At least there wasn’t any lightning. And at least the soil wasn’t clay.
But we sure got pounded by a good old fashioned Rocky Mountain storm. Without much warning (no thunder) we quickly found ourselves getting pelted by hail and watching the dirt road start to flood. It was an impressive amount of water falling from the sky.
We had just started our descent on the CDT towards Red Rock Pass. Had we been 15 minutes ahead, we might have missed it. But we weren’t. We were right in the bulls eye and for a good twenty or so minutes, it let loose with everything it had.
A couple of the flatter areas held clay that looked like it was going to shut us down, but with some careful riding we floated through it. When the 2-track pointed down it was incredibly solid. Even though both sides, or the entire road, was blasting with six inches of water, the underlying surface was still solid, so we could still ride with control, and attempt to drop out of it.
Had we been looking at another night out camping, we might have played it differently, stopping to hunker in trees (hmmm, what trees?) Or move sleeping bags and down coats into more water-tight locations. But we had planned on getting a meal and a room in Island Park, so we tried to ride it out. And we got soaked to the bone. Drowned rats, we were.
At the Red Rock Pass we turned backwards on the divide route to start a Wilderness Study detour. Coming on to the divide route was a relief — ah, the safe, dry, known and benign divide route.
We figured it would be an easy coast into town, but first we ran into JayP heading north. It took a few misfires of the brain before I figured out what he was doing, even though I had just set up the tracker for FitzBarn in West Yellowstone, including setting the start time! We saw even more racers that we knew as we pedaled in, causing us to get nailed by the first few minutes of the next downpour.
Into Sawtell Resort — no rooms. Calling around, no, nothing, all full. Crud. A few long shots were explored, then finally we learned of the Lakeside Lodge, which was well out of town, but more or less on the route we had planned on the south side of the Centennials. One room left. Cheap for this area. Sold.
Sunrise from the sleeping bag
The day started much better. We had a great night and seemed to have chosen the only spot in the area that stayed dry. We saddled up after breakfast to continue climbing to Targhee Peak.
Oh, what a climb. So well done, Someone who has passion for trails laid out, built and maintains this trail. Yet still it has a nice backcountry feel.
Some switchbacks in the iron-striped rock area threw us, and literally threw Eszter to the ground, but overall the climb was a joy. The top was reached almost too soon.
On the shoulder on Targhee Peak
What can I say about the descent? We counted 49 switchbacks, and I missed a perfect record by only one switchback. Pretty sure that’s the highest number of switchbacks on a single descent I’ve ever ridden.
Now the quest is to find a trail with 50+ switchbacks in a single run….
The flowers were off the hook, and everywhere. To peak-CB levels of floweritude. Huge views. 3000+ foot drop. This trail is so bikepackable, everyone should ride it.
Ah ha, we ran into 3 riders heading up on a shuttled day ride. Best trail in Montana they said. I might believe it.
We rolled passed Mile Creek and onto the Face Trail to wend over to Raynolds Pass. An older woman hiking was very curious what we were up to. She raved about seeing a group of cyclists camping at Mile Creek, carrying chainsaws way up the mountain to clear the trails. That’d be Corey Biggers crew. Not a tree down up there — amazing. Thanks Corey.
After Raynolds Pass the CDT showed its more usual colors — faint to no trail through the woods. Kind of annoying, but kind of a nice way to travel and wander in the woods, too. It didn’t last long before we wer climbing steeply on 4×4 roads, back up to the divide. Then just as we crested the last climb….. the Red Rock Rain smacked us.
We’re drying stuff and gearing up to return to the Centennials, weary that monsoon moisture is still in place and that afternoon t-storms are still possible.
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