Old Faithful Breakout to Ennis, Montana

Today was D-Day. Weather reports showed that there was to be a window in the spate of blizzards which had closed off our escape route out of Yellowstone. In the last 24 hours there had been 18 inches of snow and the mountain pass we’d climbed the day before was closed for the 2^nd time in 3 days. The weather yesterday at Old Faithful hadn’t been as bad as at Dubois, but experience put us off trying anything foolish. The decision was a good one, we braved the weather and explored the various geysers and springs in the park, even got to wave back home on the webcam as Old Faithful predictably roared away.

The area around the geyser park is like nothing else I’ve experienced, it almost feels prehistoric where nature is at its rawest. Wild buffalo trudge around nonchalantly whilst geysers splurt superheater water into the steaming river. We are amazingly lucky to experience the Grand Geyser launch into its 15 minute eruption, right at the end of its 5 hour window of prediction. Running low on our miniature bottles of wine bought for the tour of the park, the rest of the day was spent in the bar looking at the snow continuing to fall.

Back to this morning. Blue skies wake us early and after a full breakfast we’re defrosting the bikes ready for the evacuation. The plan today is to get as many miles between us and the Park as possible, aiming for the town of Ennis in Montana approx 105 miles northwest.

I’ve got every item of winter clothing on and am feeling toasty, even though it must be subzero. Definitely a good move getting the right kit. Leaving Old Faithful in glorious sun shine we ride out through the park passing steaming vents all over the landscape. It looks like a cross between some prehistoric b-movie and a scene from Vietnam. I expect to see a herd of Brontosaurus fending off a flight of Huey’s at any second.

We’re both scanning for Grizzly’s subconsciously as we ride – yesterday we were told there are 6 in the immediate vicinity of Old Faithful. The park rangers have been shooting them with rubber bullets to keep them away. A slightly obscured Buffalo scares the living shit out of us as we spot only its torso moving through the trees. No more taking a quick piss by the side of the road here, instead I find a bear proof WC in a layby, where I take my first tumble of the trip wiping out on black ice. A friendly park ranger helps me up and we chat to him about the bears. It appears Buffalo are a more serious threat and he tells us of a section ahead where onside the road is a drop to the river and the other is the cliff face. He’s had to scale the cliff face to avoid buffalo’s in the past…

Riding on we reach the river and thankfully avoid any Buffalo or Bear incidents, but 10 metres ahead of us a wolf wanders across the road. A mile later we pass a Bald Eagle sat above its eeire. This place is great but seriously I’d feel better in the SUV. To take our mind off things the scenery now seems to change dramatically every 10 miles or so. We’re almost out of the Yellowstone Caldera and into a deep river valley which opens out westwards to West Yellowstone. The horizon is lined with snowcapped peaks about 50-60 miles away – judging by the map our destination is the other side of them.

Crossing from Wyoming into Montana we enter West Yellowstone where we stock up on food and supplies - our last chance before reaching Ennis 71 miles away. In the towns bike shop / video shop / model shop, the owner tells us the Madison River valley should have a nice tail wind all the way, oh and Black Bears. Riding out of town we follow the 287 northwest following the side of the frozen Hebgen lake.

A little way ahead a park ranger slows down with his lights flashing to get our attention. A buffalo bull is loose on the road ahead and with an anxious look he advises we best get through the next section at full speed. And not to stop. Powering past a large congregation of rangers alongside a large stock wagon we pass a sign ‘Earthquake Area’. Ahead is Quake Lake, created by earthquake caused landslide in the 1950’s. The landslide obliterated a campsite killing over 20 people.

All this aside, the place is absolutely stunning. Hebgen Lake is still completely frozen and the 287 is totally empty of traffic. In fact is quieter than Yellowstone itself. We cruise through the valley enjoying the slight downhill and tailwind taking in the wide vistas of this immense state of Montana. The first 60 miles flies by and soon we’re out of the deep valley and into the plains beyond. The mountains are by no means behind us though with a 360 degree ring fence of snow capped mountains penning us in.

The snow has all but vanished from the roadside since descending the 2000 feet from Yellowstone. It’s almost summer time here in comparison and we’re riding in our short sleeves for the last 30 miles on the dead straight road. We reach Ennis and book into the first motel we find with WiFi. Yellowstone supposedly has no internet access at all in the park so after being starved for 2 days we’re hungry. Using maps is fine, but having google maps, accommodation searches and being able to get accurate weather reports takes away a lot of the headaches. Looking at the forecast, where we'll be in a weeks time is expecting temperatures of 30 degrees centigrade... anyone want to buy some subzero bike clothing? Only been used once...

I’ve been working on the route plan for the next 3 weeks to Vancouver. It goes roughly something like this:

Ennis > Three Forks (where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallantin form the Missouri)

Three Forks > Helena > Lincoln > Missoula – rest day in Missoula

Missoula > Lolo Hot Springs > North West Passage > Lewiston (Idaho)

Lewiston > Walla Walla (Washington)

Walla Walla > Columbia / Snake River Valley > Portland (Oregon) – rest day in Portland

Portland > Fort Clatsop & The Pacific!!

Fort Clatsop > Pacific coast through Olympic NP > Port Angeles > Ferry to Vancouver Island

Victoria > Nanaimo > Ferry to Vancouver!

That’s about 1250 miles to go! Priority is to reach the Pacific and we might not have enough time for me to ride to Vancouver before I fly back on the 3rd June.

Old Faithful > Ennis pictures

Old Faithful pics and vids