August 25, 2013
Day 25: To West Yellowstone
Low of 47F last night. Not too cold thanks to the cloud cover for most of the night. I was on the road before 9, continuing upstream along the Madison river. There are few river views until the road enters "earthquake canyon".
Once again I had a brisk headwind. I wore tights all morning. But for the first time in 4 days the morning was totally sunny.
I stopped at the Earthquake Lake visitor center area. The visitor center was closed for renovations, so I had to trespass to get what is normally the most common view of Earthquake Lake.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I pedaled to the top of a giant pile of landslide debris above the visitor center. It has a very good view looking out of the canyon, downstream.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Then I continued upstream on US 287 along the shore of the lake. The road stays very close to the shore with nonstop views.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Earthquake Lake was formed on August 17, 1959 when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused a miles-long landslide in this canyon which was a popular fishing destination. In the picture above you can see that a large portion of the mountain on the left collapsed to form a dam in the canyon. 28 people died and a heroic helicopter operation ensued to rescue the surviving campers in the canyon who had no way out because all roads were buried under mountains of debris. The rescue was especially urgent because of concern that the earthquake might cause the dam upstream to fail.
Not very far past Earthquake lake the highway climbs a big hill to get to the top of the earthen dam that forms Hebgen lake. The location is very remote but it has many vacation homes because it's only a 30 minute drive from the entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I had lunch at a bar/restaurant overlooking Hebgen Lake. No town, no store.
Eventually the lake fades away and I'm back alongside the Madison river.
US 287 merges with US 191 9 miles before West Yellowstone. The last 9 miles is perfectly straight with heavy traffic and a decent shoulder. The landscape is now pine forest. Most of the pines appear to be new growth after the huge 1988 Yellowstone fire.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I arrived in the town of West Yellowstone at 3:15 PM and promptly got a room at the Ho Hum Inn for $78. Most lodging here costs much more. The room has no air conditioning and the south and west walls are in full sun. The room was warm but not uncomfortable. Today's high was only 78F. West Yellowstone is 6667 feet elevation.
West Yellowstone is the biggest town I've seen since Dillon. But town isn't really the right word to describe it. It's a giant industrial tourism complex. Thousands of motel rooms. A hundred restaurants and bars. Multiple shopping arcades full of tourist shops. Little or no evidence of a local population. It's the main gateway community to Yellowstone National Park which gets 3.6 million visitors per year. A century ago most visitors arrived by train and then rode a bus into the park. Now everybody arrives by road and the historic train station is converted into a visitor center.
In the evening I washed clothes, cleaned the chain, tightened spokes, and mended my rainfly. By dumb luck I found a wire in my front tire before it caused a flat.
Today was sunny in the morning and the afternoon clouds were never very threatening. Finally, no worries about getting caught in a violent thunderstorm.
I'm exhausted after going into a strong headwind for two days. I went to bed soon after dark. With the window wide open the room had cooled to 75F when I went to bed. I paid for only one night in the motel, but I'm certain I need to rest tomorrow.
Distance: 42.3 miles (68 km)
Climbing: 1799 feet (545 m)
Average Speed: 9.3 mph (15 km/h)
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 1,292 miles (2,079 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |