ARCTIC
New member
I just got back yesterday evening from a week long road trip out to the Yellowstone area and it was AMAZING!!!!!!
There were 2 of us couples one on a harley and my spyder and we trailered out to Buffalo, WY and backpacked for 6 days all over the area. We just found a place to stay as we rolled into town and typically had really good luck getting a nice place to stay. The hotel/motel owners were cutting deals as we were late in the afternoon and it all worked out great.
Day 1) we rode through the northern Bighorn mountain range to Red Lodge, MT and then through Beartooth pass to our overnight in Cooke City. That day was the coldest and wettest of all the days to follow. We put all of our gear on and I utilized my extensive selection of cold weather gear and was perfectly warm the whole time. I don't think it got much over 60 degrees and it got as cold as 38 degrees F up on beartooth and we stopped and played in the snow for a little while and I even climbed up a small hill and did a little sledding on my nice slick rain pants :2thumbs: We bedded down at the Soda Butte Lodge in Cooke City. Very nice clean place with outdated paneling in the rooms but we didn't care the least because the room was clean and the staff was friendly.
Day 2) We scraped ice off of the seats of our bikes in the morning and I convinced everyone to go back through Beartooth and loop back through Chief Joseph highway to begin our day. Even though it was cold the sunshine made it even more enjoyable the second day. I REALLY like Beartooth!!! Chief Joseph was good also but just not as rugged and awesome as Beartooth. We then made our way through the NW gate of Yellowstone and putted through the park to our overnight at West Yellowstone. I took everyone to some of my favorite watering holes before we retired for the evening which included Happy Hour on lake Hebgen, The Wild West in West Yellowstone and the Buffalo Bar before arriving at our ultra low quality accommodations at the Yellowstone Country Inn. (wouldn't recommend).
Pictures:
Day 3) We made our way south through the park. I had a lot better attitude and more patience for the traffic than I did the prior day. We made sure to pull off at several places including firehole canyon RD and firehole lake. Those were both very neat to look at and relatively low in traffic and tourists compared to the rest of the park. You could get close enough to the springs that you could reach down and put your hand in the water of the hot springs at firehole lake. We then went and watched Old Faithful erupt twice. It's neat to watch and worth saying you did it. I was very impressed with the Old Faithful Inn. The lobby of that place is pretty awesome (IMHO). Then we loaded up and rode along the shore of Lake Yellowstone to the fishing bridge and turned back around. The lake is okay but if you're rushed for time I'd recommend skipping it. Then we continued down to our overnight at Jackson Hole, WY. I would NEVER EVER....EVER... EVER recommend wasting any time/money at this place. These people don't want us lowlife bikers in their town. Continue on to Alpine or go ANYWHERE else.
Day 4)Made a 110 mile loop to Victor, ID and down to Swan Valley and back through Jackson Hole. That drive was surprisingly fun and scenic with low traffic. The teton pass was very neat, the valley between Victor and Swan Valley was a great windy road and then from Swan Valley to Alpine you follow along Palisade lake on the cliff. Then from Alpine to Jackson Hole there's a river that you follow along and people are rafting. We stopped to watch them raft down the river and it looks like a lot of fun. I would like to try that sometime. We rode north of Jackson Hole and turned off into the Moose junction area and followed the park road and took a few turnoffs to see the scenery of the Gran Tetons. Nice views of the mountain range. We then turned east and headed to Riverton, WY for our overnight stay.
Day 5) Ride from Riverton Back to Buffalo, WY to get our truck & trailer and make towards Deadwood, SD. The road north of Shoshoni was probably the biggest surprise. There's several tunnels and a very scenic drive through some deep valleys. When we reached Buffalo, instead of loading the bikes we just dropped the girls off and we buzzed over to Deadwood with them following in the truck & trailer. We ended up in Deadwood and had a great time in town. Mitch & Erin go to Deadwood several times a year and know the town very well so they were able to be our tour guides and found us great places to eat & drink.
Day 6) We rode through the black hills up through Spearfish canyon and down Vanocker canyon to Hill City and looping back to Deadwood. We got caught in some rain but were very thankful to be back in town when we did because right after we loaded up the trailer (enclosed trailer) it poured constantly for hours non-stop. So we hit up the the trolley and headed into town for a last night of fun:cheers:
Day 7) the dreaded drive back home.....
Summary: We rode the bikes right at 1,600 miles and hauled them 1,400 miles round trip. This was my first every backpacking trip. I would go back again in a heartbeat it was a nearly perfect trip. I think we really nailed it with the weather, all the equipment held together, we packed the right clothes and found places to stay relatively easily.:yes::yes::yes:. My spyder hung in there very well and provided fun and reliable source of transportation. I bottomed out a few times on some road approaches and rocks a few times so I might need to gain some more pre-load on my front shocks somehow. The saddlebags stayed nice and dry and was just sufficient to carry our 5 days worth of clothes for two of us. I would probably have sprung for the backrest case for the next trip. YES.... Those are snowmobile goggles and I wore them every day and it is surprisingly comfortable and provided excellent protection for my face from bugs and rain :2thumbs:. We saw more spyders than i have ever encountered during our travels. I even had the chance to speak with a few. 2 of them were at Old Faithful and another couple in Nemo, SD. Maybe some of you folks saw us on the road??? :2thumbs:
There were 2 of us couples one on a harley and my spyder and we trailered out to Buffalo, WY and backpacked for 6 days all over the area. We just found a place to stay as we rolled into town and typically had really good luck getting a nice place to stay. The hotel/motel owners were cutting deals as we were late in the afternoon and it all worked out great.
Day 1) we rode through the northern Bighorn mountain range to Red Lodge, MT and then through Beartooth pass to our overnight in Cooke City. That day was the coldest and wettest of all the days to follow. We put all of our gear on and I utilized my extensive selection of cold weather gear and was perfectly warm the whole time. I don't think it got much over 60 degrees and it got as cold as 38 degrees F up on beartooth and we stopped and played in the snow for a little while and I even climbed up a small hill and did a little sledding on my nice slick rain pants :2thumbs: We bedded down at the Soda Butte Lodge in Cooke City. Very nice clean place with outdated paneling in the rooms but we didn't care the least because the room was clean and the staff was friendly.
Day 2) We scraped ice off of the seats of our bikes in the morning and I convinced everyone to go back through Beartooth and loop back through Chief Joseph highway to begin our day. Even though it was cold the sunshine made it even more enjoyable the second day. I REALLY like Beartooth!!! Chief Joseph was good also but just not as rugged and awesome as Beartooth. We then made our way through the NW gate of Yellowstone and putted through the park to our overnight at West Yellowstone. I took everyone to some of my favorite watering holes before we retired for the evening which included Happy Hour on lake Hebgen, The Wild West in West Yellowstone and the Buffalo Bar before arriving at our ultra low quality accommodations at the Yellowstone Country Inn. (wouldn't recommend).
Pictures:
Day 3) We made our way south through the park. I had a lot better attitude and more patience for the traffic than I did the prior day. We made sure to pull off at several places including firehole canyon RD and firehole lake. Those were both very neat to look at and relatively low in traffic and tourists compared to the rest of the park. You could get close enough to the springs that you could reach down and put your hand in the water of the hot springs at firehole lake. We then went and watched Old Faithful erupt twice. It's neat to watch and worth saying you did it. I was very impressed with the Old Faithful Inn. The lobby of that place is pretty awesome (IMHO). Then we loaded up and rode along the shore of Lake Yellowstone to the fishing bridge and turned back around. The lake is okay but if you're rushed for time I'd recommend skipping it. Then we continued down to our overnight at Jackson Hole, WY. I would NEVER EVER....EVER... EVER recommend wasting any time/money at this place. These people don't want us lowlife bikers in their town. Continue on to Alpine or go ANYWHERE else.
Day 4)Made a 110 mile loop to Victor, ID and down to Swan Valley and back through Jackson Hole. That drive was surprisingly fun and scenic with low traffic. The teton pass was very neat, the valley between Victor and Swan Valley was a great windy road and then from Swan Valley to Alpine you follow along Palisade lake on the cliff. Then from Alpine to Jackson Hole there's a river that you follow along and people are rafting. We stopped to watch them raft down the river and it looks like a lot of fun. I would like to try that sometime. We rode north of Jackson Hole and turned off into the Moose junction area and followed the park road and took a few turnoffs to see the scenery of the Gran Tetons. Nice views of the mountain range. We then turned east and headed to Riverton, WY for our overnight stay.
Day 5) Ride from Riverton Back to Buffalo, WY to get our truck & trailer and make towards Deadwood, SD. The road north of Shoshoni was probably the biggest surprise. There's several tunnels and a very scenic drive through some deep valleys. When we reached Buffalo, instead of loading the bikes we just dropped the girls off and we buzzed over to Deadwood with them following in the truck & trailer. We ended up in Deadwood and had a great time in town. Mitch & Erin go to Deadwood several times a year and know the town very well so they were able to be our tour guides and found us great places to eat & drink.
Day 6) We rode through the black hills up through Spearfish canyon and down Vanocker canyon to Hill City and looping back to Deadwood. We got caught in some rain but were very thankful to be back in town when we did because right after we loaded up the trailer (enclosed trailer) it poured constantly for hours non-stop. So we hit up the the trolley and headed into town for a last night of fun:cheers:
Day 7) the dreaded drive back home.....
Summary: We rode the bikes right at 1,600 miles and hauled them 1,400 miles round trip. This was my first every backpacking trip. I would go back again in a heartbeat it was a nearly perfect trip. I think we really nailed it with the weather, all the equipment held together, we packed the right clothes and found places to stay relatively easily.:yes::yes::yes:. My spyder hung in there very well and provided fun and reliable source of transportation. I bottomed out a few times on some road approaches and rocks a few times so I might need to gain some more pre-load on my front shocks somehow. The saddlebags stayed nice and dry and was just sufficient to carry our 5 days worth of clothes for two of us. I would probably have sprung for the backrest case for the next trip. YES.... Those are snowmobile goggles and I wore them every day and it is surprisingly comfortable and provided excellent protection for my face from bugs and rain :2thumbs:. We saw more spyders than i have ever encountered during our travels. I even had the chance to speak with a few. 2 of them were at Old Faithful and another couple in Nemo, SD. Maybe some of you folks saw us on the road??? :2thumbs:
Last edited:
hyea:
