Black Canyon

     The day after our circle of Yellowstone was not a day for rest. I was itching to ride, but the weather was again cold and drizzly. We hoped to catch a break like the previous day and drive out of the valley for better weather. On the way out, we saw a moose lying down in the campground. We headed into Jackson, then drove up and over Teton Pass into Idaho. There were some great views of Jackson on the way up.

View from about halfway up Teton Pass, looking toward Jackson

Jackson from Teton Pass

Welcome sign at the top of Teton Pass

     Unlike the better weather we found in Yellowstone, the weather in Idaho was worse. It was full-on rain. We stopped for lunch at a small burger joint we had heard of from some mountain bikers. It was called "The Brakeman" and was really good. They had a variety of burgers, including bison, which I just had to have after seeing those big tasty animals walking around Old Faithful. They also have some killer fries and fry sauce.

     I had hoped to ride at Grand Targhee Resort today, but our waitress said they had several inches of snow at the resort, so we changed our plans, taking some time to explore the town of Victor with a stop at the Victor Emporium for delicious huckleberry milkshakes. We then headed back toward Teton Pass to search for a trail system known as Rush Hour near the state line. We drove the area for a while and never saw any trails, so we drove back up the mountain. There are several downhill trails that start atop Teton Pass and descend into Jackson. Some of them are Pro-level slopestyle courses, which I would have loved to see, but I was on an Epic and I knew I would be tempted to get crazy. I stuck with Black Canyon, a black diamond trail with some tough climbing and then a long descent.

    I was not ready for the toughness of the initial climb on Black Canyon. It was a brutal 1.8-miles along the side of the mountain. You quickly realize that the road does not crest the top of the mountain, but the trail does. My lungs burned as I was at 9,200 feet elevation, but the view was enough to distract me from the pain.

Black Canyon Trail

Narrow path in places

The trail climbed past this tower area

     It was my first ride in bear country and I was worried about running into one on the descent. The trail was creepy in places as I went into a dense fog near the top that made it almost as dark as night. I let out the occasional shout to make sure I didn't sneak up on a bear or moose lying in the trail. I saw no animals, only killer singletrack through fields of red as I started off the mountain.

The trail at the top of the mountain was amazing

     The descent was great at first, then got steeper and rough. You couldn't really let loose because of the steep and technical nature of the descent. My brake pads took a beating. They were screeching by the bottom and felt like I had melted them. I needed a downhill bike to fully enjoy the trail, but I had fun just getting out on my bike. Shannon picked me up at The Stagecoach bar, which is a mountain biker hotspot where many people park to shuttle up the mountain. People driving over the pass will pick riders up at The Stagecoach every afternoon. It's a pretty cool thing that I have never seen happen in other areas we have visited.

     Some video of the Black Canyon trail from my GoPro is posted below.

Video: Black Canyon handlebar cam

    We drove the backroad, Moose-Wilson Road, into Grand Teton National Park. This road turns to dirt at one point. There's lots of wildlife in this area. We saw a small black bear crossing a gravel road. I turned the car around and went back to the gravel road and we were able to see the bear eating some berries. It was so well camouflaged that I would not have seen it at all if I had not known it was there. The bear was completely oblivious to us. It was totally focused on munching berries.

That black spot is a bear

     We spent the evening in Grand Teton National Park, driving north in the park to find some great views of Mt. Moran and then going up Signal Mountain for some awesome views of the valley on one side and Jackson Lake on the other.

That white spot of snow on the mountain is a glacier

Mt. Moran

Looking south from Signal Mountain

Snake River from Signal Mountain

Grand Tetons from Signal Mountain

Jackson Lake and Mt. Moran from Signal

     It was nearly dark when we came off Signal Mountain. We stopped by the lodge and cooked dinner on the picnic table near Jackson Lake. I walked down to the water to watch the final moments of the sunset. It was a great sunset over the lake and mountains with the occasional helicopter flying by as the park rangers patrolled for forest fires.

Jackson Lake

Helicopter over Mt. Moran

Helicopter flying in from of the mountains at sunset

     We saw a huge fox while we ate dinner, then grabbed showers at the campground. They were very expensive, three times more for a shower than at Curt Gowdy, but we had not had a shower in several days so we were pretty happy just to clean up. Then it was back to the campground for another cold night in the tent. We heard howling very close to the campground three of the nights. It sounded different than coyote howling, so I'm thinking it may have been wolves. I never was brave enough to venture out beyond the bathhouse to investigate.