Yellowstone National Park does a really cool thing for cyclists during the transition from Winter to Spring. While the road crews are out plowing to allow for maintenance and supply vehicles to get in, they let folks run, skate, ride, roller ski (or whatever form of human powered transportation you choose) while the roads are closed to cars. We had a lot of snow, cold temps, and generally unsettled weather during this time. I kept chickening out when I saw snow/rain in the forecast or temps below 40 degrees. The magic time period came and went but I did get the consolation of riding on the first day the Park was open for the "summer" season. It was on a Friday so the traffic was minimal. I saw maybe 30 cars, most of them pretty friendly; I sensed that they were employees getting to their seasonal posts.
I parked in Gardiner and climbed up to Mammoth Hot Springs, then on to Swan Lake Flats toward Old Faithful. It's a steady climb that took a few hours with lots of stops along the way for pics. The ground and road were clear all the way until Swan Lake Flats, where there is a definite snow line around 6500 ft. It was a pretty special experience. What an amazing way to see YNP. No Bison jams or half-mile lines of RV's. Just lots of solitude and scenery, miles of good road, and tolerable temps.
No comments:
Post a Comment