MOUTH FULL OF DIRT : Super D's Blog: Big Sky Country

The second half of our time at Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming was just as good as the first half. We had more beautiful weather with warm days and cool nights under clear skies. I just can't get over how blue and clear the sky is here. The lack of humidity gives it such a different look than what we are used to in Tennessee. Plus, you can see much farther from overlooks due to the elevation differences and openness of the landscape.

The campground store was already closed as the travel season officially ends here after Labor Day weekend, which was only a few days past at this point. So, we had to go on the road in search of ice for the coolers. I wanted to show Shannon some of the gravel roads I had ridden the day before, so we took the back way to nearest convenience store, which was located in the town of Buford. I'd call it a small town with a population of just one. We picked up some ice and some of the most expensive ice cream we have ever purchased, but we had to satisfy a sudden craving Shannon was having.

Big city living in Buford

On the way back to the campground we stopped by the Lincoln Monument along I-80, which stands in tribute of the original Lincoln Highway which connected the east to the west. It's a massive 13.5-ft. bronze head standing on top of a 30-foot granite pedestal. You can't miss this monstrosity as it sits right next to the westbound lanes of I-80...unless they take the head off for cleaning, which is what happened when we stopped by. I've seen the thing several times as we drove by, but the one time we stop he's gone!

The headless monument

Once back at Curt Gowdy, we hit the trails again. Shannon's legs were feeling the past two days of tough riding at altitude, so she opted for a hike today. That was perfect for taking in the remote Canyons loop that I did alone last year. It is a very difficult loop, with more technical rock gardens than you can count and lots of difficult climbing. Not to mention that the penalty for not making some of those rock gardens is falling off a cliff. Seriously, there are some very scary sections on this loop. But there are some beautiful views and you get away from the main part of the park and get to experience some backcountry solitude. Just you and the wind back in those canyons.

Shannon drove to the trailhead while I rode over on the trails around the lake. I was rewarded for my effort with an eagle sighting. It was the first time in my life I have ever seen an eagle that was not sitting in a nest. We had a pair that nested every year at the Cheatham Dam about 20 miles from our house. I saw a white head sticking up out of the nest a few times, but never actually saw a full bird. Today, I saw a full bird, flying through a canyon searching for prey. It was an awesome sight. I understand now why bald eagles are the symbol for America. They are pretty great.

I had a lot of fun riding back and forth on the trail as Shannon hiked behind me. We did some filming, took plenty of awesome pictures and had lunch on the edge of the canyon behind the Crystal Lake Dam. I had many chances to work on my technical skills, both on climbs and descents. And spent plenty of time hiking on the sections where death was more likely than not if I was to miss a line. I made one mistake on a section that was sort of close to the edge. I clipped a rock with the left side of my bar and it shot me to the right into a huge rock that tried to send me over the bars. I managed to eject, but nearly fell off a 30-foot cliff while trying to regain my footing on the boulders. It was a close one and made me think twice on some of the later sections.

Along the creek on the Cliffhanger trail

When they post these signs, they mean it

When there is a chain bolted into the cliff, it's sketchy

Switchbacks on the Canyons trail

I'm in this shot. You just have to look hard to find me.

Our view for lunch

That pile of rocks is the trail

Hike-a-bike section

More gnarly trail

Crystal Lake Reservoir and Dam

Crystal Lake Reservoir

I took the long way back to the campground, taking in the advanced End O' Line trail. It was also a good spot to die and never be found. I rode a few sections of the trail, but some of them were just ridiculous. I don't mind sliding down a near-vertical rock, but when there's a 90-degree turn at the bottom where you have to make the turn or fall off a cliff, I'm not really excited about that kind of trail. The rocks here are smooth and slick, nothing like the gritty sandstone at Moab where you can control your speed on steep rocks and still make tight corners at the bottom. At one point, I didn't think I had enough grip to even walk down the rock face, but turning around was not an option either as I could not climb back up the one I had just ridden down.

I stopped by the campsite for a snack and swapped bikes over to the Titus Racer-X to have a little more fun on some of the faster trails. It was a nice way to end another 4+ hour day of riding on beautiful trails. I even found a new trail that was just opened and not even added to the map yet.

We had one more morning to ride before it was time to hit the road. I had ridden every trail in the park, so I decided to go hit some of my favorites and hit them with speed on the Racer-X. It was a chance to test out the legs and see how I compare with the locals on Strava. I had ended the previous day with riding until dark and was back on the trail at sunrise today. It was a cool morning, but perfect nonetheless. I had good legs and set fast times on the Stone Temple Circuit and new Bonnie's Trail. I was 11th overall on the long climb up Stone Temple, then set the KOM on the descent. My lap time for the full circuit was 3rd overall, and I tripped the segment early, so it included me stopping to set my watch and camera. I took the KOM on Bonnie's Trail in both directions. I'd say I can hold my own at altitude, even on an old 26" bike. Bonnie's Trail goes through a cattle grazing area. On my way back on this trail there was a cow fairly close to the trail. She appeared to be paying me no attention, but then panicked as I came by. She kicked at me, but luckily I was out of range. It got the heart pumping a bit more!

Riding the Crow Creek Trail to Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls is in there somewhere. Water level was too low to make it visible

Crossing a cattle grate onto the Mo' Rocka Trail

Riding along Crow Creek

The cow fields next to Bonnie's Trail

Shannon passing by some cows. The black one is the one that tried to take me out.

Shannon on Bonnie's Trail

We got a lot of video on the trip. Highlights of the trip are posted below, followed by chest cam footage of several of the trails within the park, including Mo' Rocka, Albert's Alley and one of my KOM runs on Bonnie's Trail. I have footage of the Stone Temple Circuit posted here. For some reason Blogger is not letting me add it to this post.