Trout Creek WY
Got
up around 5am, loaded the bike and was on the road by 6:30am. In the Little America parking lot it was
chilly, but not excessive. Regardless, I
put on the layers, leathers, raingear/windbreakers, heavy gloves and face mask.
But
it was to no avail.
The
intended route was to depart Little America west on I-80 for a few miles and
exit at US-30 north to WY240 to connect onto US189 towards Jackson Hole. I am so glad that I was dressed for the
worst….because the cold started to show up with a chilling effect upon my left
wrist. Riding over a few hills I could
see far into the distance what seemed to be very low clouds or fog. Later I was to find both (what’s the
difference??).
When
I did enter the fog the air temperature seemed to get colder around La
Barge. BTW, it was along this route that
I saw my first antelope. The animal was
about 30 feet off the side of the road watching me as I slowly approached. After I past it I saw it in the mirror
bounding across the road. Between La Barge and Big Piney I continued to get
more and more chilled. Luckily at Big Piney there was a gas station for me to
pull into. And it was a good thing that I did stop because as I dismounted from
the bike my knees almost gave out….I was seriously cold!
The
station had a quasi-food and grocery store arrangement and about 5 locals were
sitting at one of the tables drinking coffee and discussing local stuff. They kinda looked at me like, “look what the
cold brought in”! You have to imagine
the image I portrayed in bike gear covered by rain gear with a face mask. I gave a good morning greeting to those
making eye contact with me and headed to the coffee dispenser and the hot
sandwich display. I needed food to warm
up….as well as the coffee. While munching
on the egg/ham croissant and drinking the coffee I noticed other riders rolling
by….they didn’t seem as affected by the cold as I was. (Which means they were wearing the proper
gear that kept them warm!)
The
locals told me that the fog should disappear within another 2 miles north of
town so about 30 minutes later I ventured back onto US189. They were right…..but they must not go more
than two miles north of town because about another 5 miles later I was back in
the fog and dealing with the cold.
When
I reached Bondurant I saw some bikers coming onto the highway from a café so I
turned into the parking gravel parking area and went inside. I could feel that it was getting warmer….but
the chill factor was still having it’s affect upon me. Later I would remember that I had the winter
gloves in my camping gear that would have been perfect to keep my hands warm!
In
Bondurant I nursed the coffee cup a lot and also had some toast with peanut
butter. I just wanted a place to sit and
warm up. But I also revisited the map,
given that I had lost so much time and was now faced with a 700+ day to get to
Trout Creek, to determine an alternate plan.
It was easy to see that there was no way I could reach Trout Creek at a
decent hour…I needed to get on faster moving roads. US26 was about 10-15 miles south of the
turnoff for US20 which was the planned route.
And US26 would get me to Idaho Falls where I could then connect to I-15
and make a high speed dash up to county road 278 heading for Wisdom MT, the
next checkpoint.
I
made great time on US26 being able to ride at much faster speeds that what the
planned route would have allowed me to do.
Once on I-15 I hauled away at 85 mph nervously watching for HP’s. County or Ranch Road 278 turned out to be an
excellent road and I was able to run at 70-75 all the way to Wisdom. While checking in I noticed a lot of riders
relaxing and chatting and one fellow had his bike seat off working on his
electrical system….seems he was unable to fully turn the bike off.
I
didn’t waste any time there as I still had to get to Trout Creek where my hotel
reservation was paid for whether I was there or not. The planned route was to head west on road 43
to US-93 north into Missoula…where I had previously been for the Lolo Pass ride
of the 15 Best. I knew that it would
take more time riding that route so instead, I headed east on 43 to get back
onto I-15 towards Missoula at a faster speed.
Current ETA at Lakeside Motel & Resort in Trout Creek put me there
at around 10pm. Not to my liking as now
I would have to ride part of ID-200 in the dark and this was the road I wanted
to be on to check it out for future fly fishing. Darn it!
When
I got into Missoula I stopped to tank up near where the Harley store is and
gave a quick call to the motel/resort to assure them of my arrival around
10pm. They warned me to ride with the
high beams on and be alert for deer, etc.
Long
story short, had to ride at 50 mph to assure good reaction if a quick stop were
needed. Couldn’t see the river but did see a number of signs indicating fishing
locales, and safely made it to the motel about 9:45.
The
room there was very nice and on the Lake…I think this would be a good spot for
future fishing trips.
I
gotta stop doing these crazy runs in the dark L.
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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