Alaska: Day 3 (7 June 09)
What a day!
We left Jackson bound for Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and ultimately Kalispell, Montana. That was the plan anyway. I think the first indication that things weren't going to go smoothly was when we woke up to rain. Or maybe it was when Danny's spare tire flew off the back of his bike and came skidding across the road toward me in the apex of a rain-soaked twisty in the Tetons. Some quick evasive manuvering and I was fine, but that'll wake you up in a hurry. We got it strapped back on in short order. Funniest thing was the Japanese tourist who pulled up beside Danny (he had continued on, oblivious, until he realized I was no longer behind him -- I had pulled off to retrieve his tire, of course), rolled down his window, and said, "You lost your spare tire." You have to hear Danny say it with the proper accent to really get you rolling in the aisles, but you get the idea. I think the Japanese tourist might have snapped Danny's photo. Crazy American biker! LOL.
And we saw our first bear -- a nice size black bear browsing the underbrush just off the side of the road. Apologies for the crappy photo -- it was near dark, with low hanging clouds and drizzling rain, when I pulled off and snapped it.
As we climbed in elevation, the rain turned into slushy snow and the temp plummeted. Soon it was near freezing. By the time we reached the south entrance to Yellowstone, it was coming down really good. The ranger in the kiosk didn't even look at the passes we'd bought earlier at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. He pointed to the Ranger Station nearby and said, "You guys might as well go in there and get warmed up before turning around." Yellowstone, it seemed, was closed. Snow plows were enroute, but for the moment all roads through the park were closed to anything without chains.
Crap!
Here's a photo of Danny sitting in the line at the park entrance, moments before we were told the way ahead was impassable. You can see the snow frozen to his windshield. This was before it starting coming down really hard.
We were in a bit of a quandry. The only option was backtracking all the back to Jackson and figuring out an alternate route from there. Best bet appeared to be going over Teton Pass to the west and then turning north through Idaho and southern Montana. One thing was certain, we weren't going to make Kalispell tonight as planned.
We were concerned, however, with whether we could get over Teton Pass. I think it's actually higher in elevation than the passes through Yellowstone. We rode back to Jackson and found a place to eat breakfast, got out some maps and our Zumos, and started strategizing. How to tell if the pass was clear, though? I finally called my friend Elaine and gave her the project to find out. She called back not more than 10 minutes later. She'd talked to a Wyoming State Trooper who assured her that he'd just come down from there not an hour ago. There was snow falling, but the pass was clear. Great news because otherwise we'd have had to go even further south before turning west. Thanks, Elaine!
So that's what we did. The ride over Teton Pass was gorgeous, albeit cold and wet. The ride up through that part of Idaho wasn't bad, but the ride through Montana was just spectacular -- even if we did get rained on most of the day. We're camped out in the Thunderbird Hotel (not as cheap as its name might imply) in Missoula, about 117 miles short of my original goal for tonight. Not bad for having backtracked, gone way out of our way, and spending most of the day cold and wet.
I'd write more, but it was a LONG day. The ride back down from Yellowstone was particlarly taxing, as the snow was freezing on our visors, clothing, and bikes. I was leading and had to wipe my glove across my visor every 30 seconds to keep it clear of ice. The only way to keep it from fogging was to leave it cracked, which meant my lower face was frozen -- icecicles hanging from my mustache!
Before I sign off and head to bed, though, I have to tell you about the cruiser couple we met at the Ranger Station in Yellowstone. I'd like to say they were Harley riders (because they certainly fit the stereotype), but they were actually on Triumphs. They were totally unprepared for the weather and road conditions. Hailing from somewhere in Texas, they'd ridden their bikes up, apparantley with no rain gear or anything. They were soaked and cold. The guy was on the phone calling AAA to come tow their bikes back down to Jackson, where they planned to rent a U-haul to get the bikes back to Texas. I think the wife had had enough. They seemed amazed by our gear and our "just another day on the road" attitude, and they couldn't believe we were riding off into the blizzard (even if forced to backtrack through it).
Oh well.
I'll leave you with a couple photos of yours truly on the road and near the Jackson Lake dam (which is where I believe the Snake River originates).
Nite!
We left Jackson bound for Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and ultimately Kalispell, Montana. That was the plan anyway. I think the first indication that things weren't going to go smoothly was when we woke up to rain. Or maybe it was when Danny's spare tire flew off the back of his bike and came skidding across the road toward me in the apex of a rain-soaked twisty in the Tetons. Some quick evasive manuvering and I was fine, but that'll wake you up in a hurry. We got it strapped back on in short order. Funniest thing was the Japanese tourist who pulled up beside Danny (he had continued on, oblivious, until he realized I was no longer behind him -- I had pulled off to retrieve his tire, of course), rolled down his window, and said, "You lost your spare tire." You have to hear Danny say it with the proper accent to really get you rolling in the aisles, but you get the idea. I think the Japanese tourist might have snapped Danny's photo. Crazy American biker! LOL.
And we saw our first bear -- a nice size black bear browsing the underbrush just off the side of the road. Apologies for the crappy photo -- it was near dark, with low hanging clouds and drizzling rain, when I pulled off and snapped it.
As we climbed in elevation, the rain turned into slushy snow and the temp plummeted. Soon it was near freezing. By the time we reached the south entrance to Yellowstone, it was coming down really good. The ranger in the kiosk didn't even look at the passes we'd bought earlier at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. He pointed to the Ranger Station nearby and said, "You guys might as well go in there and get warmed up before turning around." Yellowstone, it seemed, was closed. Snow plows were enroute, but for the moment all roads through the park were closed to anything without chains.
Crap!
Here's a photo of Danny sitting in the line at the park entrance, moments before we were told the way ahead was impassable. You can see the snow frozen to his windshield. This was before it starting coming down really hard.
We were in a bit of a quandry. The only option was backtracking all the back to Jackson and figuring out an alternate route from there. Best bet appeared to be going over Teton Pass to the west and then turning north through Idaho and southern Montana. One thing was certain, we weren't going to make Kalispell tonight as planned.
We were concerned, however, with whether we could get over Teton Pass. I think it's actually higher in elevation than the passes through Yellowstone. We rode back to Jackson and found a place to eat breakfast, got out some maps and our Zumos, and started strategizing. How to tell if the pass was clear, though? I finally called my friend Elaine and gave her the project to find out. She called back not more than 10 minutes later. She'd talked to a Wyoming State Trooper who assured her that he'd just come down from there not an hour ago. There was snow falling, but the pass was clear. Great news because otherwise we'd have had to go even further south before turning west. Thanks, Elaine!
So that's what we did. The ride over Teton Pass was gorgeous, albeit cold and wet. The ride up through that part of Idaho wasn't bad, but the ride through Montana was just spectacular -- even if we did get rained on most of the day. We're camped out in the Thunderbird Hotel (not as cheap as its name might imply) in Missoula, about 117 miles short of my original goal for tonight. Not bad for having backtracked, gone way out of our way, and spending most of the day cold and wet.
I'd write more, but it was a LONG day. The ride back down from Yellowstone was particlarly taxing, as the snow was freezing on our visors, clothing, and bikes. I was leading and had to wipe my glove across my visor every 30 seconds to keep it clear of ice. The only way to keep it from fogging was to leave it cracked, which meant my lower face was frozen -- icecicles hanging from my mustache!
Before I sign off and head to bed, though, I have to tell you about the cruiser couple we met at the Ranger Station in Yellowstone. I'd like to say they were Harley riders (because they certainly fit the stereotype), but they were actually on Triumphs. They were totally unprepared for the weather and road conditions. Hailing from somewhere in Texas, they'd ridden their bikes up, apparantley with no rain gear or anything. They were soaked and cold. The guy was on the phone calling AAA to come tow their bikes back down to Jackson, where they planned to rent a U-haul to get the bikes back to Texas. I think the wife had had enough. They seemed amazed by our gear and our "just another day on the road" attitude, and they couldn't believe we were riding off into the blizzard (even if forced to backtrack through it).
Oh well.
I'll leave you with a couple photos of yours truly on the road and near the Jackson Lake dam (which is where I believe the Snake River originates).
Nite!
Labels: Alaska, motorcycles
posted by Brian A. Hopkins at 11:27 PM
1 Comments:
Awesome report! Thanks for posting after a cold day on the road. Been there, done that, know how you feel. Glad you guys are prepared and hope you don't get a lot more snow.
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