Day 16: West Yellowstone to Canyon Village

Well, I’m in Yellowstone National Park right now, and it is an international experience. So far, I have heard French, Spanish, German, Russian, and several Asian languages spoken here. The park itself has many more services than Glacier – there are dishwashing sinks near the restrooms, laundry, showers, a gas station, and a general store at the campground. Traffic is heavy this weekend (no surprise there), but the roads I have seen have good shoulders.

This morning, I woke to a heavy fog that left my tent very wet and visibility quite bad. I packed up and then went into W Yellowstone for some groceries and breakfast. The road into Yellowstone to Madison was nice but fairly nondescript; there were nesting areas for Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans, but I didn’t see either of these birds. The Firehole River was really cool; I’m glad I took that detour, despite the steep hills. There was a bike path loop through the main geothermal area, and it turns out that what the park service considers a “primitive bike trail” is pretty well-maintained, just not paved. The hot springs are the coolest of the geothermal features; the deeper ones show several different colors as the depth increases.

Old Faithful was impressive, but I wouldn’t really recommend it to bicycle tourists. The car traffic was awful, and if you go, you should plan some down time afterward, because about 2000 cars will all want to leave the parking area just after every eruption. When I finally got moving (about 1:30), a thunderstorm was building, but it was to the NE and looked like it was moving E, while I was going SE, so I started over Craig Pass to West Thumb despite the storm. The thunderstorm got very bad, including hail, about when I crested Craig Pass (7 miles from Old Faithful). So I sheltered under the overhang of an information sign (the sign explained that the small lake at the top of the pass drains in both directions; neat). I must have looked pretty miserable, because some motorists with some extra room on their bike rack offered me a ride. Since Jason and Nina were going around the entire south loop, including Canyon Village, I rode with them all the way there. They are on vacation from Arizona, and both are into road biking, so we traded stories and ride suggestions.

I got a campsite about 6, but noticed shortly later that I had left my bike computer in the car; O well, I will try to replace it later. Right now, I am sitting in the camp laundromat, not because I am doing laundry, but because it is lighted and heated, and therefore a good place for reading and writing.

Approximate Route:

Today: 45 miles (approx.)
Total: 1549 miles

Day 15: Twin Bridges to West Yellowstone

Right now, I am sitting in front of the Slide Inn, a fly shop and campground about 30 miles short of W Yellowstone, waiting out a thunderstorm. Signs are not good concerning whether it will stop before nightfall, so I may just go a few more miles into the National Forest before camping. I thought about camping here, but they want $20 for a tent site, and I’m not willing to pay that. There is a Forest Service Visitor Center a couple of miles up the road, and they probably have a covered picnic table that I can use to make dinner before I camp. I will roll up there if there is a short break in the storm.

Today started well – I was on the road by 7 with an overcast sky and occasional sprinkles of rain. I hoped to get some additional resupply in Virginia City, but this turned out to be a tourist trap museum town, so I pressed onward. Right after Virginia City was a large hill I hadn’t known about before – about 3 miles of 7% grade, so I stopped for a break at Ennis. The next 40 miles were rather awful: a little rain, distant thunder, a constant gentle upwards grade, 2 flat tires, no drinkable water, and a 10mph headwind. I made it here largely because a motorist at the rest area gave me a liter of drinking water.

Later: the storm stopped briefly, but there was another line of clouds rolling in, so I got as far as the visitor center, where I made dinner. About 7:15, the lightning had stopped entirely, and the rain was minimal. But as soon as I got on the road, the rain picked up until it was a genuine downpour (no lightning, at least). I got my rain gear on in record time and managed to stay sort-of dry, but the rain continued to fall for another half hour. Fortunately, it stopped just before the sun set, which gave me hope that camping tonight would not be miserable. Around 9:30, it was fairly dark, so I found a campsite off of US-191 about 3 miles north of W Yellowstone. My tent and bag stayed almost dry, and I have dry clothes to sleep in, so I am feeling pretty good, all things considered.

Approximate Route:

Today: 116 miles
Total: 1504 miles

Day 14: Somewhere near Bannack to Twin Bridges

The town of Twin Bridges, Montana, has a small park where cyclists can camp for free (donations accepted). There are also free showers and a small screened area for getting away from the mosquitos. So I decided to make it a short day and stop here.

It was cold when I woke up, which was good, because it kept the mosquitos inactive. I got into Dillon around 9 and found a bike shop, but the hours were only 4-7. Fortunately, the owner (named Joe) posts his mobile number on the door, and when I called him, he was willing to come in and sell me a new tire. We also chatted a bit about bike touring, and he was able to confirm the existence of the Twin Bridges Bike Camp, which I had only heard of before on internet discussion forums. Twin Bridges is also far enough from Yellowstone that groceries are fairly cheap, so it is a good place to resupply before going into the park. I figure I will be in Yellowstone/Teton for 5-6 days, so I need to carry a lot of food.

I arrived in Twin Bridges about 1 PM, set up my tent to let it dry out, got lunch at The Shack, went to the laundromat to wash my clothes, and then to the library while the washing machine is going. I also went to the post office to ship back a few items that I turned out not to need, and which weighed almost 3 pounds and took up about 200 cubic inches of space. That is important, and allows me to carry all the extra food.

I thought that there might be other cyclists getting in later today, so I bought some beer at the grocery. Unfortunately, none did, just a homeless guy named Donald. He makes what money he has by foraging for old leather coats at thrift stores and the like, then turning them into various smaller leatherwork. While we were talking and drinking beer, he made me a small case for my cell phone. I don’t know that it will be very useful, but it was a nice gesture, and the workmanship seems rather good.

Approximate Route:

Today: 59 miles
Total: 1388 miles

Day 13: Victor to Somewhere near Bannack

It was another good/bad day today. My choice of a campsite last night was not too great, since there was a streetlight that came on about 11:30 that I had assumed was burnt out. But I went for coffee at the local gas station and was on the road around 7:45. It started out warm – I didn’t need arm or knee warmers, and it was around 85-90 degrees by the time I got to Sula. Before that though, I picked up a very large nail in my rear tire and had to fix another flat. Near the driveway where I stopped to fix it, there was a house for sale for $735K. That’s a lot, but here’s what it buys: 2000 square feet, a 2 car garage, 40 acres of land, and several hundred feet of private river frontage. In Seattle $700K gets you a nice townhome. I thought about getting lunch at the convenience store/gas station/diner/campground/minigolf/bait store/post office that is the town of Sula, but there was a 3000 foot, 8-mile climb up Chief Joseph Pass looming, so I thought it best to eat just a little.

The climb was hard, but mostly just boring. It was well graded, with no steeper or shallower sections to make things interesting, no switchbacks to speak of, and no particularly good views, just dry pine forests. The descent included a very scenic stretch along the Big Hole River, but that descent was short compared to the climb: the east side is at 6000 feet, while the west side is at 4400 (the summit is 7200, making this the highest point yet on this ride, 600 feet higher than Logan Pass).

I should have taken lunch in Sula, because I didn’t get to Wisdom (the next human habitation) until 4:30, and the mosquitos in the Big Hole Valley are large, numerous, and fast enough to catch a cyclist whenever he slows down. Apparently, bug spray is referred to as “big hole cologne” by the locals. Wisdom and Jackson are very small towns (perhaps 200 people, one general store, and one bar/cafe in each). I got dinner in the bar at Jackson, where the mosquitos were less agrressive. I was able to talk to some locals there, who complain about the mosquitos at least as much as those passing through, about campsites, and several between Jackson and Dillon were mentioned.

Unfortunately, I never got that far. While climbing the hill south of town (called Big Hole Pass or Carroll Hill depending on who you ask), I got another flat. This time, I noticed that the tire looked very worn, with the tread starting to fall off the carcass. Hopefully, I can make it the 45 miles or so into Dillon tomorrow and procure a replacement tire.

I camped about half a mile past the scenic byway turnoff, just on the road side of a fence, behind a large cluster of sagebrush. I’m pretty visible from the road, but I doubt anyone will bother me – this is a very sparsely populated area and traffic on this road is extremely light.

I am getting better at setting up camp with lots of mosquitos around: use large amounts of Cutter to hold them off temporarily, pitch the tent as quickly as possible, then get in the tent and stay there. I also worked out a way to minimize the number of mosquitos that get in the tent with me: it is possible to enter (and close) the vestibule door before opening the door proper. This is why I like taking a 2-man tent: I can do a lot of things (change, unpack, repack, etc.) while in the tent and not worry too much about the bugs.

Approximate Route:

Today: 126 miles
Total: 1329 miles

Day 12: Polson to Victor

This morning I was up early, ran to Safeway for water and coffee. I also got some hot water for oatmeal, which saved me the trouble of getting out my camp stove in the morning. It turns out that there is a rather nice bike trail that parallels US-93 from Polson to Ronan, and it has some potentially good (unofficial) campsites along it. Once I had climbed the small hill south of town, I found myself on top a a plateau, dropping back into a valley around a town called St. Ignatius (apparently Jesuit missionaries were among the first white men in the area). There followed the day’s only real climb, about 1.5 miles to get over some hills into the next valley over.

Near Arlee, there was a lot of construction, and somewhere in the middle of it, I got my first flat tire of the trip. It was the rear tire, naturally. After walking for a while to find a convenient spot to change it (i.e. not in the construction area), I unloaded everything from the bike and spent about 20 minutes patching the tube. The culprit was a thin bit of wire from a retread that must have come off of an 18-wheeler. The construction continued for about 8 miles after that, but I stopped at a convenience store/deli for lunch before it was over. There was a short, steep descent into the Bitterroot Valley (44 mph!) followed by several miles of ugliness into Missoula.

Once entering Missoula, I located The Bicycle Doctor, where one of the techs gave me some advice on the squeaks. The worst of them turned out to be the left pedal bushing, which needed grease. The creaking is gone too (solved by lightly greasing the seat rails). Unfortunately, repacking the derailleur pulley bushings failed to end

that

squeak, so I tried cleaning the chain again, which sort of worked.

Another of the techs suggested that I go to a nearby medical walk-in clinic for the ankle, and I did, but they were full for the day and didn’t open the next day until noon. I did go to the natural food store and got something called Arnica, a topical gel that is supposed to help with swelling and bruising.

I used the picnic table in front of a tire store to make dinner, and then continued to Victor, where I was when it got dark. The few people here I have asked about camping have suggested the football field. No one is sure that it is legal, but the general consensus is that no one will care if I don’t make a nuisance of myself, and there is no police station in town anyway.

Approximate Route:

Today: 113 miles
Total: 1203 miles

Day 11: Two Medicine to Polson

When I woke up (at about 5), the mosquitos were still active, so I got out ASAP (about 35 minutes later) and headed to East Glacier. While on the way, I decided firmly to continue and not get on the train in E. Glacier. This was helped by the aforementioned cup of mediocre gas station coffee. The climb up Marias Pass was a bit of a dissappointment, being really a small rise, but after yesterday’s hills and wind, I am not complaining. The descent down the west side was fun though, and I was able to maintain about 25mph for some time due to a gentle downhill. By 11 I was back to West Glacier, where I purchased some fresh cherries from a fruit stand. I ended up at Woody’s, about 10 miles south of Columbia Falls, for lunch, where I ate perhaps the best reuben sandwich ever. I stayed on MT-35 all the way down the Flathead valley, an stopped to camp at Yellow Bay SP about 5:30, but their walk-in sites were $18/night, so I passed. I should have stopped at Blue Bay, but kept going to Polson because the map I got in Whitefish indicated that camping in the city park there is legal. The sheriff informed me that this is not in fact the case, and the KOA has no tent sites, so I am sitting in the park making dinner and planning to go a few more miles and camping once it gets dark. There are some local high-schoolers hanging out and pretending they are UFC types, and I have mostly been ignoring them. They have done the same, except for a few (mostly) good-spirited comments concerning the tightness of my pants.

When I get to Missoula tomorrow, I will find a bike shop (the squeaking has gotten horrible) and a doctor, since my achilles is back with a vengeance and is starting to swell a little.

I eventually camped at First Baptist, Polson. Scott, the youth pastor, lives next door and gave me his permission. to do so.

Approximate Route:

Today: 148 miles
Total: 1087 miles (broke 1000!)

Day 10: Avalanche Creek to Two Medicine

I got a not-so-early start, but before John, Clint, and Josh (3 cyclists from Vermont who pulled in late last night), who were cooking pancakes and bacon for breakfast. The climb up Logan Pass was difficult, but not too much so. I think that I had psyched myself up for it pretty well, and the frequent stops to take pictures helped too. But a big part of it was the fact that my conditioning has improved noticeably in the past week – Logan Pass feels easier that Washington Pass despite being 50% longer and just as steep.

The top of the pass was spectacular – it is above treeline (and therefore windy and chilly), and there was still enough snow on the ground that some people were carrying skis. Unfortunately, the trail to Hidden Lake is still under a few feet of snow, so I didn’t go there in my sandals. I did try a photocollage 360 degree panorama, so we’ll see how that turns out once I have access to a computer with Photoshop. At the top I met a couple on a supported tour to Jasper, and some guys who apparently get paid to ride their bikes, by backroads.com. I need to investigate this and see if I can get that job.

The descent was a little bit hairy because of the wind, but nothing much worth mentioning. A lot of motorists had stopped to take pictures of some deer, and I laughed at them as I went by. Sunrift Gorge is really cool; it is about 20 feet deep and 2 feet wide. While I was there, I hiked about a mile to Baring Falls and back.

The ten miles along Lake St. Mary were the only flat part of today’s ride of any length. I had hoped that US-89 and MT-49 would be flat, but there was no such luck. As soon as I exited the park and turned right, I was confronted with a 4-mile climb over the Hudson Divide (separates the Mississippi Basin from the Saskatchewan, which flows into Hudson Bay) followed by a series of smaller hills for the next 12-15 miles. MT-49 had even steeper hills, with tight switchbacks, so that vehicles were limited to 20 feet long on that road. The wind had also picked up by then. I don’t know which way it was blowing, but the hills caused it to swirl, and it stopped me in my tracks a couple of times, nearly blowing me off a cliff once. The descent was of the hair-raising thrill ride variety – I would like to go back (hopefully when the wind isn’t as bad) on my road bike to see how fast I could take those turns without the panniers and with sticky racing tires.

My camping experience in Two Medicine was rather awful – there were tons of mosquitos, and the ground was too hard to stake down the tent. I bent two tent pegs trying to do so, and since the tent blew away if I didn’t stake it, I decided to go without. No tent + billions of mosquites = miserable. It was bad enough that I thought about abandoning, but then I remembered that camping-related depression is easily cured by a cup of mediocre gas station coffee and a good ride the next day, so I didn’t.

Approximate Route:

Today: 73 miles
Total: 941 miles