Two Bob's Heart of the West 2014

[Pinelogcreek]

We're there any sections that the Jeep could not follow on? I'd like to do something similar in my Tacoma. Thanks for the awesome posts. Living in Florida you don't find long views unless your on the coast. But you can see all the miles of pine trees you ever want.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Tony Hugel designed the whole loop to be "big bike" friendly so it's not real technical. The Jeep had no problem with the route and was only in 4WD 5-10% of the time.

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[DYNOBOB]

Saturday Sept 20 - Day Seven - Brigham City, UT to XCELLENT KAMP1 (waypoint), WY - 238 miles


When planning our segment for this day I knew we wanted to camp, and this waypoint caught my eye. There are two dozen "camp" waypoints within 10 miles of it, but someone made a point of giving this one a unique name - that's good enough for me (DockingPilot's report mentioned it also). So our destination tonight is an 8600' primitive campsite above the Grey's River valley. Yeah baby...


There's a little slab this morning as we head for the very NE corner of Utah. This is not a bad thing though, as US Rt 89 is one of my favorite roads in the country and this adds another piece to what I've ridden.

30 minutes into our day, we found our route blocked by a big time marathon.

Bummer, we were only a few miles from our turn onto dirt, but it meant we got to ride another beautiful stretch of 89, climbing thru canyons toward Bear Lake Summit. It was chilly (upper 40's) this morning and we were running our heated grips and jackets, I'd recommend you have both if you do this trip in late Sept.

Anyway, we got back on track and did some easy gravel toward Bear Lake. We didn't need fuel so we avoided Garden City and used ALT 8 cutoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6grHHnaBxbE


On the south end of Bear Lake there's a great picnic area so we stopped for a baloney/ham samitch.

Once you hit western Wyoming things flatten out for a while, and you're going to be on gravel the rest of the day.

A short distance up the road we pass the famous "teddy bear shrine".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB5lgrfT6vM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SCN73RH41A

 

[DYNOBOB]

Threading thru cows...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6moZXwcFaLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDl2rn1UD7A

This is a section of the route marked "bad if wet". Near here, we met a weather-worn old local, puttin' along side saddle on a four wheeler. He told us you recently needed to be chained up to get thru here in a four wheel drive. Sure enough, for about 10 miles you could see chain imprints in the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk5x62u2HSY

The terrain is constantly changing...

I'll offer some advise here... The next two shots are near the turn to the alt route that takes us up to our campsite for the night. Right in this area we stopped and looked at a beautiful campsite in a cluster of huge pines right on the creek (possibly GREAT CAMP3). It has a steep 10' drop from the road so it was being passed over by all the hunters with their travel trailers. It was 5:00 and we debated, but decided to stick with XCELLENT KAMP1.

An hour later we realized this was a mistake. What we didn't know, was in 2012 the Fontenelle Fire had burned the area near XCELLENTKAMP1 on the 16a ALT route. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't pretty. XK1 was occupied anyway. Almost every campsite was occupied by hunters, but we found one about a mile away. Don't get me wrong, camping at 8600' in Wyoming with good weather is not something to complain about, and firewood was very easy to find.

.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Sunday Sept 21 - Day Eight - Near XCELLENT KAMP1 to Idaho Falls - 150 miles

Today is an easy day with short miles, so we don't have to rush getting away from camp. As usual, I'm up wandering around at 6:45 - and it's a little chilly.

(clock is two hours fast)

Fire is feeling pretty good this morning.

Mountain House Breakfast Skillet (Wrap) are awesome, cozy keeps them hot...

Something did some digging last night...

Well, I hate to break up the party boys, but there's some rain headin' our way. Maybe we can beat it to Idaho Falls...

Today being overcast, we didn't stop a lot for pics. We start out by finishing the ALT 16a track which is the nicest riding of the day.

Riding along Cottonwood Creek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6XVexSh8Kw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvKeUcQFCng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtPskI7-fRY

 

[DYNOBOB]

McDougal Gap

Winding back down to the Greys River.

Found a nice spot for lunch right on the Greys River.

Ummm.... Lays.

The second half of the day was unremarkable. Being a Sunday, we fought dust clouds from departing hunters pulling campers all the way to Alpine. Once there we discovered a closure where the track resumed dirt, and had to slab it a bit to figure out a work around. We got back on track though and headed up into the Palisades, taking the scenic route into Idaho Falls.

Just a few pics from there.

The wind farm was cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wjhTYUOJ8U

So, we pulled into town about 4:30 and beat the rain. Got rooms at the GuestHouse Inn (recommend it) and set a time to have dinner with The Legend (Tony).

It was raining by the time we finished dinner. We've averaged 216 miles/day for the last 8 days, so we've decided to take a rest day tomorrow.

.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Monday Sept 22 - Day Nine - Rest Day

This one will be quick. Like I said, the GuestHouse Inn is a great spot to stay. Parking in back puts you between the hotel and the Snake River, which has a beautiful riverwalk. There's a decent restaurant across the street, and a Walmart a mile away.

It stopped raining during breakfast and turned into a beautiful day. Our good weather luck continues. First order of business was to wash the bikes (they hooked up a hose for us), then some routine maintenance and several loads of laundry. Made some sandwiches and ate lunch in the back yard. Nice relaxing day, capped off by dinner with Tony again.

Air filter cleaning.

By the end of the day, we were really looking forward to getting back on the bikes. Tomorrow we head for Montana...

.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Tues Sept 23 - Day Ten - Idaho Falls to Bannack Campground - 170 (190) miles


One of my favorite days of the trip, the route today takes us across the agricultural Snake River Plain, then gets very remote as you cross the Continental Divide and Bitterroot Mountains into Montana.

Things started off chilly but sunny, about 15 miles out of town that changed a bit. Apparently there is a geographic bowl in the Snake River Plain, and today it was full of icy fog.

For about 30 miles, we rode gravel roads in fog so dense you could barely see the bike in front or behind you. Semis hauling potatoes and occasional ruts in the road kept it interesting too. With glasses and visors fogging up, the squeegee built into my gloves really came in handy, great invention that. We stopped to gas up after 30 minutes of this and they said fog is pretty much a daily occurrence until ~10am.

A few miles later we climbed out of the bowl and the sun reappeared.

That is a bunch of alfalfa hay! Thousands of tons.

Tony recommended we check out Mahogany Pass, and since we've only got to cover 170 miles today, we gave it a look. It adds about 20 miles to our day, but is a good break from easy gravel roads...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzV3gJaICyQ

Stopped for a snack break approaching the climb to the summit and Jim/Gary decided to wait here. Dad and I went a couple miles farther until it was obvious the top was covered by clouds. This is a great ALT route that Tony provides, on a clear day its well worth the time. It is some of the more technical riding of the route, similar to the passes in Colorado as you near the top.

So we head back down to the guys...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlQB09vACf4

First of may old homesteads we saw today.

Back at the main track we stopped for lunch. We're heading for the mountains in the background.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Heading into the Bitterroot Range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n87V_Bs3mIg


Maybe my favorite vista of the trip. This is the view you dream of riding your dual sport thru!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-WdzpLMcQ

More homesteads - hard to imagine how remote they must have felt 100 years ago.

The last 20 miles to Bannack the terrain was looking pretty barren. I was a little concerned what the campground was going to look like... there was also some rain showing on gps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkGBJLnS40

Nothing to fear, the campground is awesome. Situated in large aspens right on Grasshopper Creek, it has a modern pit toilet but no water/elec/showers. Our luck held on the rain too, got about four drops, and a nice payoff for those...

The right side of the rainbow is dropping right into the Bannack ghost town - we tour it in the morning.

Another off the chart day of riding - temps only dropping into the 40's tonight - the gentle sound of running water - we'll sleep great tonight!

.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Wed Sept 24 - Day 11 - Bannack Campground to Clover Meadows Campground - 150 miles


I've given us easy miles today since we're breaking camp and setting up again tonight. We also want to wander around the ghost town a while.

Up again early, I walk around the campground, soaking up my first time camping in Montana. Nothing but the sound of water and a bird...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBUmoPiK4TI

We're in Vigilante campground....and I feel like something's watching me.

After breakfast, we walk to the Bannack town site while our tents dry off.

From Wikipedia: Founded in 1862 and named after the local Bannock Indians, it was the site of a major gold discovery in 1862, and served as the capital of Montana Territory briefly in 1864, until the capital was moved to Virginia City. Bannack continued as a mining town, though with a dwindling population. The last residents left in the 1970s.

Hotel Meade, built in 1875 as a courthouse.

Schoolhouse/Masonic Lodge

Church...with Rev. Jim.

Jail

More Main St.

Well...back to the campsite to pack up.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Let's get riding.... Only stop today is Dillon for fuel, and we spot our first ADV bike of the trip, the F800GS gets away before we speak however. Knowing we're primitive camping again tonight, we grab some supplies and fill up our water jugs.

The 150 miles today is mostly gravel county roads, nothing extraordinary, but gets you to one of the highlights of the route - the Gravelly Range!

Maybe 20 miles out of town, I see a bike in the distance and we catch Nick from Missoula on his F800GSA.

He's out riding for a few days, running a similar route to ours but no exact plan. Said goodbye, maybe we'll see you on the trail...

We pull over for lunch near a cool old homestead.

While eating, we hear a bike, and Nick stops to say Hi.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Making the turn for the Gravellys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnghTW-j-NI

You had to pay attention to the ruts in this section or get spit off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nH5XYI2-OQ

Nice campsite here, I believe it's a waypoint marked "good camp_" in Tony's data.

Also near here, we pass Cottonwood Campground which is very nice, right along a creek with lots of big trees. At 6800', it has pit toilets, no showers, is very sheltered, and you would not regret staying there. We stopped and looked at the Vigilante Cabin, but you have to reserve it well in advance. If you need a full bathroom, electricity, etc this is not a bad place to stay.

On Tony's recommendation, we're going to press on a little higher to the 9000' Clover Meadows campground.

This is indeed a special place. At very nearly the highest elevation in the Gravellys, there is nothing here except one old fashioned pit toilet. No marked campsites, one hunter in his trailer about 1/4 mile away, and plenty of firewood. AWESOME! My only comment would be; if bad weather was expected, you're pretty exposed and might be better off at lower elevation. Our weather luck is holding though, and the temps only dipped into the low 40's overnight.

Tomorrow we see the real splendor of the Gravellys!

 

[DYNOBOB]

Thur Sept 25 - Day 12 - Clover Meadows to Coulter Bay Village, WY - 185 miles


Another beautiful day starts with Jim getting a scouting report from our neighbor. Worth noting, he says that in 27yrs of hunting the Gravellys, he's never seen a bear...wish we knew that last night.

We hate to leave this place, but the trail calls.

The first 15 miles today are stunning, a highlight of the trip for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nolmhQsUP3A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdr5Q352zT8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KLEtNYTDOY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsVkq3zd4tM

Well, that's the Gravelly Range. Without Tony and Frank I'd never have heard of it! Thanks Guys! :clap


Now we're heading south to the Teton Range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r19Qulqs7K4

 

[DYNOBOB]

Lunch time, another chance to soak it in...

Back underway, we cross the Continental Divide for the 4th time on the trip...

...and sneak up on the west slope of the Grand Tetons.

Just a few miles after ^this^ shot, I was flagged down by a guy hiking toward me on the road. It's Nick from Missoula but I didn't recognize him without his bike gear on. His bike is a mile up the road with a flat tire... Well, He must be livin' right, it's 20 miles to town and we come by with mobile roadside assistance.

We break out my 5gal bucket of tire stuff and Gary offers his spare 17" tube. Nick was new to this so we showed him the ropes. It also helped that Gary had a F800.

Nasty! It put 4 holes in the tube, two on the tire side and two on the rim side.

If you don't know already, a pack of Grimebuster hand wipes is a good thing to have on your bike...



We're just a short run from our destination now.

The last 10 miles were a little rough and washed out, we met a loaded VStrom1000 that wasn't having a good time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRqMcTlzGmE


We intended to camp at Coulter Bay, but the campground was closed because of moose mating activity. Apparently a tourist taking pictures had caused a fatality to a cow moose. After 3 days without a shower the cabin was a welcome change anyway. A little steep at $220 though.

Had dinner at the restaurant and sent messages home (wi-fi but no cell service).

Another awesome day... Only 2 days to go.

 

[DYNOBOB]

Fri Sept 26 - Day 13 - Coulter Bay Village, Tetons to Pinedale, WY - 180 miles


Our plan for the next three days is:
Pinedale tonight.
Camping on the Oregon Trail near Atlantic City tomorrow.
Back to the truck Sunday night.

Today though, we may have to make some judgment calls because of the weather forecast. Today's forecast is great, tomorrow's is so-so, and Sunday's is 100% chance of rain. I'm 100% certain I don't want to miss the Parting of the Ways on tomorrow's route, so my wheels are turning on what to do. Are we going to need to push farther today than planned...? Better get rollin...

Up and at it Jim! Only three days to go...

Four of us pretty well filled up the cabin.

Had breakfast at the restaurant, looked at the 10day again, and got the bikes loaded.

Without a doubt, the Teton Range is one of the highlights of the route. Today we were lucky to catch it with early morning light on its east face. I could have sat right here all day!

Because we had all been here before, and had weather concerns, we opted to cut off Tony's optional loop down into Teton NP. In hindsight, I wish we would have done it, prob missed some good pics.

The day starts with some pretty nice roads skirting the south side of Yellowstone.