Snowmobiling The Continental Divide Trail; Or, Return To Green River Lakes, 2016

Weather forecasts suggested that the full force of the El Nino was approaching--warmer and drier weather in the northern Rockies--and that we had better do our favorite rides sooner than later. Thus we drove the hundred miles or so from Alpine north through Jackson and east to Togwotee Pass, in the heart of the great Continental Divide Trail system, and eventually to the Warm Springs parking lot we frequented last year, near the Line Shack. There appeared to be several feet of snow all around, except for the southern exposures, and the grooming was great, as usual. So at the first opportunity, with blue skies and temps in the 30s, we headed off onto our all-time favorite ride, the fifty or so miles to the Green River Lakes campground and the view of Square Top and its neighbors towering over the lakes. The route takes you past a national elk refuge, and on the way back we were treated to the feeding of the elks. (See YouTube videos noted below). The next day, Saturday, we did a seventy mile ride in the middle part of the CDT system, but by then the weather was beginning to deteriorate, warmer but ferociously windy, and we decided it was time to get off the mountain and down to Dubois, our refuge at just about this same time last year. Apologies for duplicates of pix I took last year in http://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2015/02/snowmobiling-continental-divide-trail-5.html and others.

Approaching the Wind River Range from the north

We're going to save Kinky Creek for the summer

Arriving at the forest service campground; our third visit in a
year

The lower lake

And Squaretop

We've ridden past the elk refuge many times in past years, but
never once saw them getting fed; click to enlarge and you'll see
two people on a horse-drawn sled pitching hay at the elk, some
of whom nearly stampede to get at it

Thus

And thus; the video, done for our grand-daughter, is on YouTube
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCIryLlJFxA

Last look, for a while, at a favorite place

Snowmobiling Greys River, Alpine, Wyoming

At length we departed Missoula, over-nighting in the Bozone, and enjoying the Broncos' very satisfying Super Bowl win over the Panthers. I am no fan of passball, as American professional football has become. My favorite team, historically, threw six passes in its third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, completing five, and still routing its NFC opponent, the hapless Vikings. So I particularly enjoyed seeing Sunday's Hall of Fame and MVP quarterbacks both harassed, hit, sacked, stripped, and intercepted, throughout the game. And the right team won. The Broncos' defense certainly rivals the nearly-undefeated 1986 Bears. But I digress.

From Bozeman we drove on to West Yellowstone, cold and snowy, but covered in dense fog that was supposed to last three more days. Island Park, across the border, was no better, so we decided to keep on driving (hard to appreciate the scenery in a mountain fog), all the way to Alpine, WY, and its great Greys River trails. We camped three nights in the giant snowmobile parking lot there and got out for two 100+ mile days on some of our favorite rides.

Passing by Big Sky, Montana, The Lonely Mountain

Wyoming is the best! Riding an unspoiled groomed trail, variant C, on the way to
Box Y Lodge

Ditto; we did Variant C last year, but we were low on fuel and I wasn't able to
enjoy it fully

We did it three times on this visit, coming and going

Ditto, again

Box Y Lodge; staff actually remembered us from last year

Snow plane at the Box Y (airplane-propeller driven, four large skis)

The river at Box Y

Elk feeding range, some miles south, towards Utah

Riding back on C

Next day, riding east toward the Sherman guard station

50 miles down the trail, great views of the Winds

Looking southeast, toward the south end of the Winds, you can make out the
Cirque of Towers, to the left...

Our style of riding--groomed trails only--depends entirely on grooming; here is a
groomer at the Sherman parking lot

Hill-climbing and high-marking are what we and the groomers don't do

Snowmobiling Lolo Pass

Lolo Pass and its National Recreation Area (all Forest Service land) were scarcely an hour's drive from our home west of Missoula, and it was at Lolo Pass that we snowmobiled more than any other place. Last year, as we revisited our many snowmobiling adventures, we didn't do Lolo--too little snow, as in much of the inland Northwest. So we drove on to the higher country, Yellowstone and Island Park, Grey River, and the Continental Divide Trails in Wyoming. But this year there was a solid four feet of snow at the Pass. Sadly, the grooming was lacking, but we were determined...

First day, we rode the trails near the Pass and in the direction of the Missoula
Snowgoers' warming hut...our club, way back when; I think we had the only
two-up and certainly the only four-stroke in the club

A gorgeous day, tons of snow all around even at these relatively low altitudes
(5,000-6,000 feet)

Vicki, covered in powder

Panning around

The warming hut

Montana and Idaho are Lewis and Clark ground zero, and they camped here at
Packer Meadows en route to the Pacific

Packer Meadows

In early summer, Packer Meadows turns blue with the bloom of Camas flowers;
indeed the first time we approached it, we thought for a moment it was a lake;
a postcard to P bears witness (she has requested postcards with princesses)

Not so in winter

We spent Tuesday night at the pass, hoping for more grooming; but it didn't come,
and we returned to Missoula and business there; Friday morning we thought we'd
try again, probably just another token ride, and then cross Lolo off our list; just as
we were about to head back to the parking lot, we noticed two guys blazing up the
route to Lochsa Lodge...completely ungroomed, but they were making enough of
a trail for us to follow...the trip from the Pass to Lochsa Lodge was always our
very favorite ride at Lolo

Tea time before the bridge at Brushy Fork

We pressed on, enjoying beautiful views of the Bitterroots

Up closer

Moose tracks, according to Vicki; we actually did see a pretty big cow on the
way back, but she disappeared before I could get the camera out; above
Killed Colt Creek, another Lewis and Clark place (they were getting low on
vittles)

Our quest is at an end...outside Lochsa Lodge, above the Lochsa River, a few
miles from the De Voto Cedar Grove...a favorite place in an historic place 

Back porch of the lodge , which seems unchanged in the 8 or so years since we
last visited

Part of the Lodge menagerie; our lunch was accompanied by a very appetizing
lecture, in the adjacent hall, on the prevention and treatment of frostbite, the
audience apparently EMTs

But we were thrilled and pleased to have made this destination one more time
on the snow, despite the conditions

There remained only the long, ungroomed ride back to

The parking lot and visitor center at Lolo Pass, a special place, especially in winter

Snowmobiling Seeley-Swan, 2016

We were three days in the Swan Valley, snowmobiling out of the hamlet of Seeley Lake, a short ride at first, a medium ride the second day, both on the east side, and an inadvertently longer ride the third day on the west side. The snowmobile map of the area leaves a bit to be desired, signage rather more to be desired (many unmarked yet groomed intersections), and ditto the grooming itself. Ever heard of adverse camber? Overall, it was a very good initial experience of the season, everything working, with good snow, cloudy, and day-time temps in the mid-30s.

Our campsite at Morrell Creek parking lot; turns out it's a day
use area, sans signage

Riding on virgin groomed trails; the first two days we saw only
seven other sleds, but it got a bit busier Saturday

These are the Swan Mountains, up to 9,000 feet, east of the
valley

Ditto; no, I did not take these pix in black and white...it was
really cloudy

Panning a bit south

Crossing the ridge and looking west; beneath the cloud bank is
Seeley Lake, both lake and town, and beyond, totally hidden
in the clouds, are the Mission Mountains; the Missions, which
we could see from the porch of our home west of Missoula,
are the more impressive range, up to 11,000 feet, lots of
exposed rock, very alpine; access to them is pretty much
barred by the Salish-Kootenai tribes; they have their reasons...

Now on the west side of the valley, looking east, a pano of the
Swan range

Thus

And thus

Trail #10 was indicated as groomed on the map; but it wasn't;
we'd hoped to follow it to the highway and cross over to the
east-side trails; but even when we got there, the east-side trail
was completely ungroomed and inaccessible, thanks to a
mountain of snow deposited presumably by the MDOT plows

One of three trees downed across the trail

Not a happy trail-rider...but eventually we got back to the main
west-side trails and across the highway, south of town, and to
our little encampment; snow fell lightly all the rest of  the
afternoon and evening; we had business to attend to in Kalispell
on Monday, so headed north up the Swan valley and crossed over
to the Flathead Valley; the clouds continued, so there will be
no pix of Glacier NP (where snowmobiling is wisely verboten)

PS...the Missions from our house on Horseback Ridge, west of
Missoula, c. 2007; Llazy Ll Lland and Llama Company, LLC