I spent this past weekend in and around Yellowstone National Park. Every year, the park service starts to plow the roads into the park from West Yellowstone, MT, around the middle of March. Cars are not allowed in the park from this end until about a month later, in mid-April. So road cyclists have a unique and, so far, underused opportunity to see Yellowstone from the saddle without the lines of car traffic that have become so much a part of any visit to the park.
Yellowstone is an amazing place in the wintertime. The snow is somewhat thin on the hills on the western edge of the park, but the plains are largely covered as are the tops of most peaks. The bison are out in full force, with plenty of land exposed for them to graze on. Herds and herds are seen in the distance with striking regularity, though it seems too early still to see new calves. Still, they're amazing animals, their size made real when you come suddenly upon a group of 20 or 30 blocking the road ahead of you--you, who are standing, exposed, straddling a thin aluminum bike with a little foam helmet, facing off with a bull the size of a small tank. They seem calm, wary, but we are VERY careful around them. We grant them full right of way. We wait until they are well clear of the road before we proceed.
Me, Tim, John, and Tony drove out at around noon on Friday, making a beeline for the town of West Yellowstone. Just under 6 hours to get there--a gorgeous drive across highway 20, the desert turning to mountain and lingering on the border between, stretching east along the southern edge of the Boises, the far reaches of the Sawtooths, and the Lost Rivers. You can see each range approach as you cross the state, and it's strange to be so consistenly just out of their reach. This fertile crescent doesn't account for much elevation gain, but it sure does have some nice neighbors to the north.
We got rooms at the Brandin Iron Inn. Great deal. $52 for two, $57 with a full kitchen and dining area. Definitely the best deal in town. We considered a cabin, but it proved not worth the extra drive, expense, and effort.
Saturday we were on the bikes, along with Paul, and heading into the park at 10:45am. We would return about 6 hours later. The way in we had a good tailwind, shifting slightly but right around 10 or so. It was around 30 when we started, I'd guess, and close to 40 when we finished. Chilly but bearable. The weather leading up to the weekend was consistently cold and snowy, but it stayed just warm enough to keep the roads melted. The conditions for our ride were great. Blustery but not too cold, we sailed into the park with the wind at our backs.
We were about 2.5 hours out to Norris junction, after passing a nice waterfall and seeing loads of bison and elk. There we headed a quarter mile straight up to some Geysers where we sat and had lunch. Nice spot. From there, Paul and I continued out toward Canyon. We climbed a steady grade for about 3.5 miles to a pass where we got a great view into the next valley. But, not wanting to climb back out before heading 30 miles back into the wind, we turned back and made for the entrance.
We fully expected to catch the other three, but a couple herds of bison had other plans for us. The first delay, as a herd climbed the bank to the road just ahead of us and then proceeded to amble through a long stretch with steep banks up on one side and down on the other, us following a good distance behind, held us up for about 40 minutes. We got cold. We rode in circles. We talked to them. Much later, within 8 miles of the entrance, we hit another herd and waited about 15 minutes or so for them to clear off. Not so bad, but a good reminder to plan for unexpected delays.
We got back about 4:30, I think, tired and windblown and thrilled about the ride.
Next time, I'll wear sunscreen, too.
Sunday Tim and I went skiing at the Rendezvous trails. $5 fee, many kilometers of trail. A nice, well-marked system of rolling hills, up and down and again and again, some really fun and nicely groomed skiing. Skate skiing at this place would be out of sight. As it was, we had the backcountry nordic jobbies working, but it was a load of fun. We went about two solid hours, steady paced, and got back to the car just as John and Tony were finishing loading their stuff.
It was a long ride back, but it was a nice drive--especially since Tim did all the driving.
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