Day 23- Colter Bay

Today would be my semi rest day heading to Colter Bay which is only 17 miles away. No sense hurrying out of the comfort of our lodge early today. Ross and I went over to the main lodge to see what breakfast options were available. Yep, it was our lucky day with a buffet! Not as nice as what the Germans do, but good enough for us hungry bike packers. Marek wanted to finish off some of the food he had been carrying before driving off from Jackson to Denver to fly back home to Czech Republic.

Wyoming flag is on the bike

We finally set off around 11am after saying goodbye to Marek. I think he really enjoyed the company of fellow GDMBR bikers. He says that there are not many in his country that do bikepacking. He is going back home with mixed emotions.

Ross, me, and Marek

The ride to Colter Bay from Flagg Ranch was relatively easy, although there was a lot of traffic on the roads from all the tourists visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Luckily the roads in Teton park have a decent shoulder to ride on. Yellowstone is terrible, which I experienced 12 years ago when I rode the TransAm route from our home in N. Carolina to Puget Sound in upstate Washington.

Entering the park

Last time I rode through Yellowstone

Ross had decided to ride on past Colter Bay to wild camp somewhere outside the park. I wanted to stay in C.B. since I had stayed there before, and they have some good amenities. Besides I get a good discount with my “America the Beautiful” pass. Old age has some advantages.

Camped in Colter Bay in 2017 on TransAm

I set up my tent in the hiker/biker section they provide, unloaded all my “luggage”, and rode down to the restaurant near the lake. I had felt a bit guilty eating all that “junk” food so far on the trip, and ordered a Caesar salad. First green stuff in a long while. I started to compose some of the other blog posts before I forgot what happened that day. I was behind several days with that. Before long my server said that they were closing the restaurant before opening again for dinner, but that I was welcome to stay if I wanted. Great! One more beer please..🙏🏻

I was finishing up the last post of the blog, when a stream of dinner guests came into the restaurant. Boy, how time flies when you are typing this all in with one finger on my iPhone. I ran into Dave & Debra from Wisconsin having dinner, and Sean from Seattle. Dave was able to get his broken hub fixed in Butte, while Debra had a crash coming down Fleecer Ridge. She seemed ok. Sean, seemed to get lost a lot and blamed it all on his bike computer 😁.

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Day 22- Flagg Ranch

I got up early again and immediately went to see if my Choco milks were still in the river. Phew, they were still there.. 😅. I fished them out as if prized trout.

I then went through my routine of getting packed up, when suddenly behind a bush near my tent what looked to be a young skunk showed itself. I backed away slowly as if it was a grizzly bear. I didn’t want it to get upset and spray my tent. That would end the trip for sure! The skunk just quietly went back in the bush, only to reappear near Marek’s tent. Marek still seemed asleep, but was thrashing around a bit in his tent. I didn’t want to yell: “Marek, skunk!”, in fear that the skunk would get alarmed and fire off its defense mechanism 😷. Marek eventually did get up and I mentioned the skunk nearby somewhere. He laughed and said he had seen skunks as a kid on American cartoons. Apparently there are no skunks in Czech Republic or anywhere else in Europe. I kindly informed him that a spraying skunk would be no laughing matter. He then kept looking near his tent if he could see it. The camp host later informed us that the skunk was well known, and simply looking for an easy breakfast, scaring folks to quickly run away and drop their plate of food. He must have realized it was slim pickings at a bikers spot, and went for easier and more lucrative pray somewhere else.

Marek would be ending his trip as planned anyway in Jackson in a couple days where he would be renting a car to drive to Denver airport to fly back home. He said his wife and three teenage boys would want him to be home. He had been fun to be around, and I suspect I would still see him before then…

I left the campground with my ceremonial wave to Ciaran, Peter, and Ross as I left. I was planning to go to Colter Bay CG today, which was much harder than I initially thought. There was a good climb for several miles immediately after leaving the campground. I hate that it doesn’t give you much of an opportunity to gently warm up to that. Today’s route would be mainly on rough gravel/sand, unlike yesterday. It was a grind with many twists and turns through the forest. You really couldn’t tell if there would an uphill or downhill behind each corner. Montana was much more transparent in the wide open spaces. It seemed that the uphills had a winning advantage. There was a long stretch of freshly strewn gravel where you could not find a good line through. It seemed twice as hard going through that.

I finally noticed a small “Entering Wyoming” sign. Nothing like: “Welcome to Wyoming, we are glad you are here” sign! Ok, there is another preconceived impression of mine about anther state. Ok, I will remain positive 🤐. The recreational 4x4’s and adventure motorcycles grew in numbers, and at one time I was passed by five trucks pulling large horse trailers. They were going slow, probably not for me, but the comfort of the horses traveling in the trailers. These were rough and dusty roads!

This was a tiring day and ended hike-a-biking up more uphills than I normally would have. It was pretty hot as well which didn’t help things. Peter passed me when I predicted, and Ciaran wasn’t too far behind. Lots of “Bloody route” in both Irish and Scottish accents. Ross came up a bit later and wasn’t having the best of time either. We both stopped at the dam of a large lake to have lunch. I really wasn’t that hungry, but I thought that my general lack of energy was due to not getting enough calories today. I did have a relatively light breakfast. I forced myself to make a PB and Nutella tortilla, and munch it down. Ross left a bit earlier from lunch, while I waited to digest more of what I ate. A fact: dams are typically lower, thus leaving a dam usually involves a good climb to get out 🥵.

The last section was on the Rockefeller parkway, which should have been renamed to the “Rockefeller washboard experience”. I am really glad what he did to donate so much land to conservation and creation of Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP. But surely he could have created a trust to maintain that road a bit better, right? I am sure Trump will fix that 🤭.

I finally came up on Flagg Ranch which is about 17 miles before Colter Bay. I couldn’t resist riding to the main building and checking on what options are there to stay a night, or to at least get a cold chocolate milk for the last push to Colter Bay. Ross was sitting in a comfortable leather chair in the lobby with a large chocolate milk in his hand. He said that Ciaran just got a ride to Jackson to get a rack replacement for the one that had broken earlier on the trip. We had all told him much earlier that he should have replaced it in Helena or Butte when he had the chance. Not sure it was stubbornness or lack of funds that he didn’t. Now he has to go to one of the most expensive towns in the West to find a solution.

I went to check the front desk for lodging options. Yes, they have lodges available to rent for the night. I thought about it for about a minute and pulled the trigger, also to give me a pseudo rest day tomorrow with a short ride to Colter Bay. It was week three and I had yet to take a rest day, and I was feeling it.

I told Ross of my plan and offered him to take the other queen sized bed if he wanted to. It didn’t take long for him to see the brilliance of my plan and he agreed. Right then, who would show up in the lobby but Marek. He said that he had a small wipeout in the loose gravel about a mile away. Knowing that he has been doing this trip on a budget, I offered him the floor of our lodge to lay his mat and sleeping bag on. Again, this was an offer hard to refuse. He hadn’t had a shower in many days, and I figured he would make a better presence at the Avis rental car counter in Jackson not smelling like a skunk 😇.

It was nice to all have a shower and do some laundry in the bathtub. One thing that I also needed to take care of was a slow leak in my mattress. I woke up in the middle of the night at Warm River with the mattress going a bit too soft. It is not a good experience since your mind is not in a state to make rational decisions on whether to ignore it and sleep on harder ground, or get up to blow more air in. I gave in and put more air in, only to have the same thing happen at 5:30am. It was almost time get up anyway, so I just laid on my back, and literally “pulled the plug” at 6:00am to get up. Obviously, I could not have this happen the rest of the trip, or I would go crazy. Thus my mission was to find this tiny leak while I had the facilities to do so. The bathtub seemed a logical way by submerging that naughty mattress till little bubbles would appear. It took several attempts, but I did find a place where tiny bubbles would appear when the mattress was oriented a certain way. I patched that place , and now hope there were no other holes. What a pain!

Ross, Marek, and I had a good dinner at the lodge. I picked up the tab under the guise of a farewell to Marek. I could see he was not really comfortable going in the restaurant. He says his mother is an Internet spy any knows exactly what he does, where he is, and much he spends everywhere. Kind of like a Czech KGB agent. Although the Czech are like Ukrainians and hate the Russians.

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Day 21-Warm River

Day 21- Warm River

Today would be the day where I would be leaving Montana and entering Idaho. Again, I was first up and packed, and waved to the others as I left the campground. They seem to like their hot coffee and oats for breakfast. I don’t regret not taking my stove to cook. I like getting on the road early, especially since I am so slow.

The ride out of the Park was beautiful. I am glad we still have these kind of places, until some greedy folks try to take it away from the public. I saw a sandhill crane and a young fox that ran out of a burrow and hid behind a sage brush when he saw me. I am a bit disappointed that I haven’t seen more wild life like a grizzly, moose, or elk. I think the noise from the bike scares them more easily, whereas they are probably more used to cars and trucks.

Sandhills crane

Young fox

I did realize 5 miles down the road that I forgot to fill up my water bottles at the spring when I left this morning. I quickly stopped and filled up my remaining bladder from a clear running stream still within the park where no cattle were allowed. This time I put the bladder in my frame bag to not loose it again.

I had to climb the Red Rocks divide, and suddenly at the top I was in Idaho. That one snuck up on me. A bit sad to leave Montana, and mixed feelings about Idaho based on past experiences. I will try to remain positive.

It did seem that the traffic here changed more from working trucks and locals in Montana to more tourists in large RV’s and many more of these 4x4 sidecars, with many flags attached. They for the most part seemed friendly and waved when going by, but not in the same way as the locals in Montana. It is hard to describe, and may be somewhat predetermined by me. There was definitely more traffic on the roads, which did kick up a lot of dust. It had obviously not rained here in a while. I did go through a section of farmland that was very pretty. Golden fields of wheat and what looked like potatoes (they grow them in Idaho, right?). Looked like it could have been in Europe with the hills.

I finally did end up at a little town called Mack’s Inn which seemed to cater to the tourists with 4x4 rental places. It did have a Subway restaurant and a grocery store which I both spent money in. I saw Ciaran pull up saying that another rider told him that there was a cheap breakfast buffet place that would close soon. He seemed in a rush to get there. I had my Subway sub so I declined and went to the grocery store instead. Ross was there and had list ready. He was much more methodical about it all especially since he tries to be vegan. However, the chocolate milk has already infiltrated his diet in a big way, and has deviated in other ways as well. It must be very hard to stick to that kind of diet when your body craves protein and carbs, especially in places like Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

I grabbed my usuals which includes flour tortillas, peanut butter, Nutella, gummy bears, and chocolate milk. I did get a can of Spam based on the recommendation from another rider. It has protein, fat, and who knows what else 🧐. Stay tuned for a postmortem review of that in a tortilla 😁.

The couple from South Africa did suggest to skip a portion of today’s route since the trail conditions were pretty bad and boring scenery. The alternate would be on the two lane highway going through Island Park. I decided on that recommendation, although I didn’t necessarily look forward to riding the shoulder of the highway. Initially it was great with a wide, smooth shoulder with a rumble strip between me and traffic. Perfect! However that shoulder disappeared a couple miles later when Idaho DOT must have prioritized a middle turn/passing lane instead. Sorry bikers, you are screwed. I had another 10 miles before I could turn off the highway and take a more remote road. I all honesty it didn’t end up as bad as I had thought. There was minimal traffic, and almost all drivers seemed to give me the road I needed. The professional truckers are usually the best, with the large RV trailers with macho names like Cougar, Vortex, and T-Rex coming in last. Probably good it wasn’t a weekend day with possible more of those on the road. My bright blinking light in the back, along with rear view mirror helped a lot!

I finally got off the highway, and made for a campground called Warm River. The total mileage for the day was about 70 miles, but seemed easier since most was on paved roads today. The others had mentioned this campground as well but I never saw them other than at Mack’s Inn. I rode the last few miles downhill on a smooth single track that paralleled the Warm River about 100 yards higher. Really nice to end the day that way.

The campground was fairly busy with folks that seemed to liked tubing down the river. I found a good camp spot right on the river and with good privacy from others. I decided a dip in the river would be good to wash some of the dirt and grime off me from the last couple days. I will be writing the Idaho tourism board to complain about false advertising. That river was NOT warm 🥶. Still, I braved the elements an submerged myself under. I then had the brilliant idea to put my Choco milks in a mesh bag an let the stay cold for tomorrow.

Choco milks fridge. I hope the bears don’t find it! 😱

Marek pulled up to my camp spot a bit later. How did he find me? Did he plant a secret tracker? It seemed that we always keep running into each other 😄. I really don’t mind. He is a nice guy, even though he struggles with his English for a more in-depth conversations. There was room for his tent. The others camped closer to the camp host since it would be free there. I got a good discount with my “America the Beautiful” park pass. That $80 lifetime pass has paid for itself many times over in the last 10 years I have had it. I don’t think it is available anymore.

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Day 20- Red Rocks Nature Preserve

I slept pretty good in my subpar motel room in Lima. The long day yesterday and big steak dinner did me in. The room didn’t have any AC, but it cooled down pretty quick with the windows open. There was highway noise, but I managed to block it out despite not having any earplugs. Ciaran and Peter said they didn’t sleep well because of the trucks since their tents were closer to the highway. It made me feel a bit better in my motel investment.

I went to the gas station convenience store to pick up a few food items since there wouldn’t be any resupply points for the next couple days. I found out that chocolate milk doesn’t spoil like regular milk if left unopened. It is a great source of protein and carbs on the ride, even if it does get warm in the frame bag. There usually is a big cry by us if we can’t find it in a store we go to 😫. The local cafe wouldn’t be open for another half hour, but there was a cute coffee shack where I got a latte. First one in many days.

We were told that the cafe had pretty irregular operating hours since apparently they had trouble hiring reliable staff. Drugs like fentanyl have devastated many rural areas, even in Montana. Pretty sad..

The cafe did open on time and we streamed in along with a few Continental Divide hikers. Their route also goes through Lima. Pretty amazing what they do for several months. Our waiter was obviously new since he got mixed up on all our orders. It worked out in the end since most of us wanted pancakes. I couldn’t finish my plate, but Ciaran asked if he could eat my leftovers. That guy has an appetite for being so skinny! He and Peter still had to pack up their tents, so I went ahead and took off since I knew they would eventually catch up with me. I like the fact that everyone rides their ride, and no obligations to stick together. It just happens that we frequently end up at the same place at the end of the day.

The route today wouldn’t be as long as yesterday, and I had the Red Rocks Nature Preserve as my goal. Nothing worth noting about it other than I lost one of my water bladders on the route. I had filled it from a stream and put it under my cargo straps on the back. I think that the rough road shook it off. It probably happened on the downhill where the bike really gets severely bounced around. I didn’t notice it until I got to the Nature Preserve. Oh well, I will order a new one once I get Internet access and have Linda bring it to Steamboat Springs. I will need it if I go further south.

So good!!

I need to strap this down better next time!

I did stop by a lodge someone had mentioned to see if they had a spare room. It looked like someone’s house but nobody came to the front door when I rang the doorbell. There was a very sweet Border Collie and cat on the front porch that wanted my attention. I just sat there waiting to see if someone would eventually show up, and gave the cat and dog lots of pets and scratches. The cat became a bit more possessive, and tried to shoo the dog away. I eventually decided to move on to the campground since nobody showed up.

I pulled into the Red Rocks Nature Preserve campground, and Ciaran, Peter, Marek, and a newer biker named Ross were already there. It was a beautiful campground, although a primitive one. I like those the best since there are usually never any RV’s there. The campground was next to a large lake and had a natural spring for drinking water. Probably one of my most favorite camp spots so far, and glad I didn’t get into the lodge.

There was also a couple in a campervan staying there from South Africa. He was riding the route northbound, while she drove the van to the next overnight spot. He didn’t have to carry all the gear that we did which makes it a lot easier. Still, I can’t imagine doing the trip that way. Too tempting to say “I have had enough, let’s drive home..”. However, it seems to work out ok for them, and she seemed to enjoying being part of the adventure.

This would be my last night in Montana. Idaho is next.

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Day 19- Lima

I woke up early because of the long day ahead, and packed up my tent quietly to not disturb the sleeping geologists. While yesterday was fairly tame, today’s ride would be more challenging in that there was really nothing until I got to the town of Lima, 80+ miles away.

Essential creams for the day. Just don’t get them mixed up! 🤣

Lewis, Clark, and Pocahontas were here too.

The only trees I would see the whole day were the ones around the Bannack campground. The route mainly went through ranch country, mostly growing and harvesting hay. I one big field that must have had over 100 of those large rolls of hay on the ground. I guess it all must be in support of the other cattle ranches.

I did eventually find a tree with shade right at the entrance to a large ranch. It was perfect as a large Cottonwood with a large branch that was a perfect seat Lunch time!

Lunch time.

I was a bit concerned about the amount of water I took with me, since it was full sun exposure all day. I did see a small, fresh looking stream on the side of the road that didn’t look like cattle would have contaminated it. I would still filter to make sure. I rode on and realized after about a mile that my iPhone was not in its cradle on the handlebar. I searched other parts of the bike and couldn’t find it. It was quite important since I write and publish my blog on it, besides “minor” things like navigation and talking with Linda ❤️. I rode back to the little stream hoping it might have slipped out when getting water. Sure enough, it was submerged in the stream. Phew! 😮‍💨

The “lost IPhone” stream

At the same time a cowboy on his horse, with his dog came up the road. I talked to him for a while, and gave his dog some belly rubs. He looked fairly young and was very nice. He lives in a small house just above that stream and said that it is really fresh water. Really nice guy and dog too. His horse was a bit leery of me though. I guess I didn’t look like the other cowboys with my helmet and bike shorts on. 😂

Matt the cowboy

And his dog “Rowdy”.

I rode on relieved that I found my phone, and that it was still working! Thanks Apple! The route started to climb up to another Divide summit. There was less cattle and more sagebrush around. The road surface would vary between chunky gravel, to sandy parts, to what would seem like the cobblestones of old Roman roads. Regardless, I only saw a couple vehicles all day and those were mainly working pickup trucks. No tourist would dare to bring their expensive RV on these roads!

Peter was the first one to catch up to me after about 50 miles. He is a strong rider. We both looked up at the last few miles of the climb and it looked pretty steep. He went ahead and I was somewhat relieved to see him get off his bike after a while and push it uphill. I did the same, but took lots of breaks on the way up. It was a slog! The good part of it all is that it was about a 20 mile downhill to Lima. I sure do enjoy those parts, but you have to pick your line down the road carefully to not get rattled to death on the rocks or pot holes.

Ciaran eventually caught up to me as well, and we rode together for a little while. We were coming through a very scenic canyon with a small river, and I stopped several times to take pictures. The light was good for it as well.

Ciaran pulling ahead



We did have to ride te last 7 miles along an access road to interstate I15, and there was a pretty stiff headwind. Any small downhill was quickly negated by that. Nothing as boring as riding next to a highway in the open. Good at least I didn’t have to ride on the shoulder of that road.

I was pretty spent when we got to Lima 82 miles later. There was a combination RV/campground near the highway exit with a small motel. I opted for a motel room, while Peter and Ciaran went looking for a place to setup their tents. I really needed a shower, which they wouldn’t have. I guess I am more picky about those things in my old age. The hotel was in pretty poor shape, and I debated about using my own sleeping bag on the bed. I have stayed in 4 star hotels in Europe for that rate, that included breakfast. Near a highway, so it must be highway robbery 😠. At least I got a decent shower.

A northbound GDMBR’er a while ago did tell me that the town had a good steakhouse in Lima. It was 45 minutes before it closed after my shower, so I texted Ciaran and Peter to hurry and get there quickly. I did a speed walk (I didn’t want to get on the bike) over to the restaurant. It was what once must have been the center of town. All buildings looked abandoned, with the exception of Jonny Peat’s steak house and bar. I walked in and the waitress said that I had only a few minutes left to order before they started closing. I sent another “hurry up” text to Ciaran and Peter otherwise they would end up hungry. Not long after they came into the bar, still wearing their dusty bike clothes (there was no shower for campers). They immediately ordered beers which were quickly chugged down. Another round and we ordered our food. I noted to not go out for just drinks with an Irishman and Scotsman! 🥴I got a decent sized ribeye with a loaded baked potato. You can’t get enough carbs and protein on this trip. We finally closed down the place and walked back to our respective “homes” for the night. A tough long day, but rewarding..

One other motel in town (abandoned)

Bank?

Only on Broadway..

”Dinner place”

I liked the light on the mountains, but unfortunately the trucks were in the foreground. Probably a realistic pic of the Wild West today..

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Day 18- Bannack State Park

Had a good night sleep at the Community Center in Wise River. There were no breakfast options in this small town, so I had to rummage through my food bag. Dry granola would have to do. Ciaran found some instant espresso powder in the kitchen, so I had coffee for a change. One of the ladies had some tire issues and had run out of sealant. She by chance posted something about that on the GDMBR Facebook forum, and the Warm Showers host they stayed with in Butte, responded saying he would drive from Butte to Wise River to bring her more sealant. What a great community!

The ride to Bannack State Park was relatively easy compared to yesterday and would mostly be on paved roads. Yes, there still was another Divide crossing. Ciaran had left before me, so I would not see him until the end. Bannack State Park is mainly about the abandoned gold mining town that is remarkably well preserved. I arrived at the campground there and saw a large open area with lots of tents. I found a good spot in the middle and set up the tent to officially claim it. When I went to register and pay, I noticed a sign saying the whole area had been reserved for a group. Oops. I found a guy near his tent and asked, just to confirm. He was really nice and said it was a group of Montana based geologists having a yearly field trip. He said it was fine for me to stay where I was. He said that geologists are typically not the partying types, so noise should not be an issue. His name was Jeff and offered me a nice cold IPA beer from his cooler. 🍺

Found Marek at the only convenience store on the route

I went out to walk to the old Bannack town to see what it was all about. I met Ciaran, Peter, and Marek who had just finished the tour with a guide. I decided to just walk through it myself to take a few pictures. By European standards this place was not very remarkable, but it was very interesting to see it well preserved, since the building standards from that age was pretty shoddy. The hotel was mainly built from brick, which must have been very unusual back then. It is in such a remote location. The nature around the town was very lush and green, thanks to the stream nearby.

Marek, Peter, and Ciaran coming back from their tour.



Hanging my food bag in the tree.

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