Showing posts with label Snowmobiling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Snowmobiling. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Snowmobiling West Yellowstone, 2021

Q: So what do you when your RV home breaks down and will take a week to fix? 

A: Go snowmobiling in West Yellowstone, of course!

Actually, we had been planning a snowmobiling trip for some time. Vicki, who has always been the driving force in our snowmobile adventures, but rarely the driver, needs a fix every few years. We had sold our former snowmobile back in March of 2016, so it was time. From Escondido, we rented a AWD Jeep and drove to West Yellowstone forthwith. As noted in the previous post, we had already planned to do this trip this week, with motel and snowmobile reservations already in place.

It was a marvelous trip. The 2-day driving from California to Montana and back bookended a week of great weather, great snow and grooming, and sparse company both in town and on the trails. The government and citizens of West Yellowstone pretty rigorously observed relevant Covid-19 protocols, although their tourist/yahoo visitors were not so rigorous. More American exceptionalism; nothing new. Historian Patricia Limerick once observed that about 10% of any population are jerks. In the US, it's about 35%, I'd say. And not just jerks, either.

We stayed at the Day's Inn, enjoying ample nice accommodations, socially-distanced hot breakfasts, and a soothing hot-tub to ourselves after our three day-long rides. Temps were in the single digits over-night, but up into the 30s by the afternoons. Skies were mostly clear every day. Snow levels were fine in the valleys as well as in the high country. Trail grooming from West Yellowstone and from Island Park, ID, is done almost nightly, and on several occasions we were clearly the first to hit an extra virgin, cold-pressed trail. In this snowmobiling mecca, trail signage is excellent, and one is never out of cell-phone range. 

We were five full days in West Yellowstone, three on the trail, two resting back in town. Our snowmobile rentals were from High Mark and Yellowstone Adventures, both four-cycle Ski-Doo Grand Touring machines, two-ups (two seats), 900cc and 600cc respectively. We've been dealing with Yellowstone Adventures since the turn of the century, first rentals, later actually buying one of their lightly-used four-cycle 1000cc Ski-Doos in 2003, and having it serviced by them periodically. The only downer was the expected fatigue and soreness resulting from hours on the sleds. But at our age, fatigue and soreness are expected from almost any activity.

West Yellowstone street scene; all the streets are kept snow-
covered, except for the two highways that intersect: US 20
and US 287










First day out, first picture














Heading for Two Top, a perennial favorite

Winter Wonderland, what Vicki likes most, en route to Two Top

Tetons in the distance (magnified)
Atop Two Top; as high as the trail goes

The top of Two Top; we learned in 2003 not to take a heavy
two-up off the groomed trail

Panning around

Another view of the trail and the Tetons

Us on Two Top

Vicki in a cold but happy place

Looking toward Yellowstone country

Big Spring

In Island Park, a pretty good indication of the snow level

Extra virgin, cold-pressed freshly groomed trail

Me, drinking to that; unfortunately it was just 
black coffee


Another day, heading for Mesa Falls, Tetons again, from Idaho

Thus, Lower Falls

Up closer


Along Henry's Fork (of the Snake River)(which issues from 
Henry's Lake): Henry's Swan
Headed for Lion's Head...behold! we are on the Continental
Divide Trail...our favorite snowmobile adventures were on the
CDT, a hundred or so miles east of here, in Wyoming; too
high and isolated for us nowadays; plus no one would rent a
two-up for solo use




















Looking toward Lion's Head

Looking out across Lake Hegben; not our tracks

Looking back toward Yellowstone

Extremely thin ice on Lake Hegben; note bevy of extremely
noisy swans...

We didn't get into the Park this time (we would have had to
make reservations in 2017) nor did we encounter any bison 

But we did encounter this critter, not 200 feet from town, which
we like to think was a wolf; but more likely a coyote




























































































































































































































































































































































































































































To see a couple dozen more such posts, just enter "snowmobiling" in the side-bar search box.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

End Of Season Sales

February 23rd, as it turned out, was our last ride on the Blue Wanderer, and a good one too. Our intent on this campaign was to enjoy a final season of winter camping and snowmobiling, and, at season's end, to sell everything connected with these endeavors and to transition to a different rig and style in the US. Vicki had already begun listing everything in Craigslist and other media, and, within a month, we had sold it all and begun moving into our new rig, tentatively called Le Sport. (Goes well with Le Duc, our European camper). Le Sport will get a separate post, in due course.
All saddled up after the last ride, ready to head to the Bozone
















The Blue Wanderer's many campaign pennants
















Riding off into the sunset...well, 19th Ave. in Bozeman, en
route to I-90...with its new owners, a nice couple from Billings;
they bought the trailer too


















The Bigfoot rests upon its new home, atop a Chevy owned by
a nice couple from Colorado; with all the solar and other
accoutrements we added, they got a good deal


















The Ram, resting on its trip east; oddly, it was the hardest to
sell, but we finally found a deal; I miss its raw power, especially
unladen, and its many new-fangled 2014 features


















The deal...next post

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Best Ever Two Top

We've been riding up this little mountain west of West Yellowstone since 2003. Usually later in the season. Sunday's visit was the best ever. Extreme winter wonderland. A fitting end to our winter travels of 2016.


































































































Snowmobiling West of Yellowstone

We got to Island Park, ID, Saturday afternoon, and camped in a large snowmobile parking lot across route 20 from the USFS ranger station, just south of the Buffalo River, near Pond's Lodge. (All this for future reference.) (Island Park and West Yellowstone are neighbors in a vast recreational wilderness complex west of Yellowstone NP; snowmobile paradise; also hiking and fishing paradise.) Next day we did a ride from Island Park to Big Spring, then the Black Canyon Loop, and then up old favorite Two Top. Two Top was the best we've ever seen it and warrants its own post. Next day we moved to our old parking lot in West Yellowstone and did the ride out to Lake Hebgen, the FS look-out there, and back to town. More old favorites. And on Wednesday we did a huge circuit, Lion's Head, Valley View, Two Top once more, Black Canyon, then the long ride along the Yellowstone border back to West. We've done all our favorites.
Riding through Island Park
















Big Spring, ID, another gorgeous day, many rentals out riding,
just like we once did

















Heading up Two Top, which sort of straddles the ID/MT
border

















Yes, there is a snowmobile speed limit in MT




















Among the views from Two Top
















Ditto
















Back toward the Black Canyon Loop




















Looking past partially frozen Lake Hebgen
















Ditto, from the FS look-out