Yellowstone On A Bicycle

Abandoned Storage Shed
June 4

After another miserable day of biking, I reached the west side of the
park. It rained most of the day, but it didn't pour until I reached
the West Thumb of Yellowstone. If it weren't for the weather, the
geyser basin would have been awesome. As it was, being wet and cold
with no place to go, my spirits were kinda depressed. With rain
pouring down, I walked out into the geyser basin anyway. To make
matters worse, I could barely see the geysers; I could only make out
the blue color of the water. The steam blocked my view. Ideally, the
middle of summer would have been the right time to see this park.

The rain was still coming down when I sought shelter in an abandoned
storage shed. I met two other bikers who were seeking shelter in the
same place. A father and son team (the father was a Park Ranger) was
touring Yellowstone on bikes. The dad was on a leave from work in
order to pursue his PhD. in Wildlife Management at Utah State
University. They had biked from Logan, Utah. We shared food while we
waited for the rain to let up. When I said, "I would like to see a
Grizzly," I sparked the dad's interest because he started telling me
about his experiences with the Grizzly. Fortunately, they were good
experiences (except for that one slow tree climber who lost his foot
to an angry Grizzly). Before we got off the subject, he had me
convinced that if I wanted to see a Grizzly Bear, I should go up to
Specimen Ridge. Park Rangers who were doing work up there had reported
sightings.

I had always been fascinated with bears in the wild. When I was small,
my dad used to take the whole family to the dump where we would sit in
the car and watch the black bears rummage through garbage. There were
usually other people watching too. For the most part, the garbage kept
the bears' attention, but every once and while one would start our
hearts pounding by walking next to the car. I almost hit a bear once.
It was crossing the road in front of my car. I got out of the car and
followed the bear into the swamp. I kept it in sight until a lack of
light (and considerable fear) prevented me from going farther into the
swampy refuge. I knew I wanted to look for Grizzlies, but I could
wait, especially since Specimen Ridge was up north, and I wanted to
see the rest the park first.

After the rain let up, we left the shelter. My friends went north
while I started peddling up to the Continental Divide and West
Yellowstone. In these mountains I did not find the peddling difficult,
just different. When I reached Old Faithful, I waited with the other
tourists, and, sure as shit, Old Faithful came through. After checking
out the rest of the geysers bordering Old Faithful, I was back on the
road. I couldn't imagine what Yellowstone would be like at the height
of tourist season. There were enough people at Old Faithful to start a
city.

I just finished my breakfast of rice, raisins, honey, a donut, and
coffee. I think I'm getting pretty good at roughing it, not to mention
my camp last night. It was the best I ever put up. The trees were
perfect for my mosquito netting (and I needed it) and right along side
I had my lean-two in case it rained. It didn't, so I spent a rather
enjoyable evening in the pines of Yellowstone.