Daydreamer1969
New member
Just found this thread, what a amazing adventure. Thank you for sharing.
FIDO Expeditions 2016
- Thread starter yabanja
- Start date
yabanja
Explorer
My pleasure! It is nice to relive the whole thing while I am stuck at home!
Allan
yabanja
Explorer
Ashton
Through the marvels of modern technology(IE Facebook) I had become reacquainted with a friend I had known in high school but hadn't seen in over 20 years. He lives in Ashton Idaho so we decided to make a paved detour over to see him. The back side of the Teton Range is interesting country. There are comparatively few people there and the scenery is stunning with large open wheat fields and the iconic mountains in the background. It is prime flyfishing country. This is a subject I literally know nothing about, but my friend Marc is an authority on the subject. He is quite the character and really embodies the sport in general. It was great to catch up around the campfire and rekindle old friendships. Sakshi really enjoyed his stories about our high school shenanigans together. Here is a nice article about him and his Filmography.
http://www.flylordsmag.com/single-post/2016/11/08/Faces-of-Fly-Fishing-Marc-Crapo
And if you haven't checked it out the International Fly Fishing Film Festival is pretty cool!
http://www.flyfilmfest.com
We had a great campout with him for the night before leaving with warm hugs and promises to get together again soon!
Through the marvels of modern technology(IE Facebook) I had become reacquainted with a friend I had known in high school but hadn't seen in over 20 years. He lives in Ashton Idaho so we decided to make a paved detour over to see him. The back side of the Teton Range is interesting country. There are comparatively few people there and the scenery is stunning with large open wheat fields and the iconic mountains in the background. It is prime flyfishing country. This is a subject I literally know nothing about, but my friend Marc is an authority on the subject. He is quite the character and really embodies the sport in general. It was great to catch up around the campfire and rekindle old friendships. Sakshi really enjoyed his stories about our high school shenanigans together. Here is a nice article about him and his Filmography.
http://www.flylordsmag.com/single-post/2016/11/08/Faces-of-Fly-Fishing-Marc-Crapo
And if you haven't checked it out the International Fly Fishing Film Festival is pretty cool!
http://www.flyfilmfest.com
We had a great campout with him for the night before leaving with warm hugs and promises to get together again soon!
yabanja
Explorer
The Gravelly Range
While hanging around the campfire I had been perusing the Delorme Montana Mapbook to plot our course ahead. There was a tantalizingly long dirt road route going up through the Gravelly Range and on to the ruby river basin so we decided to head that way. Before we left the pavement though we decided to do a small detour at the recommendation of our friend Marc. To the north east out of Ashton is the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway and it is well worth the trip. It follows the Henry's Fork River which is filled with the biggest Salmon I have ever seen. We stopped to toss them some granola bar crumbs and shoot some photos. All we got in the pics were a bunch of seagulls. Remind me to buy a real camera with a polarizing filter someday!!
The next stop was Mesa Falls. It took the cake as the nicest waterfall of the trip and with the adjoining rainbow was pretty cool!! Thanks for the tip Marc!
We then connected back up with highway 20 for a short while before taking a left towards Henry's Lake. Our proximity to Yellowstone was telling and this is mostly what the scenery in the area looked like:
No worries though as shortly we passed the lake and hit the dirt. I stopped to air down the tires before we headed over Red Rock Pass to south valley road. Taylor Mountain to the south was very rugged and made for some lovely scenery.
We headed north on Forest Road 8384 to Widgeon Pond where we stopped for lunch. It was about the perfect day with sunshine and 70 degrees. We plopped ourselves down in the grass with our binoculars and had some prime birdwatching with lunch.
After lunch the road called. As we were packing up a ranger came by and I talked to him about our planned route. I had been concerned it may be snowed in but he thought it would be open.
We skirted the north side of swan lake on north valley road. It was deep silty sand with tons of whoopee doos. We came across a big ranch and they were doing a cattle drive so we waited patiently for them to pass before taking a right off the main dirt road onto what could best be called a track. The gravelly Range road. It was steep and narrow and surrounded by wildflowers while offering stunning views.
After climbing forever we finally reached the ridge line. It was above the treelike and the wind was howling. We noticed a stack of rocks a ways off the road and decided to investigate. It turned out to be the grave of a shepherd. A more lovely place couldn't have been chosen.
While hanging around the campfire I had been perusing the Delorme Montana Mapbook to plot our course ahead. There was a tantalizingly long dirt road route going up through the Gravelly Range and on to the ruby river basin so we decided to head that way. Before we left the pavement though we decided to do a small detour at the recommendation of our friend Marc. To the north east out of Ashton is the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway and it is well worth the trip. It follows the Henry's Fork River which is filled with the biggest Salmon I have ever seen. We stopped to toss them some granola bar crumbs and shoot some photos. All we got in the pics were a bunch of seagulls. Remind me to buy a real camera with a polarizing filter someday!!
The next stop was Mesa Falls. It took the cake as the nicest waterfall of the trip and with the adjoining rainbow was pretty cool!! Thanks for the tip Marc!
We then connected back up with highway 20 for a short while before taking a left towards Henry's Lake. Our proximity to Yellowstone was telling and this is mostly what the scenery in the area looked like:
No worries though as shortly we passed the lake and hit the dirt. I stopped to air down the tires before we headed over Red Rock Pass to south valley road. Taylor Mountain to the south was very rugged and made for some lovely scenery.
We headed north on Forest Road 8384 to Widgeon Pond where we stopped for lunch. It was about the perfect day with sunshine and 70 degrees. We plopped ourselves down in the grass with our binoculars and had some prime birdwatching with lunch.
After lunch the road called. As we were packing up a ranger came by and I talked to him about our planned route. I had been concerned it may be snowed in but he thought it would be open.
We skirted the north side of swan lake on north valley road. It was deep silty sand with tons of whoopee doos. We came across a big ranch and they were doing a cattle drive so we waited patiently for them to pass before taking a right off the main dirt road onto what could best be called a track. The gravelly Range road. It was steep and narrow and surrounded by wildflowers while offering stunning views.
After climbing forever we finally reached the ridge line. It was above the treelike and the wind was howling. We noticed a stack of rocks a ways off the road and decided to investigate. It turned out to be the grave of a shepherd. A more lovely place couldn't have been chosen.
yabanja
Explorer
High Altitude Camping
The scenery in this area was stunning, and as far as I could tell we were the only people in the whole mountain range!
We continued on along the ridgeline before taking a small side road in search of camping. We ended up finding a lovely spot at an old abandoned cabin.
Our altitude was nearly ten thousand feet and apparently the mosquitos had just hatched for the season. They were thick and hungry! We decided to seek shelter inside for the evening. Luckily the views out of the window overlooking the wide grasslands and valley below were awesome. As Sakshi cooked dinner I spotted a big fat deer out of the window. We watched it forage for a few minutes before it returned to the cover of the trees. We had a restful night and slept in the next morning. As we were having breakfast we noticed the deer again. Only it wasn't fat anymore and it had a tiny fawn stumbling around with it!!! AWESOME!!! They foraged for a while before disappearing back into the brush. We decided to do a little exploring on our Bicycles and after a heavy dose of Jungle Juice headed out.
The air was thin up here and the hills were steep so we didn't make it very far but we did get to a nice viewpoint of Black Butte.
These moments remind my why I love overloading so much. The map is full of off the beaten track places that you just don't know what they are like unless you go there. Life is good!
The scenery in this area was stunning, and as far as I could tell we were the only people in the whole mountain range!
We continued on along the ridgeline before taking a small side road in search of camping. We ended up finding a lovely spot at an old abandoned cabin.
Our altitude was nearly ten thousand feet and apparently the mosquitos had just hatched for the season. They were thick and hungry! We decided to seek shelter inside for the evening. Luckily the views out of the window overlooking the wide grasslands and valley below were awesome. As Sakshi cooked dinner I spotted a big fat deer out of the window. We watched it forage for a few minutes before it returned to the cover of the trees. We had a restful night and slept in the next morning. As we were having breakfast we noticed the deer again. Only it wasn't fat anymore and it had a tiny fawn stumbling around with it!!! AWESOME!!! They foraged for a while before disappearing back into the brush. We decided to do a little exploring on our Bicycles and after a heavy dose of Jungle Juice headed out.
The air was thin up here and the hills were steep so we didn't make it very far but we did get to a nice viewpoint of Black Butte.
These moments remind my why I love overloading so much. The map is full of off the beaten track places that you just don't know what they are like unless you go there. Life is good!
Attachments
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yabanja
Explorer
Ruby River Valley
The next morning we got up early and hit the road. It wound North around Black Butte before coming to a intersection. We took a left Down Cottonwood Creek towards the Ruby River Valley. The road went straight down for about a dozen miles. The scenery so nice.
We were really happy to have the exhaust brake as we can control our speed without touching the brakes. This is really nice in a 10k pound vehicle. Our truck is made for the dirt. It is capable but a little monotonous on the freeway and able to achieve 70 mph on the flat. On the dirt is where it really shines. I lower the 37" tires to about 25 psi and the truck just floats over all but the largest obstacles. This fits in with our prime objective. To make the world larger by travelling the smallest dirt roads we can find. I actually have further suspension modifications in mind which include softening the leaves further, but this will necessitate adding sway bars... After watching Paris-Dakar I know my objectives can be accomplished!
Unlike the highway where we are often the slug, we frequently overtake other vehicles in the dirt. This was the case on this descent when we came upon a slow traveling Rubicon. Fido is actually quite small compared to his appearance. It's footprint is 18.5'-7'. A bit wider than a Ford truck and a foot shorter. Where's FIDO?
On the road it is appearance that counts and when you come up on someone in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road it is amazing how quickly they pull aside. We always joke "Oh scared another one off the road!
The next morning we got up early and hit the road. It wound North around Black Butte before coming to a intersection. We took a left Down Cottonwood Creek towards the Ruby River Valley. The road went straight down for about a dozen miles. The scenery so nice.
We were really happy to have the exhaust brake as we can control our speed without touching the brakes. This is really nice in a 10k pound vehicle. Our truck is made for the dirt. It is capable but a little monotonous on the freeway and able to achieve 70 mph on the flat. On the dirt is where it really shines. I lower the 37" tires to about 25 psi and the truck just floats over all but the largest obstacles. This fits in with our prime objective. To make the world larger by travelling the smallest dirt roads we can find. I actually have further suspension modifications in mind which include softening the leaves further, but this will necessitate adding sway bars... After watching Paris-Dakar I know my objectives can be accomplished!
Unlike the highway where we are often the slug, we frequently overtake other vehicles in the dirt. This was the case on this descent when we came upon a slow traveling Rubicon. Fido is actually quite small compared to his appearance. It's footprint is 18.5'-7'. A bit wider than a Ford truck and a foot shorter. Where's FIDO?
On the road it is appearance that counts and when you come up on someone in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road it is amazing how quickly they pull aside. We always joke "Oh scared another one off the road!
yabanja
Explorer
Ruby River Valley
When we got to the bottom of the descent we took a right. Northwards Ho!!! The well traveled gravel road wound through the lush valley between two mountain ranges following the meandering path of the Ruby River. I understand this is Fly Fishing paradise. We were able to make really good time and put some serious miles behind us. We hit pavement at the Ruby River Reservoir and I pulled down to the beach to air up the tires. There was a serious Microburst coming in and I was in a rush to get the job done while I could do it in the dry. Meanwhile Sakshi took the opportunity to take some nice photos.
I had planed to take an attractive looking dirt road along the base of the Tobacco Range out of Alder but it was dumping rain and looked like a total mudfest. I decided not to get stuck in some farmers field today. Sometimes it would be nice to have another vehicle with you to tow you out if you get into trouble(or get stuck with you as the case may be.) We headed north on pavement to Whitehall where we were once again in the dirt heading north on Whitehall Road. It had been a long day and was getting late so we were eager to find a place to hole up for the night. As darkness fell we found a promising road to the west winding into the mountains. Just a few miles back we pitched camp for the night nestled in the pines and sandstone outcroppings. Another night in the wilds without another person to be seen. Paradise!
Traveling without a schedule or timeframe is always best. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we ended up with two points on this trip where we had to be in a certain place at a certain time. The first was Calgary to meet with a good friend of Sakshi's who was in town briefly, and the Second was Vancouver for our Brother's birthday party. On paper two weeks seems like plenty of time to get from Salt Lake to Calgary, but really we ended up being very rushed with almost no down days without travel. We passed some beautiful country that bears further exploration. The three that come to mind are the Wind Rivers, Teton Range, and the Tobacco Mountains. I guess that will give us something to do in the future!
When we got to the bottom of the descent we took a right. Northwards Ho!!! The well traveled gravel road wound through the lush valley between two mountain ranges following the meandering path of the Ruby River. I understand this is Fly Fishing paradise. We were able to make really good time and put some serious miles behind us. We hit pavement at the Ruby River Reservoir and I pulled down to the beach to air up the tires. There was a serious Microburst coming in and I was in a rush to get the job done while I could do it in the dry. Meanwhile Sakshi took the opportunity to take some nice photos.
I had planed to take an attractive looking dirt road along the base of the Tobacco Range out of Alder but it was dumping rain and looked like a total mudfest. I decided not to get stuck in some farmers field today. Sometimes it would be nice to have another vehicle with you to tow you out if you get into trouble(or get stuck with you as the case may be.) We headed north on pavement to Whitehall where we were once again in the dirt heading north on Whitehall Road. It had been a long day and was getting late so we were eager to find a place to hole up for the night. As darkness fell we found a promising road to the west winding into the mountains. Just a few miles back we pitched camp for the night nestled in the pines and sandstone outcroppings. Another night in the wilds without another person to be seen. Paradise!
Traveling without a schedule or timeframe is always best. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we ended up with two points on this trip where we had to be in a certain place at a certain time. The first was Calgary to meet with a good friend of Sakshi's who was in town briefly, and the Second was Vancouver for our Brother's birthday party. On paper two weeks seems like plenty of time to get from Salt Lake to Calgary, but really we ended up being very rushed with almost no down days without travel. We passed some beautiful country that bears further exploration. The three that come to mind are the Wind Rivers, Teton Range, and the Tobacco Mountains. I guess that will give us something to do in the future!
yabanja
Explorer
Cows and Bears.
The next morning we got up early and hit the road. About a mile down was a big cattle drive blocking the road. Of the dozen or so cowboys and girls it was clear that only one or two had a clue. There was already a traffic jam and a girl came and asked us to wait for a bit while they navigated the cattle through a narrow bit in the road. We parked and watched the debacle for about twenty minutes while the pileup of cars grew longer. They would gather one cow up and five would make a break for it. They had an untrained dog exasperating the problem. I felt a little bad for them but would be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for the cows. Meanwhile a local pulled up beside us and we struck up a conversation. They were upset that the cowboys hadn't put up a sign or alerted any of their neighbors who were trying to get to work. After waiting patiently a while longer with no apparent progress in the herd one of the cars cautiously and respectfully began to drive through the herd. We tagged onto the back of the line and proceeded through. The woman who had asked us to wait came flying at us with her horse swearing that their lack of control over the herd is all our fault. That's ok, we didn't let it darken our mood! What to do while waiting for a looong time at a Montana Roadblock? Film a silly movie of course!
https://vimeo.com/206591058
About a mile down the road there was a woman blocking traffic from the other way and she had a puppy. You might be noticing a theme by now. It is written in the contract that I cannot pass any dogs or puppies without stopping for Sakshi cuddle time. At this point she doesn't even need to ask. I just hear the high pitched squeal"PUPPY!" from the passenger seat and I pull over.
The woman was very nice and we chatted for a bit. She had noticed the bikes on the front of FiDO and asked us concernedly if we had Bear spray. I told her we didn't and asked why? She told us a mountain biker had just been eaten in Glacier by a Grizzly Bear!!! Yikes. This was the first of what would turn out to be a Bear themed trip.
We later found out that it was a park ranger in Glacier that was mountain biking with his friend. The friend had a helmet cam and was filming from behind when they came around a corner too fast and the guy physically ran into the bear. Well, if a mountain biker ran into me I might consider eating him too! In any case the friend caught it all on film and hightailed it out of there before the bear got ideas about him too. It is a good thing it was caught on film as the bear was absolved of any responsibility. Often times in bear/human altercations the bear is hunted down, but this was determined to be human fault. Darwinism in action.
Anyways we thanked her for the tip and headed North towards Helena....
The next morning we got up early and hit the road. About a mile down was a big cattle drive blocking the road. Of the dozen or so cowboys and girls it was clear that only one or two had a clue. There was already a traffic jam and a girl came and asked us to wait for a bit while they navigated the cattle through a narrow bit in the road. We parked and watched the debacle for about twenty minutes while the pileup of cars grew longer. They would gather one cow up and five would make a break for it. They had an untrained dog exasperating the problem. I felt a little bad for them but would be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for the cows. Meanwhile a local pulled up beside us and we struck up a conversation. They were upset that the cowboys hadn't put up a sign or alerted any of their neighbors who were trying to get to work. After waiting patiently a while longer with no apparent progress in the herd one of the cars cautiously and respectfully began to drive through the herd. We tagged onto the back of the line and proceeded through. The woman who had asked us to wait came flying at us with her horse swearing that their lack of control over the herd is all our fault. That's ok, we didn't let it darken our mood! What to do while waiting for a looong time at a Montana Roadblock? Film a silly movie of course!
https://vimeo.com/206591058
About a mile down the road there was a woman blocking traffic from the other way and she had a puppy. You might be noticing a theme by now. It is written in the contract that I cannot pass any dogs or puppies without stopping for Sakshi cuddle time. At this point she doesn't even need to ask. I just hear the high pitched squeal"PUPPY!" from the passenger seat and I pull over.
The woman was very nice and we chatted for a bit. She had noticed the bikes on the front of FiDO and asked us concernedly if we had Bear spray. I told her we didn't and asked why? She told us a mountain biker had just been eaten in Glacier by a Grizzly Bear!!! Yikes. This was the first of what would turn out to be a Bear themed trip.
We later found out that it was a park ranger in Glacier that was mountain biking with his friend. The friend had a helmet cam and was filming from behind when they came around a corner too fast and the guy physically ran into the bear. Well, if a mountain biker ran into me I might consider eating him too! In any case the friend caught it all on film and hightailed it out of there before the bear got ideas about him too. It is a good thing it was caught on film as the bear was absolved of any responsibility. Often times in bear/human altercations the bear is hunted down, but this was determined to be human fault. Darwinism in action.
Anyways we thanked her for the tip and headed North towards Helena....
yabanja
Explorer
Hellgate
That afternoon we arrived in Helena, Montana. We usually avoid urban centers, but we had to pick up a new phone as it turned out that ours wasn't going to work in Canada. While there we explored the town and ran into a nice couple from Australia that was biking all around the world. We invited them to have breakfast with us and sat down to compare notes. It tuned out that they were on the Great Divide trail from Mexico to the Canadian Rockies. I had never heard of it. It is a primarily dirt route for bicycles along the continental divide. Who knew that there was a preplanned route all set out for us! We had been winging it by examining the map daily up until this point. There is a nice website on the trail here : https://www.eatsleepridegreatdivide.com/#start=0&end=2691 We would end up following this route most of the way up to Canada.(Although there were a few spots where we had to backtrack significantly due to single track stretches.)
We had to spend the night to wait for our phone to catch up with us and asked the Verizon guy where the best camping was. He directed us to the large lake a few miles east of town. We headed that way. The weather was super threatening with big thunder storms and high winds. there were several campgrounds on the east side of the lake but nothing with shelter and they were all full of atv/boater/hunter types. We consulted the maps and decided to do a little dirt road exploration. That took us to Hellgate canyon. It was a pretty cool slot canyon with heavy brush, water crossings, 4-low steep climbs, pouring rain, and some cool petroglyphs. To top it all off, we ended up finding a pristine camping spot in the woods next to a stream without another soul for miles. Just the kind of adventure we were after.
Here are some photos!
That afternoon we arrived in Helena, Montana. We usually avoid urban centers, but we had to pick up a new phone as it turned out that ours wasn't going to work in Canada. While there we explored the town and ran into a nice couple from Australia that was biking all around the world. We invited them to have breakfast with us and sat down to compare notes. It tuned out that they were on the Great Divide trail from Mexico to the Canadian Rockies. I had never heard of it. It is a primarily dirt route for bicycles along the continental divide. Who knew that there was a preplanned route all set out for us! We had been winging it by examining the map daily up until this point. There is a nice website on the trail here : https://www.eatsleepridegreatdivide.com/#start=0&end=2691 We would end up following this route most of the way up to Canada.(Although there were a few spots where we had to backtrack significantly due to single track stretches.)
We had to spend the night to wait for our phone to catch up with us and asked the Verizon guy where the best camping was. He directed us to the large lake a few miles east of town. We headed that way. The weather was super threatening with big thunder storms and high winds. there were several campgrounds on the east side of the lake but nothing with shelter and they were all full of atv/boater/hunter types. We consulted the maps and decided to do a little dirt road exploration. That took us to Hellgate canyon. It was a pretty cool slot canyon with heavy brush, water crossings, 4-low steep climbs, pouring rain, and some cool petroglyphs. To top it all off, we ended up finding a pristine camping spot in the woods next to a stream without another soul for miles. Just the kind of adventure we were after.
Here are some photos!
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yabanja
Explorer
To Glacier
After a down day in Helena we headed north towards Glacier following the Great divide trail. The day was stormy which kept the dust down and made for fantastic scenery.
After a couple of hours we came to a railroad crossing in the middle of nowhere blocked by a stopped train. We decided to take the opportunity to have some lunch. It was a fairly steep grade and after a few minutes another one came up the hill. My grandfather was a train conductor, and I sort have a thing for trains so I had to shoot a video!
https://vimeo.com/210769704
After a few minutes the way was clear and the road beckoned. As we wound up and down the rolling hills we passed many side roads. I have this thing about side roads. They have an extreme magnetism. When will I ever be back here? Next bend-itis at its worst! I finally gave in to the urge and turned down a muddy track. It only went for a few hundred yards before dead ending. We decided to get out and stretch our legs a bit, and I saw a small track heading into the woods. Just around the bend we came to a large old mine. There was a lot of machinery around and big old shaft. Cool stuff! This was just positive affirmation for our desire to explore every nook and cranny!
We had started to run into a lot of Bicyclers on the trail. It was interesting the wide variety of people and gear we encountered. What to take if you are going to ride from Canada to Mexico? The first people we met were ultra fit and traveling super light with Fat Bikes. They had been heading from Mexico to Canada and were nearing the end of their Journey. Seasoned Veterans. Most of the people seemed to be going from Canada South. This meant that they were doing all the biggest mountains first. Before we departed on our trip Sakshi had stocked the larder so that we would have plenty of dry goods for the trip. All we ended up needing to buy in our months on the road was dairy and fresh vegetables. She did a great job. In some cases too great! It turned out that we had 3 costco sized boxes of Nature Valley Honey And Oat Granolla Bars. In other words over a hundred. We decided to stop for all the bikers, have a chat, and give out granola bars. No one refused and many were grateful for the social opportunity! We met all kinds of people. Mostly European. It turned out that there had already been a lot of attrition even this early in the ride. Many people were on "cross bikes" with skinny tires. A poor choice for the gravel roads. Some of the climbs were brutal and many people were overladen with too much stuff. We saw a lot of people walking and pushing their bikes. It reminded me of my time on the John Muir trail several years before. I was hiking 250 miles and had a fair amount of stuff but I constantly was giving things away and sending things home. I had it fairly pared down by the end. You could always tell when you ran into someone doing the whole pacific crest trail as they looked like homeless people. Inevitably they would only be carrying what appeared to be a small day pack. Less is more people. I guess I could apply that to FIDO. Here we are driving around in a 10000 pound vehicle. We could just as easily do with a Suzuki Samurai! No matter, I love FIDO!
After a few more miles we came to the site of the old emperor mine. Sakshi worked in the mining industry and likes mines as much as I like trains so we stopped to have a look around. It had a nice plaque talking about the history and an impressive amount of machinery laying around.
After a down day in Helena we headed north towards Glacier following the Great divide trail. The day was stormy which kept the dust down and made for fantastic scenery.
After a couple of hours we came to a railroad crossing in the middle of nowhere blocked by a stopped train. We decided to take the opportunity to have some lunch. It was a fairly steep grade and after a few minutes another one came up the hill. My grandfather was a train conductor, and I sort have a thing for trains so I had to shoot a video!
https://vimeo.com/210769704
After a few minutes the way was clear and the road beckoned. As we wound up and down the rolling hills we passed many side roads. I have this thing about side roads. They have an extreme magnetism. When will I ever be back here? Next bend-itis at its worst! I finally gave in to the urge and turned down a muddy track. It only went for a few hundred yards before dead ending. We decided to get out and stretch our legs a bit, and I saw a small track heading into the woods. Just around the bend we came to a large old mine. There was a lot of machinery around and big old shaft. Cool stuff! This was just positive affirmation for our desire to explore every nook and cranny!
We had started to run into a lot of Bicyclers on the trail. It was interesting the wide variety of people and gear we encountered. What to take if you are going to ride from Canada to Mexico? The first people we met were ultra fit and traveling super light with Fat Bikes. They had been heading from Mexico to Canada and were nearing the end of their Journey. Seasoned Veterans. Most of the people seemed to be going from Canada South. This meant that they were doing all the biggest mountains first. Before we departed on our trip Sakshi had stocked the larder so that we would have plenty of dry goods for the trip. All we ended up needing to buy in our months on the road was dairy and fresh vegetables. She did a great job. In some cases too great! It turned out that we had 3 costco sized boxes of Nature Valley Honey And Oat Granolla Bars. In other words over a hundred. We decided to stop for all the bikers, have a chat, and give out granola bars. No one refused and many were grateful for the social opportunity! We met all kinds of people. Mostly European. It turned out that there had already been a lot of attrition even this early in the ride. Many people were on "cross bikes" with skinny tires. A poor choice for the gravel roads. Some of the climbs were brutal and many people were overladen with too much stuff. We saw a lot of people walking and pushing their bikes. It reminded me of my time on the John Muir trail several years before. I was hiking 250 miles and had a fair amount of stuff but I constantly was giving things away and sending things home. I had it fairly pared down by the end. You could always tell when you ran into someone doing the whole pacific crest trail as they looked like homeless people. Inevitably they would only be carrying what appeared to be a small day pack. Less is more people. I guess I could apply that to FIDO. Here we are driving around in a 10000 pound vehicle. We could just as easily do with a Suzuki Samurai! No matter, I love FIDO!
After a few more miles we came to the site of the old emperor mine. Sakshi worked in the mining industry and likes mines as much as I like trains so we stopped to have a look around. It had a nice plaque talking about the history and an impressive amount of machinery laying around.
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yabanja
Explorer
A bit late....
That is the truth! I have really been procrastinating on this trip report! So much so that we are about to take off for this years trip and I haven't even gotten through half of last years!!!
Oh well!
Here's a video of the Montana portion of the trip!
https://vimeo.com/215261621
That is the truth! I have really been procrastinating on this trip report! So much so that we are about to take off for this years trip and I haven't even gotten through half of last years!!!
Oh well!
Here's a video of the Montana portion of the trip!
https://vimeo.com/215261621