Forth and Back TOR '21

[RBMann]

Day 15 continued-

Once again we ventured out across the Great Divide Basin. The overcast made it a nice temperature for riding. Probably 20º cooler than if the sun had been out-



Odd rest stop with Ralf 3D-



Approaching Oregon Buttes, a landmark used in the Oregon Trails days-





Our reward in Farson when we stopped for the night supplies before camp-



Today was mostly riding through great expanses of nothingness that for some reason I enjoy. Nice skies for the evening at camp where it was warm and windy. Found a lot of sand in the tents the next morning-

[RBMann]

Day 16-Big Sandy to Colter Bay, 200 miles



Nice 66ºF. to start the morning and a cloudy sunrise-



Today we planned on trying Green River Lakes area again as we were rained out last time. Then over Union Pass on the Divide to Dubois and ending up at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons. Green River Lakes was a bust again as it started to rain at the turnoff so we just headed for Union Pass. At the top, we started seeing a lot of smoke from forest fires that would continue to be a theme for the rest of the trip-



Maybe it was the smoke but I only took three photos today and the last one was a skinny deer in the campground-

[RBMann]

Day 17-Grand Teton NP, 24 miles

The only mileage today was getting to the trailhead for a hike up to Emma Matilda Lake and then getting pizza for dinner. Smoky air quality for the hike. We used the afternoon for laundry and showers then just hang around reading on a nice afternoon-









It was 45ºF. in the morning but by the afternoon it warmed up enough that Ralf was sitting in the shade of the bear locker-



Very enjoyable afternoon hanging around camp-

[tomvv11]

I stayed at that Colter Bay campground last June on my indirect route back from Great Falls, with a 78 year old R1250GS rider I met when I pulled in. Same pizza place too probably. The quality of the breakfast at the joint next door to the pizza place was nothing short of amazing.

[flatbutt]

Just imagine how many rolls of film a trip like this would have required!

[Swamper]

Did you guys ride the Ashton-Flagg Ranch Road??? to get to the Grand Tetons.

[signit98]

Originally Posted by Swamper

Did you guys ride the Ashton-Flagg Ranch Road??? to get to the Grand Tetons.

Not last year, no.... but we have come in that way before.

[RBMann]

Originally Posted by tomvv11

I stayed at that Colter Bay campground last June on my indirect route back from Great Falls, with a 78 year old R1250GS rider I met when I pulled in. Same pizza place too probably. The quality of the breakfast at the joint next door to the pizza place was nothing short of amazing.

Hi Tom-

We have eaten pizza at the Cafe' Court right in the Colter Bay Village, if that is the place you are talking about. This year we tried Leek's Marina & Pizzeria that is just a little north on the main hwy. Leek's is small but better.

Mr. Flatbutt-

Back in the day, I used 36 exposure rolls of Kodak slide film. This year when I got home I had taken 1338 digital photos so I would have needed 38 rolls. I also used pre-paid process mailer so I could drop them in the post box as they were filled and sometime they would be home before I got back.

Swamper-

In 2019 when we were there you could have used an R1100S on the road, dirt but well graded. You can see a couple pics of Ashton-Flagg about half way down page #2 here.

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r1100s-r1200s-tech-forum/1044404-forth-back-tor-19-a-2.html

[Swamper]

Thanks. When we did our divide ride we got short on time one day, poor planning and had to skip Ashton Flagg road. Upon return last year to that area on more street oriented bikes we had planned to ride it but it was raining fairly hard in the area so we skipped it again. Didn't know how rough it might be as the pictures I've seen show it with some pretty deep rutting.

[RBMann]

Day 18-Colter Bay to Salmon, 283 miles



48ºF. this morning. Not the best view of Jackson Lake, did I mention smoke?-



The morning was spent seeing some sights in Yellowstone and bagging more Divides-







As we turned west at Madison Junction we saw an amazing sight, eight miles of stop and go traffic trying to turn onto the main park road then four miles later another huge traffic cluster of people waiting to pay their fees for entrance. After escaping the crush of humanity we went back to bagging Divides. Raynolds Pass north of Henrys Lake then Red Rock Pass on the way to a late lunch at The Old Schoolhouse Cafe in Dell, MT-

[RBMann]

Day 18 continued-

Crossing over Lemhi Pass to get to the next valley that Salmon sits in. Lemhi is one of my favorite passes since I used it in 2005 on my R1100S. Not pretty today-

[Swamper]

Got a map of those roads you took???

[RBMann]

Originally Posted by Swamper

Got a map of those roads you took???

Can you be more specific? Which day or place to place.

[Swamper]

Lemhi Pass shows a number of roads going over it. I'd like to try going over it but don't want to get in over the bikes capabilities. You mentioned a gravel road option so I was considering it.

[RBMann]

Originally Posted by Swamper

Lemhi Pass shows a number of roads going over it. I'd like to try going over it but don't want to get in over the bikes capabilities. You mentioned a gravel road option so I was considering it.

West to east-

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Tendoy,+ID/257-85+MT-324,+Dillon,+MT+59725/@44.9064924,-113.3994634,10.99z/data=!4m19!4m18!1m10!1m1!1s0x53582a954993eaa5:0x24 6131f2da103633!2m2!1d-113.6447779!2d44.95937!3m4!1m2!1d-113.4381714!2d44.9716104!3s0x53577d77b4b8c667:0x96 9566d267dba899!1m5!1m1!1s0x535751051f92aab5:0xc217 d445c12fd991!2m2!1d-112.8569808!2d44.9997539!3e0

Starting in Salmon, ID go south on Hwy 28 to the Tendoy Store. At Tendoy go east one block then south on old hwy28 for another block then east on Agency Creek Rd. which will take you all the way to Lemhi Pass. Part way up Agency becomes Lewis and Clark Hwy #013. At the pass the name changes again to Lemhi Pass Rd. going down to Hwy 324 in MT then continue east on 324 to I-15. I didn't even know about the name changes since the main route is obvious from Tendoy.

[RBMann]

Day 19-Salmon to Helena, 275 miles



Dawn and smoky again. Today we had planned to reach the headwaters of the Pahsimeroi River in the Lost River Range. With all the smoke the view would not be great so we decided to move on. I have tried to reach the headwaters five times now but only made it once in 2018. Two attempts had GPS errors with roads ending and could not find a way to get there. Last year it was raining-



We headed north from Salmon then over a Divide on Hwy 43 toward the Big Hole National Battlefield. On Hwy 43 we drove through an active fire zone. Lots of smoke with both side of the road burned for miles. Didn't see and flames but there was smoldering debris all over-



After lunch in Wisdom we moved north in search of Whizmo Pass on Deep Creek Rd., Hwy 569. Kind of a challenge to find since the last time here was in 2005. As I mentioned before, sadly I heard that Whizmo has passed, RIP-





On a mountain top near Butte is Our Lady of the Rockies a 90' statue that might be more impressive on a clear day-



We took Hwy 2 SE out of Butte and over the Divide at Pipestone Pass and continued on Hwy 2 toward Lewis & Clark Caverns. Just west of there is a big hole in the hillside at Sheep Gulch. Of course Mr. Childlike needed to see more. I appreciate his curiosity but I don't trust my knees anymore so I stayed at the bottom to pick up the pieces-







Along Hwy 287 is the Bleu Horses sculpture. In late afternoon we arrived at Devils Elbow CG on Lake Hauser of the Missouri River. Hot and time for a swim-

[RBMann]

Day 20-Helena to Seeley Lake CG, 184 miles



Smoky morning on the lake. Spent the morning bagging some odd Divides. Mullan Pass is on the divide route that bicyclists use. We met a couple groups touring in that area. Cool old trestle on the east side of the pass where Ralf was at it again-







Stopped for lunch snacks at the Canyon Creek Country Store on Hwy 279. It was already hot and we sat having cold drinks and watching the Harley thunder by-



Nice curvy road heading north to Hwy 200 over Flesher Pass.



At Rogers Pass we decided to backtrack west and go up the west side of the Rockies so tomorrow we could take Hwy 2 over Marias Pass then continue to Logan Pass which would be our last Divide-

[RBMann]

Day 20 continued-

This was our third time to Seeley Lake and the first time we found an empty campsite. It was a hot day so opted to stop early, take the site and go for a swim-



We felt better after the swim and on the walk back to our site a friend texted. He follows my Spot location and asked if we were going to see GUS, the largest larch tree in the world. Had never heard of it but it was only a 10 minute walk from the campground. Beautiful setting in the James Girard Memorial Tamarack Grove. Nice short hike and it is great have friends that share their knowledge-















As you can tell by the number of photos it was an unexpected highlight of the trip. A truly random idyllic forest walk.

[RBMann]

Day 21-Seeley Lake to East Glacier Park Village, 180 miles + 89 to Logan Pass



No photos going to Kalispell or Hwy 2 over Marias Pass. Weather was not good and lots of traffic. When we arrived at Two Medicine Lake the campground was closed and the rangers were turning people away just off the main highway. Might have been a bear issue. We ended up at the Red Eagle CG run by the Blackfeet Tribe. We did not have a reservation to enter Glacier but the campground host told us after 5:00 PM anyone can enter. So we took off for Logan Pass before dinner-

















Finally after three weeks on the road, the last Divide. The total was 56. I managed 65 in 2005 and thought this year would be more but we got tired of the in and out backtracking that it takes to up the number of passes plus somewhere in WY Ralf's rear shock started leaking which cut the desire to do rougher roads. Totally different trip then Sept. in 2005 on a sport touring bike but both were enjoyable-

[RBMann]

Day 22-East Glacier to Lolo Pass, 294 miles



Time to head home, but it would take another seven days. TEDDY BEARS-PROTEST WILDLIFE FENCE-SOUTH OF DUPUYER-MONTANA-



Still smoky even on the east side of the Rockies along the Scenic Front Drive-









Just a few bugs today-



Ended the day at Lolo Pass Hot Springs. Nice to camp then walk across the road to go for long soak.