Ride to the roof of the World!

Red Lodge, Harleys by the score

 I approached Red Lodge in company with a KTM Adventurer being ridden two up, at which point we hit yet another set of road works with a diversion around the main approach to the town. I followed the diversion until the signs ran out, hesitated and then made a right turn. The KTM followed. I was hoping that he wasn't following me thinking I knew the way, as I hadn't a clue! However we both made it to the town centre with the KTM swinging around to park amidst a long line of Harleys. Whilst it seemed a rather nice littler town, time was pushing on and I still had to find a camp site, hopefully before Bear Tooth Pass, as I wanted to take time to savour the ride across in the early morning. One thing I really didn’t want to do was to camp somewhere near the top… 11,000 ft is just a little to high for my liking; at any time of the year. As it turned out I didn't have to ride very far at all as I spotted the by now familiar sign for a  Forestry Basic Camp site, in fact several of them all off along one turning to the right of the main road. The first was predictably full of huge RVs so I rode on a way, finding that the surfaced road soon ended giving way to a dirt road, with a sign warning that it was only suitable for vehicles with high ground clearance; just my cup of tea. It really wasn't that bad, just a bit pot holey; far worst with 4 (or more) wheels than for two. A little way up, yes it was also climbing quite steeply, I came across a hippy bus and was asked to look out for a hippy encampment further up and if found to let them know that Durrant was down the track and for someone to go down to meet him. He didn't want to risk wrecking the bus on the rough road. To be brutally honest, I think he was several years too late for that thought! Although I did tell him that if I found them, I might join the them….I quite fancied the idea of a party!

 I passed a few more of the camp sites and kept going until all signs of campers disappeared; not that I'm anti-social; well perhaps, just a bit! I found a great place to camp in amongst the trees with easy access to the river which was just about 10ft away, for both fresh water supply and a good bath in the morning! I even had the choice of two fire rings and an adequate supply of firewood, what more could I ask? A nice steak to cook on the open fire would have been just perfect, but alas it was not to be. However it was still a very pleasant evening with the smoke from the fire keeping the mosis away… all except for a pesky kid camped with his family a couple of hundred yards away who spent the entire evening, until well after I went to bed, tearing up and down the road at stupid speeds. I unkindly kept hoping he would fall off, but alas it was not to be. By now I was of course deep in bear country so like a good camper I made sure all my food and cooking kit was packed away in my panniers before I turn in. I have no idea if Touratech Panniers are tested to be bear proof but it was the best I could do. I also parked the bike a little further than usual from my tent in which I had the best protection I could muster. There was of the obligatory Bear Spray, I have of course never used it but the principle is not rocket science, it’s really just a case of pointing it the right way and having the nerve to stand there as the bear charges…Gulp! I also had a torch to try to make sure that it was a bear that I was about to spray and not the camp Ranger. I had my very sharp axe, although I think that might just get Yogi a little more riled up! And finally I had my razor sharp knife, so that if all else failed I could simply slit my throat. See, I was very well prepared! In the event, as usual, I slept the sleep of the dead and probably wouldn't have awoken until I only had time for the last of these cunning plans…

It was a wonderful start to the following morning; not least I had survived the night and was still breathing, which is always good! I was up just as the sun peaked it's little head over the edge of the surrounding mountains, although it was a little while before it was high enough to catch my little camp site. I breakfasted on freshly cooked, homemade fluffy American pancakes with added Granola and Maple syrup, all washed down with a couple of cups of tea, magic! Tent all packed away, it was time to strip off and brave the icy waters for my first really good scrub for a couple of days, and boy did it feel good! Yes, it was indeed very icy, but the cold soon disappears and leaves a wonderful feeling of freshness. You can't beat a dip in a river or lake to start the day. I had wondered why it had got quite so cold during the evening once the sun had set… I was camped at 8500 ft, which I think is a new camping record for me, the previous being a mere 5800 ft in Bosnia a few years ago!

One of many cheeky little chipmunks at a view point 

I had to retrace my wheel tracks back to the main road to get back on the Bear Tooth Highway and then it was onwards and upwards, oh boy, and how! The road wasn’t as challenging as many I have ridden, not even close, being designed with the huge American RVs in mind, but the scenery excelled. Time after time I stopped to take photographs, each time better than the last. I could see from the range on mountains in front of which I camped, almost the exact spot where I had been. As I was on the road quite early as usual, even with all my stops, the road was fairly quite. Stopping at a view point lay-by for yet for photos, I was amazed to see dozens of little chipmunks running around all over the place. They were so tame that they were taking peanuts out of my fingers! And no, there were not any signs telling the tourists not to feed them as there always is in the parks.

As I pushed on ever higher, accompanied by a growing number of Harley Davidsons and the odd RV, the snow that I had seen from below suddenly appeared righ along side the road. However the temperature stayed remarkably warm dropping only to the low 20s. The peak is at about 10850ft, high enough that you could actually feel that the air was a bit thinner, especially when having stopped for yet another photo, I spotted a small peak a bit to the side of the road with a well worn footpath leading to it, and decided that I might get an

even better picture from the top. Dressed in full bike kit I set off. It wasn't long before I was wishing I had at least left my jacket with the bike; then I was wishing I’d taken along my asthma pump, a drink, a hat; oh hell, I just wished I hadn't bothered ! Anyway I made it there and back still breathing; just. All in all the ride was just stunning; everything I had been told to expect and more. Well worth the few miles extra it put on my run. From Bear Tooth I took a left turn onto the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway which led me eventually down to Cody;

Buffalo Bill or to give him his full name William Cody’s home town ( or one of them!) Whilst not as dramatic as the Bear Tooth, it well lived up to the “scenic” in it’s name as it meandered through forests and pasture land, with the river meandering in harmony along the way. Cody, was much, much bigger than I had imagined from my little map, and very busy, I guess I should have expected that as it is the eastern approach to Yellowstone, which was of course the very reason I was there.

Buffalo Bill's Cabin

A few miles from Cody I stopped at Pahaska for a few supplies.. it was just as well I only wanted a few as that was about all they had in the General Store come Gas station. However next door was a very large gift shop and even more interesting Buffalo Bill’s original Cabin / Hotel, one of a few he owned around the country it seems; and the icing on the cake was that it was free to walk around. There were quite a lot of artefacts from the era so all in all a worth while break even if a little lean on the supplies! With dinner in my panniers I rode on the last few miles to the East entrance to Yellowstone National Park full of anticipation… Ah well, I had to keep a lid on 

the anticipation for another few hours as having passed unhindered through the gates, thanks to my annual pass purchased a couple of weeks ago, I spotted a sign which indicated that every campsite that was open, was in fact full. No worries I had passed several on the way in, including one that I had ridden around with a view to staying but decided to push on to the park instead. Backtracking along the same road, I tried the first camp I came to, only to find that it was for “hard sided” vehicles only, due to the threat from Grizzlies! At the next two it was the same story, but I struck luck at the forth. A nice little site with a vacant pitch right next to the river. Thank you very much that will do for me and at just $7 for the night it was a bargain. Having set up camp I wandered over to say hello to my neighbours, “Hi”, I said, “Hi, I'm Dennis” only to  be told “No, I’m Dennis!”. Yes, I’d camped next to another Dennis and his wife Renne who having retired, were touring the USA for a year as they thought it was about time they found out what this vast country of theirs had to offer.

Sunrise at the Lodge Pole Forestry camp site at East Yellowstone

In fact I was not the sole resident of my little camping pitch. No, I kept getting invaded by rather too friendly ground hogs. Cute little things but there must have been thousands of them on the site, with holes everywhere. If I just sat still it wasn’t long before a little twitching nose popped out of a hole barely a couple of feet away from me. It was fascinating watching their antics and coming and goings. I’d been very careful not to pitch my tent over one of the holes as I was afraid they might have chewed right through the ground sheet!

I had received an email from my sister Diane saying that an old school friend of hers, who I know quite well was staying at West Yellowstone for the weekend and would be around on the Saturday morning, so looking at the map and GPS I discovered that they were only about 70 miles away from where I was camped and with the added bonus of being in more or less the direction I was going anyway. So first thing the following morning I quickly packed up and headed back to the park. The ride along the approach to the East Gate is every bit as scenic as the park itself, with tall red cliffs and mountains, rock pinnacles and pillars, and a road that winds through it all with the fast flowing, turbulent river never very far away. I must admit to being less than enthralled by the first part of my ride, with thousands upon thousands of lodge pine trees standing silent, ghostly and bare, with thousands more just left where they have died and fallen from the ravages of the Pine beetle. It was more akin to the aftermath of the apocalypse than the verdant scene one would expect to find in one of the USAs foremost national parks; it was not a good first impression!

Just a small section of Yellowstone ravaged by the Pine Beetle.