A lot of driving and not so much pedaling on this year’s trip. Despite the limited biking, this turned out to be what I consider to be the “capstone” of my long-distance bike tours, albeit, my shortest major trip. Only 216 miles.
My previous trips have taken me all over the West and many of the more notable mountain passes. But nowhere has there been such a scenic road as Montana-Wyoming Route 212 over Beartooth Pass heading toward Yellowstone.
This year I had company in the form of my friend Ron from Tennessee. Ron and I met back in 2002 on the Appalachian Trail in southern Pennsylvania, and have trudged and scuffed our boots on many rocks since. This would be his first opportunity to see Yellowstone and it gave me much mental comfort at my age to know that he would be somewhere not far off.
The plan was as follows:
Like last year, I began by driving to Billings, MT. On the way out I stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, also like last year. Unlike 2018 when it rained for two days, the weather cooperated and I camped one night at the South Unit and another night at the North Unit before heading to Billings. Ron flew in on Thursday, the 29th of August. He would be driving my car. We planned to meet up at some point during the day, or at least at the end of each day. I had made reservations at Red Lodge, Cooke City, Tower Junction, and West Yellowstone. At West Yellowstone, the bike would sit while we spent three days in the car, allowing Ron to see most of the park.
On Day 1 the weather was perfect at Billings, making for an easy 62-mile ride to Red Lodge. This stretch was all technically uphill following the gradient of the Yellowstone River, the Clarks Fork Yellowstone, and then over open farm and ranch lands. It was a 2200-foot elevation increase, but not really noticeable spread over 60 miles.
Day 2 proved to be the challenge. Red Lodge sits at 5568 feet above sea level, while Beartooth Pass is at 10,947 feet, only 28 miles away. It was slow going and all uphill. But as with most passes out West, the gradient was not that steep, probably only 5-5 ½ percent on average; a few steeper sections but overall not bad. (After all, it can’t be too steep, considering all the campers and big rigs headed to Yellowstone.) I just put it in low gear and cranked away. The vistas were stunning and I have never been over a more scenic road. I understand the American Motorcycle Club has voted it the most scenic in America. I agree. (The 68-mile section of 212 from Red Lodge to Yellowstone’s NE entrance is also called the Beartooth Highway.) Ron was blown away; this being his first view of the mountains out West.
Five miles from the technical pass, it was getting late in the afternoon and I still had 39 more miles to Cooke City. So I took advantage of having Ron nearby and made the decision to quit for the day and come back in the morning to continue. With the bike back in the car (an ordeal with all our stuff to rearrange) we headed off to Cooke City. We spent a comfortable night in a cabin-type lodge and dinner was a short walk away. In the morning as we approached the log-style restaurant, we were amused to find a young red fox sitting at the propped-open front door –- apparently waiting for a handout or just taking in smells from the kitchen.
After breakfast on Day 3 we returned to where I left off. This day would be about 73 miles to the Roosevelt Lodge near Tower Junction. (This was the only reservation I made within the Park: a bare-bones cabin with cramped quarters and a wood stove for heat; communal showers and toilets.)
After reaching the summit, the coast down was so enjoyable and spectacular. I knew, however, the ride to Cooke City would involve a significant uphill section, and it was closer to noon by the time I got to town. Ron had lunch in a bag waiting for me just west of town. The ride to and through the Lamar Valley was mostly downhill or fairly level, but by the mid-afternoon a strong headwind coupled with a brilliant sun directly ahead of me for the last two hours became the biggest issues. I had to ride with one hand steering and the other hand shielding my eyes. This was tiring and I was really glad to get to the lodge and cabin.
Day 4 to West Yellowstone was a 66-mile counterclockwise traverse on Grand Loop Road. The section to Mammoth Hot Springs had its share of moderate climbs and downhill. Not far from Mammoth, at the parking lot for Wraith Falls, I briefly met a young French couple headed toward Tower Falls who were biking from Alaska to Panama. Since I do not know French and they spoke only broken English our discussion was limited, but we both admired each other’s bikes. I assured them my bike could never handle the gravel roads so common on their journey. I was impressed with the heavy-duty build of their bikes and also felt vindicated in having the same Arkel brand panniers as they. Their bikes looked like the perfect set-up for their trip.
The 5 to 10 miles out of Mammoth involved a good climb with quite a few loops and switchbacks until reaching fairly level riding up on a plateau. Just before reaching the plateau, the road winds through a gorge, or cleft, in the mountains, causing a tremendous wind funnel – headwinds of course! This was followed by easy riding to the Norris Geyser Basin, then mostly downhill or level all the way to West Yellowstone.
My original plan was to continue from West Yellowstone on to Boise, ID (then rent a car to Billings) while Ron would drive my car back to Billings before flying home. But after three days driving around the park with Ron and contemplating things, I reluctantly decided to end the trip here.
A couple of reasons for this, but foremost was the thought that everything from here on will be anti-climatic. I’ve been all over the West and that ride over Beartooth will never be equaled, or any ride come close. Why not bow out now, at a high point? “Murphy” has a habit of making his appearance quite often, usually involving small matters, but why risk having a major malfunction at this late date? It may happen around home tomorrow, but I can honestly say that I’ve never had an accident with the Avatar in all the years of riding.
Second was the unpleasant thought of fighting those pesky prevailing westerlies and the intense sun in my eyes. So we drove back to Billings over the same route, but this time Ron got to sit in the passenger’s seat and not miss any of the incredible scenery.
Interestingly, four days after we traversed the Pass back to Billings, the Beartooth Highway was closed for 1-2 days because of 4-8″ of snow above 8000 feet! (The road is closed all winter from October to approximately Memorial Day.) Perfect timing.
More photos of Yellowstone from 2014 non-bike trip…..