In the many years that I've lived in Colorado, I've rarely traveled into Wyoming and most of what I've seen has been from the inside of a car along the I-25 corridor. I recently had the opportunity to ride there for an overnight motorcycle camping adventure with a good friend who knows a lot more about Wyoming's hidden wonders.
2 Days, 1 night, 2 BMW 1200 GS motorbikes, 550 miles of tarmac, 50 miles of gravel, 1 golden eagle and thousands of bugs later; we had ourselves a fantastic weekend.
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| On the Poudre Canyon Highway. Nokhu Crags, near Cameron Pass. July 5th, 2014 |
Our first gas stop and bio break was in Walden, CO. It was here that we decided to extend our journey by continuing West to Steamboat Springs before heading north into Wyoming. By deciding to take this route we knew we were committing ourselves to several miles of dirt, but after looking at my Wyoming Butler Map, we decided to go for it.
Little did we know at the time that this decision would extend the distance and difficulty of our journey much more than expected. We inadvertently took a wrong turn when we reached a fork in the dirt road. Instead of taking the intended 10 mile dirt fire road, we found ourselves on 50 miles of circuitous gravel.
Now, I know I ride a GS and I should revel at the thought of taking on such an obstacle with enthusiasm and gusto. But I really dislike riding on gravel. Period.
The bike immediately began to swing and sway as it does in gravel. I stood on my pegs, assumed the proper stance, forced myself to relax, and my mind frantically searched its virtual library of YouTube videos for proper gravel riding technique. Then, as if mother nature herself decided this was not enough of a challenge, it started to rain. Heavily.
My helmet visor started to fog and I could no longer see the gravel road in front of me. Nor could I see the sudden and dramatic drop offs along the road side. I knew they were there just waiting to suck me off the side of the road and down the mountain side. I have to admit that my feeling of stress and despair caused me to laugh out loud in my helmet. And of course, there were a few choice expletives.
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| A road side rest after 50 miles of wet gravel. |
Alas, after 50 miles of gravel and rain, I made it to pavement with out a single fall and otherwise unscathed. By about mile 10 I think I'd become comfortable enough in the gravel that I won't fear it in the future, though I know I will still not seek it out.
After emerging from gravel we found ourselves close to Battle Pass and decided to pay it a visit. This turned out to be some of the best riding of the trip. The Battle Pass Scenic Byway, to the west of Battle Pass leads you down in elevation to the bottom of a vast and gorgeous valley.
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| Battle Pass, Wyoming |
After a very long day of riding fun, we headed to Saratoga to find something to eat. After asking a local at the fuel pumps we headed to the Saratoga Inn where we enjoyed a fantastic burger and a beer.
At this point we were tired and running out of daylight. We decided to head directly to our camp ground and set up camp before night fall.
The sun began to set as we headed East into Medicine Bow National Forest. It makes me smile to remember the thicket of bugs we ran into as we ascended the mountains. I hadn't encountered more than a stray bug on the entire trip but suddenly found myself ducking behind the safety of my windshield, at 65 MPH, as the sound of bugs hitting me and the bike increased in frequency and volume.... "Dink, dink, dink, dink....". After about 60 seconds we were covered in bug gore. I recall saying over the intercom: "This is like a frikkin' bug shooting gallery!". Still makes me chuckle to this day.
The mountains were busier than expected so it took several attempts to find a place to camp for the night. Several options were also closed due to large snow banks blocking our route.
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| The Saratoga Inn, Wyoming. |
We awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunny day. The air was crisp but warm and we eagerly hit the road after a quick re-hydrated breakfast and coffee.
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| Muddy field leading in to our campsite. |
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| Our campsite. Home for the night. |
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| View from campsite. |
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| Snowy Range Mountains, Wyoming. |
As the sun continued to rise, we meandered through the small park taking in the various views and enjoying all that it had to offer. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
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| A view of the Snowy Range Mountains from one of the park's scenic overlooks. |
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| A small tower provided an elevated platform on which to take in a panoramic view of the area. |
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| View from lookout tower at the scenic overlook. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| View from lookout tower at the scenic overlook. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| View from lookout tower at the scenic overlook. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| View from lookout tower at the scenic overlook. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| Getting ready to head home. Parking lot at the Scenic Overlook. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
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| Small mountain lake at the bottom of the Snowy Range Mountains. Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. |
Oh yeah: The Golden Eagle. Somewhere between the Colorado/Wyoming border and Saratoga, we were humming along at a good pace on a rather straight bit of road. About a 1/2 mile separated us with my friend out in front.
Simultaneously, as he began frantically pointing at something to the left side of the road, something caught my eye. I could immediately tell that this bird was large. The first thing I noticed was that is was very labored in getting off the ground. It was flapping hard but not gaining much speed or altitude. The next thing I noticed were the two smaller birds darting around it. It looked much like two small, agile fighter planes attacking a much larger and slower bomber. Judging by their hostility, they were obviously chasing it away.
The large bird began crossing the road in front of me as I sped towards it in excess of 70 MPH. It was now about half way between me and the lead bike. As it crossed the road in front of me, at about eye level, it started to change course. I was suddenly alarmed to see that it was doubling back over the road and I was immediately certain that we were on a collision course.
I tapped my front break lever to disengage the cruise control and could feel the bike lurch slightly as it decelerated. I'm not an extremely experience rider and so I admit there was a slight feeling of panic and some indecision about what I should do next. Before I had time to do anything else, I passed right under the large bird. It was absolutely magnificent. The Golden Eagle must have had a wingspan of at least 8 feet. I think I was laying flat against the fuel tank when I passed underneath it. I was close enough that I could have touched it if I'd been standing on my foot pegs. That was certainly a once in a life time close encounter that I will never forget.
I had no idea what to expect when we began our little weekend expedition. What I found was a true delight and I look forward to the opportunity to visit Wyoming again in the future.
Our complete route can be found here on Google Maps.
