218 miles
I have to say, I was starting to enjoy being off the grid now... camping right on the trail meant there were no distractions other than my own coffee brewing facility, and I was all packed and rolling again just after 7am. Trusting my fuel range gauge on the bike was accurate (currently still showing 104 miles remaining), I decided I had enough margin to explore a little more en route to a suitable refuel, and see if what appeared on my GPS to be a network of through roads to the north, correlated to what was actually on the ground.
On the whole, the unpaved/dirt road information shown in the Garmin City Navigator mapping software (in the US at least) is surprisingly detailed - each twist and turn and junction accurately represented, and can be routed along just as if they were paved highways - typically making it easy to follow your chosen route through a myriad of side-trails, once you've put an initial destination waypoint in... However, you have to keep in mind there is no distinction between an old logging road that may have been cut (and mapped) 50 years ago and subsequently returned to wilderness, and a definitive 'road' that remains in constant use. There is also no indication whether a particular road is public or private either... which can make initial route planning on-screen a little tricky. Once on the ground it's not usually a issue, as most dirt roads [in City Navigator] are considered public rights of way unless specifically posted, and unfortunately in this instance, what seemed to be a well-used continuation of the initial access trail through an OHV network ended ominously with this sign:
photo. I really was in the middle of nowhere, and only a few miles from the highway too - but it wasn't worth the risk...
I used this enforced retreat as the perfect excuse to explore some of those OHV trails that I'd passed by earlier - not least so that I wasn't directly retracing my steps (I always hate to do that in these circumstances) - but at the same time mindful that while the GS was seemingly sipping fuel at an incredibly frugal rate during these exploratory trail conditions, I was still a good distance from anywhere that might allow me to refuel without significantly diverting from my intended route for the day.
photo. another 50" gate (concrete posts) - most of the OHV trail network here is for motorcycles and ATVs only.
With no choice but to ultimately rejoin the same route out as I'd plotted last year, at least I recalled there was an independent gas station a few miles south (on the main highway) with old-style pumps - that should be open now it was after 9am on a Saturday morning. As it turns out, I can confirm that Dales Fuel in Clyde Park also has a 24 hour pay-at-pump facility, along with their existing crank-handles. There is also a killer coffee stand on the lot opposite. Breakfast was served.
This minor detour meant that on my way back to join my intended route west, I noticed an alternative and parallel trail to the otherwise paved road that led to a small mountain range in the distance. This was an absolute corker - a proper 'green lane' as we'd call it in the UK - typically two-track between a wide fence-line on either side, and undulating just enough to ensure you were never quite sure what was over the next horizon - wonderful stuff!
photo. Checking in after a night out in the wilds - I factored I'd be guaranteed a strong 3G signal here...
Flathead Pass crosses through the middle of the Bridger Range [of mountains] just to the north of Bozeman, and is a proper 'Jeep' trail - easy enough on the climb up to the pass itself from the east, but much more rocky, rutted and loose on the west side - and I admit I was glad I'd chosen to navigate this particular stretch in this direction! Again, as with many of the through routes in this part of the state, there seemed to be a network of alternative and potential even more challenging OHV trails leading tantalisingly into the forest on either side - some of which I'm sure would have reconnected to where I was heading - so many trails, so little time. Still, as I always say, it's always worth leaving something to come back for.
Certainly it would have been very easy to lose sight of the task in hand, which was to continue to prove a series of interconnected dirt roads and trails, ideally punctuated by more technically challenging sections where appropriate, as a definitive 'through route' that was not too convoluted.
It was a pleasant if not especially taxing ride from the ghost town of Maudlow alongside the Sixteen Mile Creek heading north, then out into more open country under clear blue skies, perfect. However, on glancing down at my GPS, I noticed the screen had started glitching on and off between the hardwired cradle and battery power. What the hell is going on now then?
I stopped at the side of the trail and initially checked the fuse - turns out the two 12v auxiliary circuit/s actually share the same fuse as the dash so I knew it wasn't that... and since the GPS seemed to be working fine on just it's internal battery power, deduced it had to be something in the wiring between the cradle and the loom... Mind you, I wasn't going to start delving any deeper than that at the side of the road until I'd had some lunch - priorities and all that you know!
Fortunately, I knew a great diner in White Sulphur Springs (the Branding Iron Cafe) a few miles away, which not only serves a mean fried-chicken sandwich and fresh-fruit milkshake, but has a covered patio area to one side, under which I was able to dismantle the front end and sort the damn wiring while staying out of the sun...
photo. this is what is most tedious about this bike - the fact you have to remove half the bodywork just to get to anything - including the auxiliary connectors behind the headlamp cover.
Ultimately it turns out the issue was a broken wire inside the connector I'd fitted to the GPS power cable (note. the power wires on the Garmin cables are very thin), and I was able to disassemble the connector, bodge-crimp the wire and terminal with my Leatherman pliers, and seal it all together again - using a dollop of Quik-steel around the wire itself in an effort to stop it from vibrating and snapping again*. I also took the opportunity to re-route the cradle cable so that the connector was more easily accessible (behind the headlight bulb) without having to remove any of the bodywork in future.
*note. should you decide to hardwire your own Garmin power cable into a typical auxiliary connector socket, I recommend sealing/seating them with some clear silicone sealant (some connectors come with little rubber grommets, but silicone is still better in this application)... but in this instance, Quik-steel had to do.
All this frikking around in the hot afternoon sun meant it was now after 5pm (and two huge buckets of Pepsi) before the bike was all back together again and I was ready to hit the road... I topped off with fuel, stocked up on water and Clif bars, and headed back out into the wilderness with the intention of simply riding on until it was almost dark, and find somewhere to camp trail-side again.
photo. this was a pretty trail down off the mountain, but again it would appear the official trail petered out into private property.
As the evening started to draw in, so too clouds began gathering directly ahead over the higher ground - although fortunately my intended route would ultimately drop down and head north again, away from the brewing storm. Continuing the theme of the day, I then took a punt on a marked OHV side trail that I hoped would provide an alternative to a route I'd already ridden before...
photo. Ah, this didn't look good... although you can see to the left of the picture, there is a potential way down and into the creek itself...
photo. ...which I took, obviously ;o)
Although initially this appeared to be a well-established trail (complete with an OHV route marker at the beginning), it started to deteriorate as it wound it's way down into the valley, and eventually led into open pasture... covered in literally hundreds of sheep - who, being sheep, all decided it would be a great idea to funnel together and run along the trail directly ahead of me!
photo. Oh no - please don't... shoo, go on, shoo!
I stopped short of creating an outright stampede, not knowing exactly what to do now. On the horizon I could see a gate in the distance, and these wooly bastards knew that too. Fortunately a pair of Pyrenean Mountain dogs soon appeared on the fringes of the throng, and in what presumably was a well-rehearsed scenario, started to guide them away from the main trail and back onto the open range - thank goodness!
I waited contritely to see if their handler was about, so that I might proffer some sort of apology (certainly if this was England or Wales, I'm pretty certain that at any moment an irate farmer would have stormed up on a quad-bike and given me a good ticking off), before gingerly skirting around the remainder of the flock and making a bee-line for that gate in the fence ahead. Phew!
Back on the highway, I concluded that I'd probably strayed onto private land after all (although in my defence I'd stuck religiously to the trail, and there were no signs demarking any public/private boundary that I noticed), and so headed for the National Forest to the north and picked up on last year's trail along the Judith River where I knew there would be a number of camping options - dedicated or otherwise.
As it turns out, trying to find a vacant spot in a dedicated campground on a Saturday night in high season is more of a task than I imagined - even this far out in the boonies! Certainly every pitch I passed was seemingly crammed with a huge travel-trailer and collection of quad-bikes, camp-fires burning, beers-a-swilling and a general party atmosphere which would not be at all conducive to a solo traveller trying to get some sleep after a hard day on the trails...
I finally found rough patch of ground just off the road and next to the creek itself. Electing to install the fly-sheet tonight - if only to afford some degree of privacy - I endured the inevitable drone of a late-night RZR rodeo back and forth along the road nearby, until sleep finally overtook me.
Still. I was likely to be up and long gone the next morning before any of my neighbours awoke.
More soon...
Jenny x
