18. July 2024
A thunderstorm had passed through during the night but gladly missed mostly my location. Just some drops for a while and in the morning, all was dry again.
The ride to the Start/End point of the WYBDR was eventless.
When I reached the border line, the gate there was wide open and some tire tracks were going through. There was a sign that here begins the Crow Reservation but nothing indicated that you cannot go through.
After taking a picture of the fence line, I was off on the next chapter of this trip.
I had great weather and the ride was fun. Great vistas in this high elevation of mostly more than 9000 feet.
The fuel stop at the Bear Lodge was accompanied by a burger in the bar before I headed out to the hard alternate.
The progress was slow on the first part of it and aside of a short bit with big boulders before one of the water crossings, all was fairly easy.
The closed road on this section was clearly marked and easy to bypass, by connecting to the normal route.
A little side trip to the Shell Falls, where the Shelly Creek drops into a gorge and wind its way further through tall rock cliffs.
Rain clouds got bigger and I started to look for a camping spot, which I found at the Shell Creek Campground. A beautiful place next to the creek.
It never rained but the flies were a torture. A fire helped a lot with that.
19. July 2024
In the end it rained during the night a little. Enough that everything was still wet in the morning. Packing was slow but the sun came up and helped to dry things.
On the first climb after camp, there were rancher herding cattle down from the mountain. The cows didn’t like the color of my bike and avoided getting close to me on any cost. Patiently sitting on the side of the road and waiting until all had passed.
The road lead on a high altitude through a very nice landscape with many scenic views.
At the upper Medicine Lake, I made a short stop. Here is a very nice campground, but it is high altitude.
After doing a section of ATV trail, I reached one of the WYBDR highlights for me. The Bighorns Viewpoint. The Cliff and the surrounding landscape are just great!
The descent down into the valley was on a very well-maintained gravel road.
I also recommend the little side trip to see the petroglyphs and if the time is right, there is a great campground as well.
By now, it was very warm and I discussed with myself if it is a good idea to tackle the hard alternate. In the end my curiosity won and because it was dry, it had been no problem. If it would have been wet, that story could end totally different. The normal route is in this case also gravel.
North of me were storm clouds getting bigger and bigger. That’s why I decided to cut off the little loop before reaching the South Bighorn View. I still wanted to see it so I went up there from the south.
The ride into Ten Sleep was hot although a nice experience by using the Old HWY 16.
After getting gas and something to drink, I headed out towards Shoshoni. I didn’t realize that this is a very remote section, despite that there is the Nowood International Airport.
A campsite just outside of Shoshoni was the endpoint for today.
20. July 2024
As soon as the sun came up, I packed and went for breakfast in Shoshoni. Then leaving this small town south into the dessert. A lot of fast gravel road and plenty of gas and oil equipment along the route.
I stopped at the Red ROCK for a picture and met there another BDR rider on a KTM 690. We had a chat which was nice change after passing yesterday about 14 riders without anyone stopping.
The ride into Lander was easy and fast. In the distance of the mountains, you could see rain clouds coming in but it was just past lunchtime so I didn’t want to stop yet. I rode on pavement to the sink canyon points of interest. There, I only stopped at the location where the river disappears into the ground. Nice but I was worried about the rain and wanted to cross the coming pass before it comes down on me.
First, I thought it looks good and I had a chance to be faster than the clouds. But at about Fiddlers Lake, the rain started and didn’t stop for most of the way to Atlantic City.
The gas supply was out of order, because the person I assumed would help you for gas, slept happily on very deep in his chair on the balcony. Because it was rainy and didn’t look any better in the direction I was supposed to go, I headed back to Lander where it was sunny and hot this lunch time.
The closer I got to town, the closer I also got to the rain clouds. My plan to stay in the City Park was quickly demolished, as there was a concert going on. I filled up the bike and my spare gas bag just in time before the very strong wind gave way to the rain.
I found a nice spot at an RV campground which also offers tent spots.
After having a nice shower, I had a relaxing evening. Hopefully the weather forecast is correct and tomorrow will be no rain.
21. July 2024
The morning was not as sunny as promised but at least no rain for now. As I climbed up South Pass it was chilly. From the HWY I had a nice view over Red Canyon Wildlife Reserve.
I passed Atlantic City in the east and headed out into the barren landscape on the now call hard option of the BDR towards Alcova. It started all nice and on fast gravel road.
The Beaver Rim has several lookouts along the route. Also, many horses, cows and antelopes can be seen. Be careful, the antelopes like to cross right in front of you.
The route has changed recently and now the Beaver Rim is an expert route. The only hard and deep sand section I saw was a few miles before hitting the HWY (when going east), where the route runs along the power line. Highlighted on the pic. Here the ‘road’ is destroyed by flooding and vehicles which ripped through anyway. This is going on for a few miles and there already tracks forming next to the actual road.
I met surprisingly several BDR riders, which did all or part of the hard alternate. I spoke to 7 going towards Altantic City and there was a BIG group of at least 15 riders at the gas station in Alcova.
The total distance from the last gas station in Lander, leaving on the HWY via Atlantic City to the gas station in Alcova was 177miles. So, I didn’t need my spare fuel. If there would have been the need to turn around or use a bypass it would have been a different story.
Going south from Alcova is first on pavement and then on fast gravel road. Where the route turns east, I turned west instead as there was a big thunderstorm right in the path where I was heading.
By going west, I rode towards sunny skies and as it was about midafternoon I thought havening a early stop would be nice for a change.
I found a great camping spot on the North Platte River.
Again, I hope that the weather will be good tomorrow when the route is heading into the Shirley Mountains.
22. July 2024
Blue sky welcomes me when I crawl out of my tent. Unfortunately, the air is so humid that the sun has no power to dry anything and it is cool. I have to back the tent wet and I’m shivering a little as I roll out of camp.
The light is strange and makes the picture colorless. As I ride into the Shirley Mountains it makes the view a little less impressive. Especially as there is no long-distance view possible.
The marked view point is disappointing as it is a meadow.
Soon after, I reached the HWY via a farm road. There was a construction site where the workers laid a fresh pavement and I had to wait for the Pilot Car. That car was driving so fast that I almost needed full speed of my bike to keep up with him.
In Medicine Bow is a gas station and a little market where I fuel up before heading out towards Elk Mountain.
The carbon cemetery was an interesting stop and other than the town, here you can see history. The town is basically gone. There are some small foundation sticking out the ground, but it is hard to imagine that here was once a town.
Elk Mountain is again a very tiny town. There is an old Hotel which looks restored but not much more.
I ride through farmland and later into the woods.
The side trip to the Kennaday Peak was much longer than expected, rocky and useless with all the humid in the air. The view shows mainly grey in the distance.
Next on the map is the hard section. That is even more rocky and the famos water crossing almost got me at the exit. I lost momentum and had to roll back a little into the water to make it out on the other side. All went well, just the rain clouds worried me.
Not much later, the rain set in and I thought about turning around and wait till tomorrow before crossing these mountains. In the end, I continued and rightfully so. The rain was short and I made it all the way to Centennial along several lakes and mountains which still had some snow left on them.
I met Jim, another BDR rider going north and we had a longer chat. Shortly after that, 2 riders in big KTM’s blasted side by side around the single lane gravel road corner. One of them almost crashed and if I would have been a car it would have been the end of his trip. Crazy how some people ride.
Centennial has a gas station and a shop where you can find almost everything you could want. I’m sure there is a lot more to find in this small town, but I wanted to continue to the next campground.
Before I reached the Rob Roy Reservoir, I had to ride through another rocky section and a water crossing which was deeper than it looked.
The campground had plenty of spaces and was almost empty. A nice fire and dinner completed my day.
23. July 2024
The morning was cold! I had ice on the tent, the motorcycle and even the picnic table was covered with ice. This was the first time since I travel in this style, that I made a fire in the morning. That was nice and soon the sun was warm enough to melt the ice and dry all my belongings.
I chatted far too long with my camping neighbors and had an extremely late start. No problem, as I only wanted to go to the Boyer Ranch. The road leaving the reservoir was in good condition and I made good progress.
It was about lunchtime when I arrived in Grand Encampment. Their City Park was great for a break. Shade and electrical power for the computer made it a good stay to enjoy my lunch.
Leaving the town you climb up to Battel Pass which is also on the continental divide. At the highest point you turn onto a very rocky forest service road to climb up Bridger Peak. This part of the trail you share with the CDT hikers. I met 2 from the UK and we chatted for a while before I continued the extremely rocky climb.
The summit is nothing special but with good weather you should have a good view up there. The humid air again prevented this for me.
Going down was equally rocky and in some small spots muddy with deep tracks. At one muddy water paddle I almost lost it as about half way through it got suddenly very deep. On then next cross road I came onto a nice gravel road and that continued for a while.
Around the Battle Mountain Lookout all was paved.
The last stretch to the Boyer Ranch would be difficult if wet. It looked like dried mud, which was later confirmed by the owner of the ranch.
The ranch is marked on the map and definitely worth a stay if you can. I had a great time with the hosts and other guests. A lot of stories and experiences were exchanged.
24. July 2024
Leaving the Ranch, the road climbs out of the valley and follows often the ridge line.
After some miles I reached the HWY which leads into Baggs where I got fuel before heading out to the BDR X Desert Loop. First a stretch on the HWY, then a fast gravel road for quite a while.
The route follows a track which got sandier for longer sections. Some of the sand is deep and because it is already hot it is also very loose.
Several miles later it improves a little and another BDR rider comes towards me. We exchange information about what to expect before both go our ways.
A little side trip is marked to the Fort LaClede Ruins. There is not much left of it but I use the stop for a short break.
On the fast part of the track, I miss a turn and I ride for some miles in the wrong direction. The trail is much more overgrown and makes travel slower. But nowhere as slow as before.
The next marker refers to a View Point. The ride runs along a rim and there a several interesting view down. The marked one is a special one, as the rim reaches out and allows an almost 360 degree view of the drop off.
The rest of the track is fast gravel back to the HWY. That lead into Baggs where I fueled up before heading to the starting point of the Colorado BDR.
FINISH
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