funky after a few days in the wilderness, but that's the only offensive thing I can envision doing there.  I'm sort of having this bad vision of a black helicopter rising out of the northern Montana forest, and me ending up in Guantanamo Bay, hollering "this is all a big misunderstanding, can I please get my bike back!"

Advice?

 

[windowace]

Take me.   I'll ride slower than you (naturally), and likely slightly eraticaly, thereby distracting the copters, while you make your get away. don't worry about me, I have skills. it will be a blast.

[threepin]

i don't think that those sections would be very rideable, there are a few points from roads in Canada and the states where you are quite near the swath and i have not noticed any kind of trail or road along it. If you did not want to ride the GDMBR in that section there are alternate trails and roads you could piece together for a fun trip, check out the website for the pacific northwest trail for a start, they have good links for topos in that area. if you did choose to follow the swath i think there would be some rugged walking/ pushing and i think that you would be visited fairly promptly.

[threepin]

oh,
and those helicopters are white with green around here

[minte]

Thanks Threepin, that's what I figured from closer inspection of the border line.  There are also some mean grades that I'd just end up pushing up.

I'll do a bit more research on the pacific NW trail. I assumed that biking wasn't allowed or encouraged, but perhaps that's not the case.  It looks like a great trail.

[threepin]

there was a thread on here about the PNT i believe scottM started it. I looked and could not find it quickly. Scott probably knows a fair bit about it , also Casey greene would be a good contact- It looks good but hard through the galton and whitefish ranges over into the Yaak

[caseygreene]

I'm fairly certain it is very frowned upon by the border patrol - if not illegal - to do so. If you do go this route make sure to come-out-of-the-woods before you approach a border station. Do not come out between them. My friend did this on the other side of Glacier after a packrafting trip and they were not happy with him: http://bedrockandparadox.com/2012/06/05/the-belly-of-the-chief/

Logistically, i do not think it is even rideable. Maybe with a large tire bike. Also, Couldrey Ridge may give you some difficulty, but i think is doable. Honestly, Why not just ride the roads and trails north of the route. There are a ton there, and a lot of the ones I have ridden are nice.

Biking is allowed and encouraged on this portion of the PNT: http://www.pnt.org/trail/bicycling/