There is an easy, but strange, solution to get it to load into recovery...
After releasing the reset button in recovery mode, browse to http://192.168.0.1. Browse for the firmware, but DO NOT click "Upload." At this point, leave the browser window open, but put the router in recover mode again by holding down the reset button, power off, power on, wait 5 seconds and release the reset button... NOW click "Upload" in the browser. Firmware load will continue as expected.