CONTINENTAL DIVIDE - WYOMING
BY: OLIVIER DE VAULX
With rigorous winters and an average yearly temperature of 31°F (-1°C) we knew that we were within the right window of time when we crossed the Wyoming border in late July. Still, the warm summer temperatures couldn’t prevent a chill reminder that the state was the least populous of the United States. Riding the backcountry in Wyoming really sounds like a true adventure in the middle of nowhere!
Desert Riding
Our first glance of Wyoming’s wilderness just after the small town of Rawlins was on par with our high expectations. Facing the fairing of our Yamaha Tenere 700s was a colorful desert, surrounded by high mountains and only crossed by a sandy double-track. With the sun climbing like a rocket-ship and the temperature rising at an alarming rate, riding miles of sandy hills on our big bikes was not really a pleasant prospect. Luckily for us, the Tenere 700 was designed with the Dakar Rally in mind, and riding the dunes was not that hard.
Traction was easy to find, even in the deeper sand and the not-so-mellow climbs, with the stable front-end literally surfing the fine powder. We managed to clear this first leg of the desert with no crashes and a big smile under our helmets. The trail then became an adv rider’s dream, with more-than-perfect dirt and large curves that let us enjoy a flow of fresh air at high speed in the valley dotted with oil drills. If it wasn’t for some cattle in the open range crossing the dirt road randomly, we would never have touched the brakes!
Crossing the High Plains
Just after Bairoil, the landscape changed again. Exiting the valley to climb on a plateau, we reached the vast prairies of Wyoming, which proved to be an incredible experience. On this infinite sea of grass, the wildlife was abundant, and we often found ourselves riding on a parallel course with lightning-fast pronghorns. These American antelope are so gracious that we couldn’t get enough of them, especially when we realized that they were far more intelligent than cows and never crossed our path or put us in danger. These fast runners were definitely our favorites, even if discovering a herd of wild mustangs trotting just a few hundred yards from us was also a magical moment.
Despite strong winds on the plateau, we could ride at a fast pace, taking advantage of the perfect dirt to lean the nimble Yamahas in every curve, slaloming through the high plains like snowboarders on fresh snow. Exhilarating moments like those usually don’t last, but we kept this rhythm for a couple of hours, up to the small town of Atlantic City. Hidden in a valley, the old village gives a striking glance of life as it once was a century ago in the west. After a pause under the porch of a wooden hotel, we went back on the dirt road while the sun was slowly settling down, the direct sunlight blinding us through our dark goggles. Even though we still had many miles to cover before our night stop, we slowed down to enjoy the subtle nuances of purple painting the line of summits on the horizon. When you see such a great sunset light, you definitely need to enjoy every second of it!
Real Cowboys
Pinedale crossed the 20th century without much change and appeared to still be an authentic rural city of the west. Unlike other places where cowboys seem to be out of place or just grimed to fulfill some touristic fantasy, horses and cattle are the true heart of this small city. Arriving in town, we immediately remembered our experience with local ranchers when we were invited to a branding almost at the same time last year.
It was the real deal, with cowboys catching calves with their ropes, holding them on the ground while others were marking them with red irons and giving them their dose of vaccine. This ritual went on for hours, and we realized that however brutal it seemed to be, at least through the filter of our urban sensibilities, the calves themselves didn’t seem to care much, recovering in seconds after being released. We tried to do the hard work, following the professional’s instructions to wrestle the calves to the ground, feeling brave but also knowing that the powerful animals could overturn the situation to their advantage if they really wanted. As the day ended around a barbecue we wondered if the life of these families, living the same simple but enjoyable life as their ancestors’, wouldn’t be worth a try. Riding a horse isn’t like riding a motorcycle, but there was still a call here!
Dodging the National Parks
The geography of Wyoming is more diverse than the first part of our trip suggested. Going north through the Teton National Forest, we entered a geologically tormented backcountry, where the vast plains were progressively replaced by hills, birch forests, and then real mountains, to the point that we could have mistaken the landscapes for those of Colorado. Following the Continental Divide, and as the elevation raised, the temperature dropped. Our jackets buttoned to the neck, we kept going toward the Grand Teton. Well before reaching the famous national park, we were surrounded by majestic summits, gigantic cold barriers that would have been intimidating if there hadn’t been so many sweet spots to counterbalance their menacing presence: colorful flowers were popping up everywhere, lazy rivers were drawing smooth shapes in green valleys, small lakes appeared at random.
The ride was so beautiful that it felt as if we were riding inside a painting from the romantic era. These peaceful vibes disappeared quite a bit at the Grand Teton National Park entrance, with a flow of tourists waiting in line to enter. Since we knew the park already, we opted for an alternate route, cruising on pavement to Jackson, giving us the best views of the Grand Teton, before climbing the Old Pass Road. This steep paved road was all ours, and while we had to carefully save our brakes in the descent using mostly engine brake, we enjoyed this lift to the sky. After crossing the state line, we set up for the night at Island Park, Idaho just in time to see the moon rise.
Raptors Country
After this magnificent but very long day, we aspired to something easier the next morning. Our wishes were fulfilled when we left the forests at sunrise to discover in front of our GPS the immensity of South Valley, our first glance of Montana. Following a large gravel road on the shore of a mirror-like lake, we entered a forgotten paradise, a country out-of-time with untouched natural beauty. Small farms were dispersed here and there, and we had to watch out for the cattle in open range, but most of the time we were cruising with our nose up, trying to soak up the scenery painted by the golden light of the dawning day. The palette of colors, from the sky to the grass, exposed all the possible nuances of blue, green, yellow, and orange. Riding further into the valley, we entered some kind of bird territory: raptors were at home there, and we couldn’t help but stop every other mile to admire some mean hawks or a couple of condescending bald eagles, the real kings of these wildlands.
We finally reached Lima, MT, where a semi-abandoned downtown still hosts a small gas station, a nice but old school car repair shop, as well as a set of brand new charging stations for electric cars. Hard to find a sharper contrast between two worlds, with the past refusing to die and the future trying to reinvent our lives! But it was also a great analogy to what the Continental Divide had to offer us in these few days of riding with its diametrically opposed landscapes: from steep mountains to vast prairies, high temperatures to freezing cold, and a population as welcoming as ferociously attached to their ancestral tradition, Wyoming and Montana were a welcomed out-of-time excursion in a Wild West in its purest form.
Yamaha Tenere 700 Parts and Accessories
Moto Trails USA
Moto Trails USA provides off-road motorcycle tours in the west. The routes, developed during years of travel through the United States, were tested, as described in this story, in real condition with the Tenere 700. Booking the rides is easy from the website www.mototrailsusa.com and always includes accommodations, meals, gas, as well as a 4WD support truck and a van for the transport of luggage. For most riders, the cherry on the cake will be the Tenere 700 rental with GPS and bags, ready for the adventure of a lifetime!
