Tuesday 13 June 2017

West Yellowstone, MT

It was still snowing when I woke up. I waited a couple of hours but it showed no signs of stopping. As I knew I was heading to a lower altitude I donned my waterproofs and set off after checking there was no ice on the roads.

The forest of lodgepole pines looked very pretty in the snow and I got on a bit better once I realised my sunglasses could double up as snow goggles. I met a very excitied man parked on the road. He had just seen a bear close to the road I needed to cycle up. He was very happy to have seen the bear. Acutely aware of the open pack of cookies in my pannier I was less amused.

I checked my bear spray was in an easily grabbable position and set off up the hill in the snow with shouts of 'Hey Bear' and 'Coming Through'. Last thing I wanted to do was surprise a grizzly. It really did feel like quite an adventure. Luckily there were vehicles passing frequently enough to give some comfort that the bear would stay away from the road and if not I was not completely alone. I may be the first cyclist to wish there was more traffic in Yellowstone rather than less that day!

I passed some bison in the snow really close to the road. The adults were huge and black and the two calves light brown. Very picturesque but far too close to stop and watch or photo. Many visitors get gored by bison each year, usually by approaching them. I minded my own business and carried on, adopting my best non-aggressive cyclist pose.

As I came off the Caldera the snow gave way to sleet. I was too wet and cold to snap a photo earlier but I took one once I got to a lower altitude. By the time I got back to Madison my feet were painfully cold and I stopped at the visitor centre to dry everything I could under the hand dryer in the bathroom! I wished I had packed my waterproof socks, bulky though they are. However it stopped raining after Madison and I changed into dry socks and managed to dry my shoes a bit in the toilets.


After Madison I followed the Madison river out of the park. There were a herd of elk across the river. I counted 5 adults at least and 5 foals. Very cute and skipping about in the river. Too far for my phone camera I'm afraid. Suddenly it was spring again and the last 14miles cycling was wonderful. I took a couple of snaps of the river so you can see the scenery in the Western part  of the park. Not spectacular but very pretty.

After the serenity of the park it was quite a difference to cycle into the bustling town of West Yellowstone. I am now in Montana, my 5th cycling state.

I am staying in a self catering apartment for the night which I found on AirBnB. I hope no one else in West Yellowstone wanted a hot shower as I feel I must have used up the whole towns water supply. This place has a kettle (the first I've seen in 6 weeks!) plus a great book to read. And with that I'm going to put the kettle on.......

Motel sign in the town of West Yellowstone







1 comment:

  1. Bears, elk, bison... It's taken me a life time of trips and living abroad to see those, and you see all three in a day. Terror asides, I'd love to have seen them!

    ReplyDelete

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