A Couple of Excursions into the Mountains

Bill & Hardscrabble Peak

We've been enjoying our last few weeks of summer in the mountains on the bikes. The first ride of the summer on Carrol Creek found a number of exposed rocks. It was a wet spring and numerous storms this summer so all that water washed the dirt off and since this trail has not been scrapped in ages it was a rock fest. Everywhere. Not the most pleasant of rides dodging the big ones and missing the muddy potholes. Oh, and yelling at the free-range cattle that seemed to be everywhere...well if the actual body wasn't there the cow pies were present. Guess it was a good thing we had found other rides this summer. 

Hardscrabble Peak

It was still a nice day to be in the mountains and we managed to get a 20-miler done with only 2 incidents. The first one started almost from the start of the ride. A couple of weeks earlier I decided to make an appointment for a professional 'bike fit' with my Physical Therapist. He changed a few things... my seat position, height, & grips. Since the changes I had done some road riding and everything felt good, but I hadn't taken the bike on a mountain trail. While riding I started noticing my hands and arms starting to hurt. Really thought it was the rocky trail creating some weird vibrations through my upper body. Bill thought the changes to the grips could be the problem. We changed them back to the original position. It did not improve. It wasn't until we were heading back towards the truck with just a few miles left that Bill noticed my front suspension wasn't moving...at all. I looked and wouldn't you know it...the darn thing was in the 'locked' position. No wonder I was hurting. Now we know the value of that front suspension...makes a huge difference on rocky terrain. I now check the position when I ride...lesson learned.

View toward Sedan, MT from Carrol Creek Trail

For the 2nd incident I decided to see if I could stay on my bike while ride off the side of the trail at a greater than 45-degree angle. One cannot...at least this one cannot. The stumps off the road kind of made it impossible to ride it out so I laid the bike down with me under it. A few bruises...including to my ego, but nothing to keep me from continuing down the road back to the truck. The cows were off in the woods on the return trip...thank goodness. The way my luck was running I figured I would need to unleash bear spray on an irate cow.

Mill Creek

Our last hurrah was to ride Mill Creek and then head to Chico Hot Springs for a soak and burger. As luck would have it a front end loaded had scrapped the upper road all the way to the closure gate. The road was pretty much free of the potholes & rocks from last month's ride. Another blue-sky day that started in the upper 40's, but the sun was warm enough on the ride up the mountain. No critter sighting except for some finches enjoying the thistle seeds and a flock of Northern Flickers racing downhill away from us. 

The only thing that intruded upon the day was our 1st flat tire on a mountain trail. Yep, me again. We switched to tubeless tires last summer and we've had no issues...until today. Unfortunately, the goop used to fill the tire needs replacing every few months depending upon heat/humidity. The stuff evaporates over time...we thought we could get through the summer & replace it next season. Wrong. The teeny tiny hole let all the air escape & we had to remove the tire, unpack the inner tube, and put the tire back on and pump it up. Fun. A bit of a time to get it done & we were wondering if we'd still have time to soak before picking up Bridger at his daycare. Priorities...we managed to soak, eat & return to Bozeman to pick up his crazy self at his usual time.

View of Mill Creek Road below us

Newly scrapped road uphill

Fireweed seeds floating in air

The Snowy Range

Sugarloaf Mountain & Medicine Bow Peak

On our very first winter trip west way back in 2009 we discovered a sign proclaiming this exit for "The Snowy Range Scenic Byway" while driving on I-80. It was disappointing that we could not take the side trip at the time. It was March and the road was closed for the winter. We have been several times since then and it is an amazing spot. One of our favorites that we share with anyone we happen to meet on our travels. Maybe we should stop mentioning it since it has become a bit more crowded...at least by our standards. It is a place that no matter where you look you cannot take a bad picture... a spectacular place.

As luck would have it last month we discovered a site was open at Sugarloaf Campground. This campground is at 10810 feet and located at the base of Medicine Bow Peak. We quickly booked the reservation and made plans to head out with Bridger for a few days in the Medicine Bow. As it got closer to our reservation the weather was looking at bit iffy in the afternoons, but we figured we could get a hike in before the storms rolled in for the evening. Yet another 'problem' we have with the reservation system.

The long long pull through

The drive is a bit over 9-hours so we decided to break it up and head to Boysen State Park in the Wind River Canyon area for the night. It is only a 5-hour drive from the house... a pretty short driving day for us. Neither of us thought to check the weather in that area...wow, was it hot at 99 degrees. Humidity was only 17% and the wind was blowing pretty good in the canyon along the river, but it still too hot to cook or have a fire. 

At the last minute when packing the trailer we decided to bring the Dewalt fan. It was used in addition to the trailer's 2 fantastic fans. Thankfully it kept us cool enough to get some sleep.

The Canyon's Big Horn River

The campground is along the Big Horn River & has lots of cottonwood trees to provide shade...thankfully. Our site was pretty interesting...a pull-thru that went on & on. 

We didn't even need to unhitch for the night since we had so much room. The next morning off we headed & reached our campsite ahead of the afternoon storms.

View from Sugarloaf campsite 

Our site had a beautiful view of Brown Mountain, Sugarloaf & Medicine Bow. Bridger finally learned after all this time that the squeaks he hears are actually chipmunks, ground squirrels or marmots. 

He enjoyed watching them from his perch in front of the trailer. The chipmunks really tested his patience by running right in front of his nose. 

Unfortunately, he followed his nose rather than his eyes so he missed where they hid.

Bridger looking for chipmunks

 

Moose in the willows

Bridger & I got up at sunrise to try to capture the mountains as the sun hit the peak. We got a bit sidetracked...by a pair of bull moose eating in the willows. After a few shots thought I should wake up sleeping beauty...aka Bill. We rushed back to the trailer...said 'MOOSE' and he quickly hit the floor. 

Irritated moose

I grabbed the big lens camera & rushed back to my hilltop. One of the campers was on the road not too far from the moose. He was certainly not too close, but the larger of the two moose took great offense and came running out of the willows directly at the guy. He quickly turned and took off down the road.

Still agitated

At that point the moose were directly below my hilltop & still looking a bit agitated. After a few shots in less than bright enough light I saw Bill with Bridger heading directly towards where the moose seemed to be going. I decided I really should warn them about the angry moose. Thankfully the guy that had been chased had already met up with them.

Bridger & I headed to the trailer to get his breakfast & take him away from possibly inciting an incident with the moose. We were pretty lucky that the pair of moose headed right up into the campground and passed across from our site. 

Sunrise hits the Snowy Range

The two ended up grazing in the campground area for an hour before wandering off into the trees. Never found them again. After the morning excitement we headed back to the Tin Can for some breakfast.

Pair of bull moose at Sugarloaf Campground 

Bull moose in campground

After eating we started out for our hike towards the Gap Lakes with Bridger. The morning was crisp and clear which after our 100-degree night in Wind River was a welcomed relief. It wasn't too long before we hit the first alpine lake & Bridger took full advantage of the water. 

Bridger's 1st retrieve

He has decided he enjoys retrieving, but doesn't have the stamina that Maggie displayed back in her day. Each & every lake was fair game the entire week we were there...even trying to jump from really big, steep rocks. 

Lucky dog found a snow field too where he got the zoomies and Bill hit the deck trying to catch him. Thankfully, he only bruised his ego and his ribs. 

Bridger retrieving!

Another storm blew through at dinnertime...no cooking out once again. Pizza to the rescue! We woke to overcast skies & decided to hike up Sugarloaf Mountain to the Saddle rather than hike to the peak. Between the iffy looking weather and a toe issue we decided that the shorter hike would be just fine. Bridger got to swim a in Lewis Lake and look for picas in the rocks. I spent time looking for wildflowers & trying to get close to the picas for a good picture. 

Later the storms settled in and man did the thunder sound close. Our plan the next morning was to head back to Wind River for a night before heading back home. After getting on the road we changed our minds, cancelled the campsite and drove the entire way back home. It really wasn't as tiring as we had thought pulling the trailer over a 9-hour day. 

Good to know for the next time we head to the Snowy Mountains.

Bridger looking for his stick

Gap Lake Trail

Marmot

Break time at the Saddle

Bridger with Bill

Curious golden mantle squirrel

Elephant head

Pica

 

A Fun New Side Adventure

Trail Creek Road

Decided to head off for a road ride since the weather was absolutely perfect. We had not biked Trail Creek Road this summer and thought with the cooler morning it would be the ideal day to bike out to Paradise Valley. The road starts paved, but as you get closer to the divide between Gallatin & Park Counties you hit gravel. 

Unfortunately, we were passed by a couple of gravel trucks while on the paved portion which made us think...uh oh. As luck would have it the gravel trucks were dumping on a driveway, but we noticed the huge clouds of dust from the gravel road past the driveway. It looked like the road had recently had some new gravel dumped on it. Since that makes for a nasty & dirty ride we cut it short at a little over 6 miles & turned back towards the truck.

Goose Creek Road

A mile or so into our ride we had noticed the US Forest Service sign for Goose Creek...maybe that would be a good side ride up the mountain. Both of us thought a 12-mile ride just wasn't 'long enough.' Weird right? Who would think that anything under 20 miles isn't long enough! 

The Goose Creek Road did head up the hillside towards Trail Creek & Bear Canyon trails. The road was in pretty good shape & had recently been graded. A few rocks and some soft 'moon dust' aka soft dirt, but it didn't cause us any trouble. 

We reached FR 440 toward Bear Canyon & decided to turn back towards the truck. The overall ride was exactly 20 miles once we reached the truck. 

Bill heading downhill towards the Bridgers

A dead garter snake

The only critters spotted were a few deer and 2 dead garter snakes. Still seeing a fair number of wildflowers blooming...mostly Indian Paintbrush, Lupine & various thistles. On the downhill we had a nice view of the Bridger Range. 

Another ride to add to our list...20.3 miles in 2 hours with elevation gain of 1889 feet.

Mountain view from Goose Creek Road

Scarlet Indian Paintbrush

Osprey Falls Ride

The Gallatin Range still with snowy peaks

Today we headed into Yellowstone National Park to ride Osprey Falls Trail (aka Bunsen Peak Service Road) near Mammoth Hot Springs. At the trailhead we noticed the closure sign for Osprey Spur Trail. Uh oh... good thing we were not heading down to the falls. We guessed that last year's flood took out the trail. The last mile to the falls has 15 switchbacks to reach the Gardner River and Osprey Falls. 

It's unfortunate the trail has been compromised since Osprey Falls is a spectacular waterfall that you can still catch a distant sight of from Bunsen Peak Service Road.

Osprey Falls 

The ride isn't a terribly long one, but it does have some elevation climb of 1561 feet. The total ride was 15.5 miles round trip in 1 hour 40 minutes. It was a very nice day to be out... bright, clear & still cool.

We (or more specifically I) had bit of excitement riding up the last steep climb. I got a bit off on making the switchback turn and lost traction by going too slow. The back tire slipped sideways & I tried ''more power''.  Wrong move... I almost fell over the bike sideways when the back wheel regained traction with a vengeance while the bike was still slightly off kilter. Key word: almost. 

I did manage to get the bike stopped without crashing into Bill of anything else on the trail... upright with my feet under me. I was turned 180 degrees from where I wanted the bike to be and headed back downhill, but only a pedal strike on my leg. 

The 'daggers' on my pedal

Our pedals have sharp pins to keep our feet from coming off... hurt like the devil when you have to suddenly stop and the pedal drives one of those sharp "needles" into your shin. According to my physical therapist "If you're not bleeding you're not doing it right"... it certainly seems to be a true statement in my case on this ride. 

Could have been an ass over tea kettle kind of fall ...yeah me for the save & only a tiny amount of blood!

Mule deer buck

The only critter we noticed was a mule deer buck. He didn't stick around too long. The wildflowers are still blooming... lupine, Indian Paintbrush, goldenrod, oxeye daisy. Butterflies & grasshoppers flying everywhere, even into us as we rode. 

We did notice some bear scat. Still no bear sightings while riding...guess that's a good thing?!

Trumpeter swans with 3 cygnets

After the ride we drove a mile up the road to check on the trumpeter swans at Swan Lake. The last time we checked on them we didn't see the pair or nest, but today 3 cygnets! 

Hopefully they will thrive & fledge successfully.

Black & Yellow Lichen Moth

Edith Checkerspot

High Bridge

Upper Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs

*click pictures to enlarge

Emigrant, MT to Dan Bailey's Boat Launch

We headed back to the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley to kayak with Helen, Craig & Ray. The plan was to put in at Emigrant Fishing Access & head downstream to Dan Baily's, aka as Paradise. One more bluebird day with temperatures predicted to hit 90 degrees. It was a very nice day to be on the river with a nice cool breeze. 

A very pretty float with a tricky takeout area & some slippery rocks to navigate. No injuries and no one flipped out of their kayaks...a win!

The flow rate has really dropped over the last two weeks...our last float was 7900 cfs versus today's 3700 cfs. We expected a slow float, but it actually felt pretty fast. Reached the pullout point in 2 hours with only 1 stop along the way. My Versa 4 claimed we travelled 7.12 miles in 1:52 with an average speed of 3.8 mph. 

Absaroka Mountains

Emigrant Bridge

 Helen

Bill with Craig

Mill Creek Bridge

Dan Bailey PO (old name Paradise)

Battle Ridge EMB to Fairy Lake

Bridger Range

Today we headed up to Battle Ridge for a bike ride. Last few years we've ridden up towards Sacagawea Peak for 5 miles and then got turned back when the trail got really rocky. This time we pushed passed that section and the trail got a bit less rocky. 

Goldeneyes blooming along trail

We kept going...until we hit another steeper & rockier section. Since it was fairly short we got off & walked the bikes up to the flatter section. Once back on the bikes we just kept going up the trail. At some point it was obvious that we may as well continue all the way to Fairy Lake.

Once we reached the top & honestly thought the lake would be right there...it was not. We had to descend down a really steep section of switchbacks. At that moment we thought yep we are leaving by way of Fairy Lake Road. Neither of us wanted to climb the steep section back to the Battle Ridge parking lot. About the time we thought we should check out the map there was Fairy Lake. It has been a few years since we've been to the lake. Still a beautiful spot.

My EMB taking a well-deserved break

Bill recharging

Fairy Lake with Sacagawea Peak in the background

Streamside globemallow...stage light

 

Along Fairy Lake Road

Our ride was 16 miles long in a bit over 3 hours with 2341 feet in elevation gain. We both used a bit more power going up the steeper sections...72% eco, 21 % sport & 7% turbo with 44% battery used over the 16 miles. 

Yes, we plan to do it again & hopefully will improve our time & power used for the ride.

*click pictures to enlarge