The Re-Tour (Aug 2018)

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August 24, 2018.

How does that saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, ..."

If you've been a reader of previous trip reports, you may recall one of the craziest trips to date - The De-Tour - which occurred almost exactly one year ago. That trip was a great one for many reasons, but it had gone nothing like we'd expected - snowing or raining every day - eventually forcing us to abandon our Tour of Montana and Wyoming for what we hoped were clearer skies, in Utah.

...where it also rained on us.

Even so, upon our return, Monte @Blackdawg, Mike @Digiratus, and I almost immediately started talking about doing it all again - as originally planned - able to see the sights in Montana and Wyoming this time - "next year."

Well, "next year" was now - this time three weeks earlier in the season to give ourselves a better chance at warmer weather. And, we'd recruited two additional buddies - another Dan @drr from the Puget Sound, and Zane @Speedytech7 who would join us from Arizona.

A long trek east for Mike, Dan and I, Mike dipped his toes into route planning to find as much dirt as possible to get us there - ultimately taking us along the Nez Perce Trail - a combination of the Old Elk City Wagon Road and a path through the Magruder Corridor. It would take us three days along this route to reach Cooke City, Montana, our rendezvous point with Monte and Zane.

It was just before 7:00am when I headed out - the truck packed to the gills for two weeks on the road.

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All coming from slightly different places, Mike, Dan, and I decided we'd meet in Cle Elum - to top off our tanks and so Mike could get his morning cup of coffee. Pioneer Cafe was Mike's favorite spot here, and by 9:30am we were once again headed east.

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But only for a few minutes until Dan came over the CB, "Hey Dan, your jerry can fuel plate just came off. I'm headed back to pick it up!" And then a few minutes later - "I got it, but not before a big rig ran it over." Turns out that the butterfly nut had somehow spun it's way off, and then the 60mph highway winds did the rest. And it wasn't pretty; but I got it re-secured temporarily with some zip ties, and we were back on our way.

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We made good time for the most part, hoping that as we drove east we'd escape the thick smoke that had enveloped the Seattle area for the previous two weeks (the worst air quality in the world at the time). Over the Columbia River, through the grasslands of eastern Washington, and finally to Clarkston-Lewiston where we stopped for lunch at Arby's, the trucks looking shiny in the early-afternoon sun.

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A quick couple sandwiches later (this was my first ever trip to Arby's, and probably my last), we were back on the road for our last short stretch of pavement before hitting dirt - the Old Elk City Wagon Road - just outside of Clearwater, Idaho - where we'd air down for the first time.

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At this point, though our pace slowed, we were of course enjoying ourselves on the dirt and we soon found ourselves on a short spur to the Corral Hill Lookout - the thought of camping there for the evening at the front of our minds. That is, until we found it staffed, and a very "welcoming" sign posted:

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Despite the sign however, Bill (the lookout resident) soon called down to us, "You guys are welcome to come up and look around if you want." This was perhaps to be expected, because as we climbed the ladder he was immediately curious about the rigs. He'd driven himself up in a stock second gen Tacoma, so when three bad-ass first gen Tacoma's showed up...well, he couldn't resist.

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Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Part 1​

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The Re-Tour Day 2: Macgruder, Paradise, and ...Seriously, Mike?
August 25, 2018.

It was a peaceful night in the valley along the Nez Perce Trail. A bit chilly maybe, but not too bad and the relatively narrow valley meant there was no pressing need to get up early for sunrise - something I missed, but could also get used to...the extra couple hours of warm sleep a nice change!

Eventually of course, I roused myself and exited the tent to check out camp and the morning light. Definitely interesting to see our different truck setups as well.

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Given the location, camp was pretty underwhelming so I immediately set out to explore the surrounding area. There was a fish hatchery just downstream which we'd explored a bit the night before, but I could see a bridge further down the road, which I thought might afford me a nice view of the creek for some photos. So I headed that direction.

To my surprise, as I neared the bridge, I could see a small cabin up a faint side road and decided to check it out. Turns out it was the Mary Reed cabin, and an old (I assume) gold mine that had been bored into the side of the mountain. Both appeared to be in reasonable shape, and it looked liked I probably could have explored into the mine shaft a bit if I'd wanted - there was definitely "squeeze-through" space along the edges of the grate covering the entrance.

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But, I wasn't in any mood for a shaft collapse while I was in there, so after poking around a bit and admiring the full-sized-logs holding the sides of the mountain back, I headed back out to the main road, past some mining remnants, clearly newer than the original cabin and mine shaft.

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I arrived back in camp just as Mike @Digiratus was out of his tent and snapping a photo or two, and I figured there was no better time to make my first gourmet breakfast than the present. You see, I'd changed my cooking setup for this trip - previously I've used a Weber Q grill for all my cooking needs - it's great for the actual grilling/cooking - but I've found it to be bulky and hard to pack, so I broke down and got a Coleman Classic propane stove and a Lodge cast iron grill. It was time to give both a try!

Oh, and I had my new prototype fold-down table on my swing-out to try as well.

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The table, stove, and grill worked well, though I'm sure I'll improve them over time, and breakfast came out as tastily as ever...with the caveat that I was only able to salvage this morning's strawberries from the entire pack - the rest had started rotting already on day 1! :frown:

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As was our "usual" pace, we ate breakfast and got out of camp relatively leisurely - it was 10:00am by the time we were doing our radio checks and heading down the road towards our next destination: Elk City. And, as is "usual" for us, it wasn't long before Mike and I were on the CB saying that we wanted to stop and take some photos.

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Whether he was used to it or not, Dan @drr is easy going and was fine with this - he simply continued on up the trail a way, exploring on his own while Mike and I took in the still-a-bit-smokey views.

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Our photo bug momentarily satisfied, we all met back up just a little way down the road as we wound our way down the mountain towards Elk City. Not actually a true city, this unincorporated census-designated place has a tiny population - only 202 residents - and was originally founded as part of a gold strike in June 1861 as displaced California gold prospectors used the southern Nez Perce Indian trail for easy access to the area. By 1862, the "big strike" had moved on, but Elk City remained the hub for supplying the needs of pioneers scratching out a living from the wilderness. By the 1870s, the easy gold was gone and Chinese miners leased the claims to work the hard pay - but they were eventually driven out by mistreatment. By the time the fire of 1930 consumed most of town, the boom days were over.

Dan needed a bit of ice for his cooler, so we pulled into town and eventually to the general store.

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The store was amazing - especially for a town with 200 residents - reasonable prices and a good selection. This was the clearly place I should have gotten my strawberries! Dan's cooler restocked, we chatted with some locals for a bit - our trucks always magnets to passers-by - and then headed out of town toward the Macgruder corridor.

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That's my 20 photos for a single post, so to keep reading, head on over to
The Re-Tour Day 2: Macgruder, Paradise, and ...Seriously, Mike?​

 

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The Re-Tour Day 3: Monte's "Right On Time"
August 26, 2018.

We were up early, even for me. Mike @Digiratus apparently rolled out of his tent at 5:30am, and Dan @drr and I followed not long after around 6:00am. We had a long day ahead of us to reach Cooke City by our agreed upon rally time of 6:00pm, and we knew that Zane @Speedytech7 was already there, having arrived the previous evening - now bored out of his mind.

Being up early also meant that we got to put our tents away wet from the overnight rain - it wasn't much, but that's of little consequence when the sun's not up and there are still clouds in the sky. Not that it wasn't a beautiful spot to have camped along the Selway River.

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It didn't take us long to be ready to hit the road.

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As we headed south from Paradise to the Magruder Corridor, our speed picked up - a silver lining of the previous night's rain being less dust than we'd had the previous day. Still, that didn't keep me from falling behind - a perpetual problem as I soaked in the sights along the way.

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My pace is always something I'm aware of however, and one of the benefits of being last (or at least not first) is that I can go fast without worrying about oncoming traffic - or at least, I'll hear about any oncoming over the CB so I can be aware of it. And so, by the time we hit pavement again, I'd caught up to Dan and Mike and we broke out our equipment to air up.

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While airing up - and still before 7:30am - a USFS Ranger pulled into the lot where we'd stopped and started chatting us up. Clearly interested in our rigs and what we were up to, it turned out he was from Montana and was familiar with many of the places we were headed over the coming week. We talked for a good 15 minutes before he hopped back in his truck to continue on his way; clearly a bit jealous of the trip we'd embarked on.

We too pulled out a few minutes later and headed on our way. Within a mile or two, the pavement turned back to dirt - a point that Mike and Dan (having driven the road before) conveniently remembered after airing up!

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Though dirt, the road was very nicely graded and we made good time, reaching speeds of 60mph with ease, eventually finding ourselves back on pavement and on our way to Wisdom, MT.

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As we fueled up in Wisdom, we had a decision to make - we could head south, along the route Mike had planned from the start, or we could head north - via freeway to Butte and then east along I-90 to meet up with Monte and Zane.

Zane was bored and texted that he was heading north towards Red Lodge; Monte had texted to let us know that rain and snow were expected in Cooke City that evening and into the next day, and so ultimately we made the decision to forego the scenic route and head north to Butte - saving two hours in the process and hopefully meaning we would all be headed the same direction - perhaps to rendezvous in a warmer, drier location than Cooke City.

We were most definitely off to an ominous start of the Re-Tour.

Travelling north under cloudy skies, the scenery was still beautiful, the air crisp and smelling cleaner than it had just 24 hours earlier. We slowed only once along the way, careful of the horses being cowboyed along the highway.

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A sit-down lunch in Butte at the MacKenzie River Grill was I think fancier than any of us expected, but quite tasty as well - a reminder of the civilized world we'd be leaving behind for the rest of the trip. And then it was back into the trucks to head east - to Bozeman for our next pit stop: Go Fast Campers (GFC) global headquarters.

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OK, it's their only location.

But it's GFC, and they are all the rage right now - having developed a camper system for Tacoma's that solve a lot of the problems that persist with existing setups. We had our fingers crossed that they might be open on Sunday, cranking out the large number of back-orders that they've got lined up, but alas, the gate was closed and they were enjoying a well deserved day of rest. Lots of identifiable parts in the lot though!

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Too bad really, since my money was on Dan ordering one on the spot if we'd been able to see them in person.

By now though, it was nearly 2:00pm and we had a good four-hour drive to Cooke City. We'd be right on time...assuming no traffic through Yellowstone NP and if not for the hour we'd lose to the shift into Mountain time from Pacific. Skinny pedals pushed down, we were on our way; sights we recognized passing us in the opposite direction.

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We made good time to Yellowstone, where we played tourist for a few minutes. No, strike that - I played tourist. Mike and Dan weren't impressed - or at least, they played it cool.

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Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Day 3: Monte's "Right On Time"​

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The Re-Tour Day 4: It Always Snows at Goose Lake

The wet and cold continued all night - or rather, the wet continued and the cold got colder! We awoke, just after 8:00am to a dusting of snow spread across camp and our trucks, and several inches on the surrounding mountains.

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It was extremely beautiful, though the fact that it snowed on our first night with Monte @Blackdawg wasn't lost on any of us. "Welcome to Montana guys!" he said as he climbed out of his tent. ?

As we all set about our morning activities - breakfast, breaking camp, etc., I headed out to capture what I could - the valley a beautiful green, "spring" in full force just as the new snow was starting to fall. A dilapidated cabin succumbing to time.

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Not only were we lucky to be here despite the weather, we were lucky for the weather window we got that morning - if it was raining, it was only just very lightly raining - while we packed everything up. It was all still wet of course, but it's much nicer to pack up wet gear than it is to pack up wet gear while it's raining on you! Soon, we were ready to go - with just one last thing to take care of - Monte had driven out the night before fully aired up, so he took a few minutes to make his ride more comfortable.

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And then we were off - back up the way we'd come, to Lulu Pass - the calm weather window not just closing as we reached higher elevations, but making us wonder what was in store for the rest of the day!

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Eventually, as we descended the other side of Lulu Pass, we reached the trailhead to Goose Lake - a trail that we'd never gotten to run the year before when we were stopped in our tracks by six inches of snow and the promise of more. Therefore, as you can imagine, discussion ensued - would it be in better shape this year? Would we get stuck at Goose if it continued to snow? Would we get stuck on the way to Goose?

In the end, rain falling, we decided we'd brave the trail and deal with the consequences later. For now, we were going to enjoy ourselves in the muddy mess.

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The Goose Lake trail was nothing like the trails Mike @Digiratus, Dan @drr and I had traveled the previous three days - it is rocky and slow-going even in the best of weather. And that meant we were having a blast in the less-than-best of weather. Over the next hour or so, it rained on-and-off, and we took advantage of the "off" to pop out of the trucks and take in our surroundings.

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There were of course some shenanigans as well. I mean, we all missed Ben @m3bassman, but that didn't mean we couldn't still feel like he was there with us.

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But mostly we continued on, up the rocky trail - excited to see what both the route and destination would bring. Hoping that by the time we made it to Goose Lake, the weather would clear and we'd be in camp very early.

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Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Day 4: It Always Snows at Goose Lake​

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The Re-Tour Day 5: We Follow the Sun into the Pryors

Overnight, the rain stopped and the skies cleared - I assume - because we awoke to blue skies and sun in the morning.

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As was becoming a trend, none of us were up early - with the exception of Devin who I only just noticed was up and out of camp by 6:00am or so, since she had to get to work. Pretty cool to show up for one night of camping if you ask me. I was the next one up around 8:00am and with some extra time and nice weather, I set about making a breakfast sandwich - sausage and eggs on an outdoor roll - delicious!

But then, disaster - halfway through scrambling the eggs, I ran out of propane. I was ultimately able to refill my bottle using Mike's @Digiratus 20lb tank, but not before the griddle cooled down and left the eggs "not quite right." Still, it was nice to have a warm breakfast, which I enjoyed as others in camp started to stir.

We all had our various tasks for the morning, but there were two that were standouts this morning. First, Dan @drr had been having some issues with his ARB air lockers leaking (due to a very cool custom manifold he'd fabbed), and so he set about fixing them so they'd work a bit better on the trail. This of course meant a bit of jerry-rigging - and ultimately a trip to the hardware store - but that's nothing new for our trips, and was sure to keep Dan's rig in top shape for the rest of the trip.

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The other standout was a visit from the 3rd gen Tacoma owner who'd passed us on Beartooth Pass the night before. Seeing our trucks, he pulled into camp around 10:30am and was immediately greeted by our own "Mr. Hospitality," Monte @Blackdawg. This would happen several times over the course of the trip - Monte spending all sorts of time telling folks exactly how they should mod their Tacoma's to be as expo as possible.

That's pretty cool if you ask me (even though we gave Monte a hard time for it in the moment), to have the patience to talk to folks about the same thing over and over. Of course, not all of Monte's advice that morning was necessarily good advice - he did recommend Pelfrybuilt (which filed for Chpt 7 bankruptcy before our trip was over) as the best armor the guy could purchase. Oops.

It was nearly noon by the time we broke camp and headed into town to re-provision ice and a few miscellaneous supplies. And then, we followed a similar route as last year - through Bridger - to the base of the Pryor mountains, where we hit dirt and aired down. We were more than ready to hit some dirt under sunny skies!

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And hit some dirt we did - the approach to the Pryor mountains long and flat, allowing for fast speeds and a great view of the surrounding area. The Chugwater Formation - offset by a field irrigated to a brilliant green - was especially extraordinary; the red color of the rocks produced by iron oxide contained within. This iron oxide is commonly found in tropical soils, and it's thought that the formations here migrated north from the equator some 500 million years ago.

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Oh, and we also ran into these guys. They were not impressed - or at least, they weren't as impressed as we were; each of us stopping to take a photo of them as we passed.

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45 minutes later, we finally started climbing up into the Pryors - Big Pryor to be precise. And, though we were winding our way up the same trail we'd been on nearly a year before, the situation couldn't have been more different. The sun was out, the sky was clear, and the views were vast - even the smoke from the last few days reduced by the recent precipitation.

It was so much nicer than the rain, snow and mud we'd dealt with on the last trip! We stopped and took it all in - the trail, the trucks, and a nearby canyon.

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Now mid-afternoon, we continued up Big Pryor mountain, through gates and across grassy hillsides. We reveled in the beauty and the took in the views as we climbed, the white clouds and blue skies contrasting so nicely with the golden-green of the landscape. This truly was what we were hoping for on the Re-Tour.

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Breaking up the grand views, we came upon the Bainbridge Homestead. Built in the 1920s, this cabin was nestled in the treeline and still in relatively good condition - aided I'm sure by the metal roof and respectful visitors.

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We explored a bit and signed the guest book before continuing on - we weren't sure where we were going to camp, but we knew that it was either 5 minutes away or a few hours. Given the early time, we opted for a few hours, which meant we needed to keep moving... except when we'd stop to take photos - for us, a frequent occurrence.

Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Day 5: We Follow the Sun into the Pryors​

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The Re-Tour Day 6: Into the Abyss

As I'd crawled into bed a little after 1:15am, I knew this was going to be a night without much sleep. Not because of rain or snow or cold - quite the opposite actually. Because for the first time this trip we were camped in a location that would allow us to see not only the sunrise, but the glow on the horizon before sunrise.

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That of course meant being up before 6:00am, a tall order even for me, the early riser.

You can imagine my surprise then, when I climbed down my ladder and looked around camp and saw none other than Mike @Digiratus gazing out over the horizon. Out of my mouth came "'Morning Mike." but in my head I wondered, "Who are you and what have you done with Mike?"

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We both enjoyed the light for a few minutes - such a special time of day - and then climbed back up our ladders to get some more shut-eye, the late night definitely taking it's toll on the "old guys" on the trip!

It was a more reasonable 8:00am when I awoke the second time - cozy and warm, the morning sun now hitting my tent and more enjoyably, my feet - through the screen of my open tent door; the sun just starting to chase away the crisp, cool, morning air. It was the perfect morning to explore!

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As I headed out of camp towards the edge of clearing, I hoped for a cliff. But before I'd find that, I found so much more. In the distance, the switchbacks we'd negotiated the day before - cutting through the scorched hillside.

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Behind me (and behind our camp) an amazing vein of white rock, protruding out of the mountain for miles in each direction. Out of place for sure, it's contrast with the surrounding landscape was spectacular; it would have been a great formation to explore for sure!

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And then, I reached the edge. The Gooseberry Hollow road we'd traveled in on below, I gazed out over the steep walls of the canyon. Now this would have been the perfect spot to setup camp! Alas, doing so would have meant a drive out over undisturbed terrain - not something we were willing to do.

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Eventually I tore myself away and headed back to camp via a faint ATV track and fence-line I found in my exploration. The air was warming and I expected a least Dan @drr to be up when I returned, but a bit to my surprise, camp was still. Maybe the old guys aren't the only ones who need their sleep!

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I set about making breakfast as quietly as possible so as to not disturb the rest of the group. But of course quietly is relative - the scraping of a spatula on a cast iron griddle, the crackling of spicy sausage cooking on the grill - these things are loud when you're in the middle of nowhere; by the time I was sitting down to eat, I think everyone was up.

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Whether it was my ruckus or the fact that it was 9:30am, no one complained one bit as they stood in the sun, warming themselves and enjoying the glorious beauty all around. Like the weather, we were all in good spirits and ready for a day of adventure!

After quick breakfasts and packing up camp, we headed out - back to the main road and then east and up. Up, up, up the side of East Pryor Mountain - a road nearly unrecognizable from the year before (a trend, I tell you). Somehow I ended up leading the pack for this portion of the trip - an enjoyable, dust-free experience - one of the only times I could have my windows down on the trail! Of course, it did mean that stopping for photos was out of the question - everyone behind being generally harder on their skinny pedal than I.

So, I pressed on and it wasn't long before we arrived at an interim destination - the Big Ice Cave (yep, that's it's official name). The day already warming up, it was quite a different experience walking into the chilly 32ºF cave; last year it'd been warmer inside than out!

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The cave itself is a dark, cavernous space, but a brilliant rainbow of luminescent color paints the limestone walls in spectacular hues of tuquoise, yellow, and green. The cave itself was formed as slightly acidic rain water dissolved the 350 million year old Madison Limestone that makes up much of the Pryor Mountains, the water then collecting on the floor of the cave, eventually freezing to form the ice stalagmites and stalactites for which the cave is named.

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Our curiosity satisfied for the moment, we headed back out of the cave to relax and enjoy the late summer warmth before heading back to the trucks via the same short stroll we'd taken on the way down. Always on the lookout, Monte @Blackdawg pointed out some seashell fossils on the side of the trail - another nice benefit of limestone-based geological formations.

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After a short bit of driving, we reached a fork in the road - and it was at this point that we had a choice to make: we could either continue on the same way we'd gone last year (past Penn's cabin, and through hills often grazed by wild horses) or we could take a new route - one that even Monte had never been on. This wasn't an easy decision for us, so we popped out of the trucks to discuss.

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And, as often happens with us we all ended up in each other's shots, and shenanigans and laughing ensued.

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Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Day 6: Into the Abyss​

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The Re-Tour Day 7: Uphill Both Ways to Copman's Tomb

Sometimes we just get lucky - and this morning was apparently one of those times for me. I mean sure, I situated my truck for success the night before, and I'd brought the camera into the tent thinking there might be an opportunity to capture a bit of early orange hue, but I never thought I'd get the display that I did, while still warm under my comforter.

It started as it so often does - just a hint of brightness along the horizon and deep purple highlights on the clouds in the sky. This is the moment, I thought to myself as I snapped a few shots.

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But then, as I lay there, camera put away, just enjoying the colors and thinking about how easy it was going to be to fall back asleep for a couple more hours since I was still cozy - BAM! The earth turned a bit, and the sky lit up like a candle. These are the types of sunrises I treasure - the pinks and purples got deeper, and then the orange came out to play.

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The camera obviously reappeared, and the raised platform of the tent made for an amazing tripod to capture the moment with a slow shutter. ...and then, it was back to sleep. Well, to be honest, it took a while to fall back asleep at that point, so excited I was to have seen such a spectacular display.

When I finally opened my eyes again, it was like a repeat of the previous morning - the sun now over the ridge, light and warmth spilling into my tent and warming my feet through the covers. Such a pleasant way to start the day. I dressed and climbed down the ladder to explore - having parked on the edge this time, it didn't take long to find the spot I wanted to hang out, looking out over the valley below and to the ridges in the distance.

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I even saw this little guy doing the same thing as me - soaking in the sun and the views. Smart little marmot.

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Knowing that I'd slept in later than usual, I headed back to camp and ate a quick breakfast of Cheerios and blueberries. It was the first cereal of the trip, and the first Cheerios (likely) since The De-Tour, and man - it was great! I couldn't wait for the next morning when I'd get to enjoy another bowl.

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Everyone else was waking up by this point and ready to get moving - our first destination something a bit different than normal. We'd seen Copman's Tomb on our drive in the evening before, and today our plan was to head that direction and then hike out to the tip for an amazing view. Of course, it's hard for us to get out of camp before 10:00am, and it was 10:15am when we checked our radios and made our way along our ridge, towards the ridge that was Copman's Tomb.

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In less than 30 minutes we'd arrived, and we lined up the trucks at the trailhead "just so" before heading off - Monte @Blackdawg promising Mike @Digiratus that there were only two slightly uphill sections in the 1.5 mile hike and that the rest was basically flat or slightly downhill.

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As we headed out on foot, we got the full scoop on the ominous name of our destination. An early pioneer, Wolfgang R. Copman didn't discover the ridge or canyon, but loved it when he found it, spending much time on and around it, reveling in it's grandeur - so much so that he wished to be buried there when he died. Apparently quite vocal about his wish, he told everyone who would listen and soon the outcropping started being called Copman's Tomb by locals. The name stuck and was later officially named Copmans Tomb by the U.S. Geological Survey. Ironically, when Copman died in 1907 his wish to have his ashes spread on the mountain top was never realized - according to his great great grand daughter, the family simply never got around to it. And, when his wife Betty died, his family buried his ashes next to her in the Greybull, WY Cemetery.

When we arrived, it was clear why Copman had fallen in love with this place. We did as well as we explored the high walls and peered down at the sections that had clearly fallen away thousands of years ago. A long way down - 10 seconds or so for a horizontally thrown rock - we were sure to hang on to our wide angle lenses, that's for sure.

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Eventually we pulled ourselves away, knowing that we had a bit of a hike to get back to the truck. Turn's out the mile-and-a-half that Monte had promised was one way, and I'm sure if you asked Mike he's let you know that it was uphill both ways. ? At any rate, the uphill portion was definitely concentrated on the way back; the mid-day sun and thin air at 8,875-foot elevation not helping the situation either.

Mike kept at it, and along the way we ran into a group of riders, out exploring the area. They of course commented on the trucks we'd parked at the trailhead, a bit of longing in their eyes. In the end, the round-trip hike was a 3.1 mile jaunt, with 500 feet of elevation gain.

Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

Keep reading the rest here
The Re-Tour Day 7: Uphill Both Ways to Copman's Tomb​

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The Re-Tour Day 8: Boulder Basin, My Favorite Trail
August 31, 2018.

Unbeknownst to us, the first flash of lightning traced it's way across the sky. But there was no mistaking the thunder that followed. It was 2:30am, and the next flash was followed by a boom 11 seconds later. And then the rain started; sporadic at first, it quickly turned torrential. Then, more lightning, eventually the thunder a mere 4 seconds behind.

And then, as quickly as it started, it was over - the storm cell had passed, the thunder pounding away in the distance. As I fell back asleep I wondered - would there be more?

If there was, I never heard it, and as the morning light lit up the valley I slept soundly. Until I heard a thump, thump, thump outside the tent. As I poked my head up to the window, a huge cow stopped in it's tracks, having caught my movement in it's peripheral vision.

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Obviously curious, the cow hung out for a while around camp, eating the wet grass and chewing it's cud. A few other's followed, wondering what strange animals our trucks were. I too was curious - how tame were these cows, and I climbed down out of the tent to investigate and enjoy the morning.

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The storms from the night before had obviously passed, and the sun was out - a beautiful morning to be sure, the sun illuminating the rocky hills on the other side of Moraine Creek.

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As the rest of camp rose, we set about what were now our morning routines - Dan @drr and I eating a quick breakfast, Mike @Digiratus enjoying his coffee, Zane @Speedytech getting his tent stowed at least 30 minutes before the rest of us, and Monte @Blackdawg sleeping in a bit before joining me to take photos in the morning light. It was a great, relaxed morning and that meant that it was close to 11:00am before we were packed up and ready to go - through the creek and out the other side of the valley.

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We all took our turn, having a great time through the mud - so photogenic in it's splashiness! Only Dan didn't bottom out his rear bumper here, the drop into the mud pit a long one for the rest of us.

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Mike kicked out quite the flurry as he dropped down into the hole, and was more restrained as he cleaned off in the creek.

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Muddied and cleaned, we continued across the valley - one more water crossing before climbing out the other side. As Mike dropped down into the creek, his position reminding me of the one we found Monte and Frankenstein in last year - first gen Tacoma butt high in the air. Of course this time, there was no corresponding "Oh ********!" over the CB, as Mike was on-trail.

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And it was with that that we climbed out of the valley said our goodbye's to one of the most beautiful camp sites we'd visit on the trip - a real gem in the Bighorns. As we crested the ridge, we stopped for one last time - the sun on the mountains, the clouds in the sky - a splendid day to be on the trail. Even Mike was in a waving mood. :biggrin:

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The truth was, this was a day we'd all been looking forward to - but perhaps no one more than me. This was the day that we'd return to what was the trail that pushed me the hardest the year before; the trail on which, I confided to Mike - "This is right on the edge for me." It was also the trail where Frank had called it quits - nearly twice - and where we'd banded together to get out in one piece. It was Boulder Basin.

But first, we had to get there, and that meant more dirt and an overlook. And probably lunch. And definitely a stop at Shell Reservoir, which was on the way. Sweet. We carried on, making our way down, and then up a steep climb towards our first overlook.

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The Re-Tour Day 8: Boulder Basin, My Favorite Trail​

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The Re-Tour Day 9: Our Trucks are Too Heavy

Camped in a bit of a depression and surrounded by trees, there was no reason to get up extra early to catch the sunrise - something I took full advantage of as I slept in until 8:26am - I believe my latest of the trip! Still the first out of bed, I wondered around taking in the sights - the creek behind camp, the glassy lake a quarter mile up the road.

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As I made my way back to our camp, I thought to myself how glad I was that we hadn't camped at the lake. September 1 is opening day of hunting season, and several hunters were "camped" nearby in their trailers and RV's...generators churning away. Definitely not the experience we were after.

As I returned, others in camp were up and about, and we set about making breakfast - a feast really, one that would hold us over until late in the afternoon. Dan @drr got to work on some hash browns, Mike @Digiratus on scrambled eggs and salsa, and I fired up the griddle for bacon and sausage. In no time, we'd gotten everything cooked and Monte @Blackdawg and Zane @Speedytech7 setup a table for us to lay everything out.

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Everything was delicious. Our bellies full, we sat around for another hour or so just enjoying ourselves and the company. This morning we were in no rush, and it was nice. (Though, we'd be pulling into camp well after dark it turned out!) We finally pulled out of camp at 12:15pm and pointed ourselves down off the mountain through the Medicine Lodge Habitat area.

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It was a dusty drive - as was much of the trip - for anyone not leading, as we descended.

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Once again, as we had in the Pryors, we found ourselves on a road next to a canyon, water having carved it's way through hundreds (thousands?) of feet of mountain, leaving the vibrant red, yellow, and white stone exposed under the blue sky. Traffic behind us, we didn't stop much or for long, but there was no way we could pass this up completely.

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For the most part we kept up a good pace however - behind us, two brothers in their Jeep, out for a Saturday morning drive, just checking out the mountains. But then, over the CB we heard Monte - "We've got an oncoming full-size SUV."

Normally that's not an issue, but the road we were on was a relatively narrow, single-lane road on the side of what I considered to be a relatively steep hill (after-all, there was a canyon to our downhill side). So when Monte came over the radio again to say, "Looks like there are a bunch of them." I think we all wondered what was going to happen next - especially given the six trucks headed down the mountain.

Well, this was clearly these guys backyard, and they were quick to pull off the road - in some relatively precarious positions if you ask me. And after pulling off, they all piled out of their vehicles - drinks and cigarettes in hand - eager to say hi and see what we were up to.

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A bunch of our crowd popped out as well - happy to chat for a few minutes and get a closer look at their vehicles, which included a couple of really nice Toyota's that we naturally pointed out as being the best of their group! ?

But, being stopped on a single-lane road wasn't something either group wanted to maintain for an extended period of time, so we ultimately thanked them for pulling out of the way and continued down the hill towards Medicine Lodge - the views in front, behind, and to the side splendid all the way down.

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In Medicine Lodge we pulled over. Or more appropriately, took over the parking lot. Monte had told us earlier that there were some cool petroglyphs here, and we definitely wanted to check those out. The rock art covers the face of a 750-foot long sandstone bluff, which shelters the area (and petroglyphs) at its base from wind and rain, preserving them over time. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation in the area stretching back nearly 10,000 years, and some of the drawings are over 2000 years old.

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It was pretty cool to see these ancient drawings in the sandstone, knowing that since the time they were created, that much more elevation had eroded away next to the bluff (20 feet in some cases). It was no White Mountain Petroglyphs, with its ghostly hands, but it was cool nonetheless, as was the bluff itself.

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The Re-Tour Day 9: Our Trucks are Too Heavy​

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[turbodb]

The Re-Tour Day 10: We Finally Explore Sunlight Basin

Having camping in a deep valley and stayed up late, I once again found myself sleeping in the next morning - no sunrise to coax me out of bed before dawn. When I'd pulled into the site the night before, I'd worried that we'd have absolutely no view - a shame since Sunlight Basin is so pretty in the morning light.

As it turns out however, it was the lack of visibility in complete darkness that made me think that - because our site was quite beautiful - sun filtering through the trees, creek rushing by in the background, and orange cliff faces to our north and south.

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Everyone else realized essentially the same thing as they started climbing down their ladders and looking around. We also decided that it'd be a good time to air down our tires - something we'd chosen not to do on our rush into camp the night before, and paid the price for!

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Then, at our usual "early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese" time of 11:00am, we finally rolled out of camp - on our way back to the main road where we'd turn west, heading up Sunlight Basin Road, hopefully further than we had on our previous adventure.

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As was the case the previous day, there were tons of other folks out on the roads - many of them hunting, others out enjoying the amazing weather for the long weekend. That meant traffic as we headed up the valley, and most of the group kept up a speedy pace to stay in front of the trailing dust clouds.

But not me. With views like this, I just slowed down and let the traffic by. And then, I stopped and got out of the truck.

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Even so, it wasn't long before everyone else ran into a few slower UTVs and I was able to see them just up ahead, their backdrop one of the more dramatic we'd see this beautiful day. Knowing it was only a matter of time before I completely caught up, I did the only thing I could think of. I stopped and got out of the truck again.

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And again. Seriously - this is one of those places where you just can't help yourself, the views getting better and better by the moment.

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Eventually we reached a part of the trail where the creek has completely washed out (and taken over) the road. It's not deep or difficult to navigate - quite the opposite, it's a super-fun, extra-long water crossing. So in we went, unfortunately the water not really deep enough to wash off more than our tires.

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We continued up the canyon, views and UTVs revealing themselves around nearly every bend. As was our rhythm, we stopped here and there to let the annoying little buggers pass or to take photos of the moon setting over the rocky mountains. We were having a grand time, everyone in high spirits.

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Oh, and the water crossings. The trail was much drier than the previous year, but there were still plenty of crossings for us to get our feet wet - and we took advantage of them all, Monte @Blackdawg hopping out of Igor to snap head-on photos, and me hopping out to get shots from the rear.

Strategies were of course different. Mike @Digiratus, always the pragmatist, stopped in the middle of the creek to "wash off."

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But not Dan @drr, and definitely not Zane @Speedytech7. And well, I think I may have won for "most water on the hood," again; though it was hard to tell even a few seconds later as the sun dried everything up quickly.

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Don't miss the rest of the story, and all the remaining photos - it'd all be included here if it fit. But until then...

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The Re-Tour Day 10: We Finally Explore Sunlight Basin​

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The Re-Tour Day 11: We Mountain Hop to Goose Lake

September 3, 2018.

Unfortunately, though we went to bed early, I had my most fitful nights sleep at Sawtooth Lake. Whether it was the temperature (it was cold) or anticipation of our upcoming adventure to Goose Lake I don't know, but as the sun rose over Sawtooth Mountain around 8:00am, I was happy for the warmth and to get out and explore.

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As usual, I had nothing to complain about as I set out around the lake; the water getting glassier over time, our camp reflected perfectly by the morning sun.

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As I made my way around the lake's edge, every few hundred feet seemed to present a new dramatic feature to check out. Rocky outcroppings dipping into the water, creeks ending in waterfalls just feet from the lake, and stands of vibrant grass were among just a few of the stops I made in my circumnavigation.

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Then, as I passed the apex of my tour, I noticed a flock of terns(?) flying fast and low across the water. Swooping left, right, up, and down, they performed a beautiful, high-speed circle around most of the lake - an amazing sight that I stopped to take in.

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Eventually I noticed life stirring in camp - which I took as a good reason to be heading back. And then, along the way I stumbled upon another camp site - this one with a huge fire ring and a custom-made TW bench. Could the TW stand for TacomaWorld?

Probably.

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Back in camp, folks were starting to be up and about but there was clearly no big rush to get going. We had a relatively relaxing day ahead of us - the trip out to Goose Lake our only goal - so we soaked in the beautiful morning, Devin @MissBlackdawg making enough bacon for everyone to have a bit!

Eventually we started to put things away, and we were all sure to air down - no one wanting to experience the rocky trail at full pressure again.

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As it turned out, our exit from Sawtooth Lake was the most staggered we'd have all trip. Save Monte @Blackdawg and I, trucks seemed to leave at 5-10 minute intervals for some reason, which spread us out most of the way along the trail. Not an issue, as we all continued to enjoy the beautiful scenery as we made our way to the highway.

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Eventually though, those of us in the back caught up to those in the front and we were a bad-ass-Tacoma gang again. And we happened to be next to Chain Lakes at the time. Things couldn't be more perfect, and we took full advantage. Even Mike @Digiratus was out of his truck - maybe not quite so cranky anymore - taking advantage of his "leader of the pack" positioning.

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Eventually, after we each took our turn capturing the moment, we got back in the trucks and made the final run to the highway, the Beartooth Mountains rising up in the background. That's where we were headed - back up to Goose Lake - and I for one was definitely excited about that!

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A bit of time on the highway, Index and Pilot Peaks filling our view, and we found ourselves back in Cooke City, MT where we fueled up the trucks and stocked up on snacks - Cooke City being our jumping off point for the afternoon's adventure.

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The Re-Tour Day 11: We Mountain Hop to Goose Lake​

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[turbodb]

The Re-Tour Day 12-14: The Stars Align on Our Long Way Home
September 4, 2018.

It was a very early morning, Mike @Digiratus an I each requiring an alarm to rouse ourselves at 6:00am - the sky still dark around us, only the first hint of light on the horizon. I made a quick run up to Goose Lake - alas, the darkness still too deep for any photos.

We set to work packing our trucks and tents as quietly as possible, Monte @Blackdawg, Devin @MissBlackdawg, and Zane @Speedytech7 still sleeping nearby. Above us, early morning light illuminating the sky and the tip-tops of the mountains around us.

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Just after 7:00am we were ready to go. Mike had (smartly) parked himself on the outskirts of camp and it was a simple exercise for him to get turned around and headed out. I on the other hand had chosen a spot at the edge of the wilderness boundary, Monte and Zane nearly boxing me in. Luckily, with some careful maneuvering and by driving through the fire ring, I was able to squeeze myself out - just.

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As Mike and I headed down out of Goose Lake, our pace seemed slow - a combination of the early time, the lack of young-guns speeding up the pace, and our surroundings. The calm of the early morning, combined with the long rays of light lit up the landscape in ways that brought a whole new meaning to the word beautiful.

Despite the time, we fished out the cameras, and reveled in what we saw over the radios.

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Everything was so calm - each lake we passed a glassy surface, perfectly reflecting the brightly illuminated rock and deep blue of the sky. Any of these lakes would have been amazing to stop at, so lucky were we to be able to experience them all.

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In the end we made great time down the mountain, making it to the highway in one hour and twenty minutes - the same or a little faster than our descent at the beginning of the week with the young-guns leading. Perhaps a bit of tortoise-and-hare at play? :notsure: Regardless, as we'd done many times before in this exact place, we aired up - freeway ahead. Mike, with his twin ARB compressor was significantly faster than my single ARB at this task, and I sent him off to Cooke City to find a morning cup of coffee while I brought my remaining tires up to pressure.

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We headed south, our destination a section of the Lewis & Clark Trail between the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park and Salmon, ID. This of course meant another foray through bustling park - even in the morning, traffic heavy. We made it through with only a few incidents - though one, at nearly 20 minutes, tested both our patience. Along the way, looming mountains peaking out beyond the forest and Yellowstone Lake making for more-than-reasonable views. Even in this outdoor metropolis, nature was beautiful.

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Travelling at speeds of 35- to 45mph, it was noon when we finally reached the south entrance of the park and turned west on the Lewis & Clark trail. Initially paved, it wasn't long before we hit dirt and had to decide if we wanted to air down. I'm not sure how or why - given our experience just a couple days before at Sawtooth Lake - but we decided not to air down. For now.

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As the miles passed, we crossed the dam at Grassy Lake Reservoir before stopping for lunch at one of several designated camp sites along the side of the road, and used the opportunity to let some air out of our tires before continuing on. Now, none of the roads were terrible, and we were able to maintain good speeds and make good time - dust our only enemy.

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And then, something crazy happened. The stars aligned. We were just north of Island Park, Idaho, having completed our trip through Yellowstone, a section of the Lewis & Clark trail, lunch, and a fill-up of fuel (where I registered my second-best MPG ever at 22.4mpg - thank you 35mph speed limit in Yellowstone). As we traveled a short section of pavement to the continuation of the Lewis & Clark trail, we spotted a first gen Tacoma - RTT in the back - headed towards us down the highway.

As it passed us at 70mph, Mike suggested over the CB that it could be Mark @idtrucks, since he's a Jackson native and might have been in the area. But I'd gotten a better look than Mike, and my response was, "Zane! Holy ********! You got your radio on?"

He did, and in perhaps the calmest voice ever he replied, "Hey guys, where you going?" ?

In all, there were a total of approximately 3 minutes that Zane was headed south and we were headed north on ID-20 where we could have passed each other. And yet- the stars aligned, we did. And it was awesome!

Headed westward again, we passed through fields of wheat and drove towards some spectacular clouds as the miles ticked away. We might have opted for the longer route home, but it sure was beautiful as sped through the Red Rock Lake Wildlife Refuge and then past a couple cowboys herding their cattle toward the enormous Clark Canyon Reservoir.

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Just west of Clark Canyon Reservoir, we continued on - up and over Lemhi Pass - now on the search for a camp site for the evening. It'd been a long day of driving, and I think we were both ready to be done. I'd already pushed Mike further than he'd wanted to drive this evening in an effort to get us home a bit earlier than originally planned.

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The Re-Tour Day 12-14: The Stars Align on Our Long Way Home​

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[turbodb]

Rig Review: What worked and what didn't on the Re-Tour?

Rig Review is a new type of post that I'm going to try to write up after most trips, where I'll note any things that worked really well, or could have been better. The idea has always been to optimize the Tacoma build and setup over time, so there's nothing really new from that perspective.

I won't talk about everything I've got going on - just new equipment to the trip and/or any outliers that deserve a mention. At the very least, I figure that long-term, real-world reviews of the products I use are good for everyone!

September 8, 2018.

The Re-Tour was an amazing trip. Sure, it had a bit of deja-vu with 2017's The De-Tour weather wise right at the beginning, but by the end we had sunny skies during the day and cool nights - a great combination if you ask me. All in all, the truck worked wonderfully on this trip, with just a few things that deserved a bit of discussion.

The Swing-Out Table (new this trip)
TL;DR - conceptually the fold-down-and-out table is cool but I need to rework how the far corner is supported for it to be useful. Oh, and it can't have any wooden components, since they swell up in wet weather.

It was just before The Re-Tour that I fabricated the fold-down-and-out table on the swing-out. On the trip, it sort-of-worked a couple times. However, there were two fatal flaws:

1. It was never really level - the weight of the stove caused the far (unsupported) corner to sag. Note the rocks supporting the stove in the photo below.
2. It never worked after it got wet (the third night) because the wood supports swelled up and were "stuck" in the closed position.

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I've got ideas about how to fix all of this with a second revision of the table, but for now, the initial prototype has served it's purpose and is coming off the truck. Or at least, I'm not planning to use it as-is anymore.

The Coleman Classic Camp Stove and Lodge Cast Iron Grill/Griddle (new this trip)
TL;DR - There are pros and cons to this new system, but it's not quite right for me so I'm changing it all up again.

The Coleman Classic Camp Stove and Lodge Cast Iron Grill/Griddle were new to me on The Re-Tour, replacing the Weber Q100 grill that we've used for the last 5 years. My hope was that these would pack better and take up less room than the Weber, making packing of the bed easier.

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They did a great job at that, and I also loved how little propane the stove used, and how quickly the grill/griddle heated up.

However, I grill almost every night when I'm camping, and I really missed the easy (read: none) clean-up of the Weber grill. With the cast iron griddle, there was real cleaning involved, and it was big, heavy and awkward to clean. Plus, due to the size of the grill, I couldn't use the it and a pan at the same time on the stove - something I could do on the Weber.

However, I think I have a solution. I'm going to get the Coleman Camp Grill/Stove, a combo unit that has a burner for a pan and a burner for a grill. I didn't get it the first time because I thought it was a bit kitschy, and that the burner for the pan would be too small. But now, I think it might be just right.

The Electrical System (long-term)
TL;DR - Though it's a great battery, my days of running a single Group 24F Toyota TrueStart battery are numbered; I'm moving to a dual battery system. And, I can no longer recommend the DBPOWER 600A 18000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter, since it failed to start my truck when I had a dead battery.

To date, I've run a single battery - the main starting battery - in my rig, and it's worked great. The battery I've been running (since 2011) is a Group 24F Toyota TrueStart, and it's done everything I asked of it - started the truck, run all of the communication equipment (Kenwood D710G dual-band ham radio) (Uniden Pro 520XL CB radio), charged phones and tablets, powered the ARB on-board air compressor, kept the ARB 50qt fridge at 35ºF, and even powered the Warn M8000 winch a couple of times.

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On this last trip though, I had a bit of trouble on at least two separate occasions, where the fridge went into an error mode overnight due to lack of battery capacity.

This issue was compounded by the realization that the DBPOWER 600A 18000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter I carry in the truck doesn't have enough power to start the truck when the battery is really dead - something I found out after I returned and tried to start the truck for the first time.

I don't blame this on the battery at all - quite the contrary; I think the Toyota battery has probably performed better than it was ever expected to perform. That said, it's time to make a change - a change to a two-battery setup, so that I can run the fridge at night without worrying that I may not be able to start the truck in the morning.

Likely I'll go with two Northstar Group 24F sealed lead-acid batteries, but I still need to do some research into exactly how I'll setup the whole system. Suffice it to say, this will be a winter project for me this year.

The Ham Radio Antenna (long-term)
TL;DR - I'd like to find a ham radio antenna that is more flexible/floppy than the one I've currently got, and that doesn't have a small section of wound metal in the middle, since that gets stuck on trees and pulls at the roof mount.

I've been running a Diamond NR770HBNMO mobile antenna since I got my ham radio, and from a Tx/Rx perspective, it's awesome. However, I'm always worried that when I hit low-hanging branches, it's trying to rip itself out of my roof. Evidence of this is often clear, as it was on my last trip to the Pryor mountains.

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I'd like to find a whip antenna that I can replace the Diamond with so that - hopefully - when I hit a branch, it just flexes and scoots by, rather than catching itself on the foliage.

The CVT Roof Top Tent (long-term)
TL;DR - I continue to be really happy with the main tent, for the most part. I am not however, happy with the rain fly on it due to the "stargazer" windows never ever drying off.

The @Cascadia Tents Mt. Shasta Pioneer tent has been a game changer when camping. Being up off the (often wet) ground, having quick setup and tear-down, and just being all-around more comfortable are big pluses in my book. However, since the beginning there's been a problem: drying the rain fly.

When I ordered the tent, I splurged and extra couple hundred dollars for the "stargazer" option. These are two "windows" in the roof of the tent which allow you to look up at the stars as you fall asleep. However, they've never really worked, and now I hate them - for two reasons:

1. The plastic they are made of is not clear enough to actually see the stars. I mean, you can tell there are stars in the sky, but everything's blurry because the plastic is all "warped." So, they fail at their reason to be.
2. The bigger problem however is that they never dry off. Unlike a normal rain fly that heats up in the morning sun to evaporate any water (rain, dew, etc.), these plastic windows either reflect all sunlight/heat or just let it pass through, and so they never warm up. As such, any water on them (and water droplets form on both the inside and outside of them) takes forever - literally hours and hours - to dry.

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So, nearly every morning I find myself balancing on the edge of the truck rails with a beach towel in my hand, toweling off the sopping wet stargazer part of the tent - while everyone else (with normal rain flys) just let their tents dry out in the morning sun.

#fail :annoyed_gaah:

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution to this problem. Really what I'd like is a non-stargazer rain fly. However, I don't know if CVT even makes those anymore since stargazers are now "standard" on all tents. Plus, I bet they are expensive.

My recommendation to anyone else getting a tent: do everything you can to avoid the stargazer (or similar roof-window) option.

 

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That's the trip folks! Anyone who's interested in following along on future trips, the best way to do it is to enter your email address here. It's used only to send trip reports or build updates, and for nothing else!

Get out there and adventure!

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[seeNik48]

I enjoyed your Expo write up and will definitely read your more extended TR on your blog. We spent some time in Wyoming and Montana this past year and several years ago. They both are our destinations this spring and fall.

Thank-you for some great places to check out. I am sure some of them won’t be accessible to our lumbering beast but the Rock Art at Medicine Lodge looks easy. I couldn’t find the Big Ice Cave but made a wild guess and Copman’s Tomb may be a stretch but thank-you for the suggestions. Loved your campsite locations so will check those out too. We usually travel alone so can’t get too far off the beaten path. We do have recovery gear.

We have a first gen Taco, I think, a 1999 extended cab 4x4 with 4 cylinder engine. It’s our town car . We have spent very little on it as it is basically bullet proof. Today, however, we had to shell out $600+ for a new starter and battery. But, at 120k miles, it runs great.
Thanks for taking us along on a great trip. Like you, I would be last in line snapping away at the scenery.