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  Topic Name: Wild West Route on: December 03, 2018, 03:35:32 PM
mathieu


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« on: December 03, 2018, 03:35:32 PM »

I searched the topic list on the Wild West Route, but surprisingly I couldn't find it. Hence this new topic, hoping that I didn't overlook one less clearly named.
I first saw a reference to this route late last year, November 2017, when the promotors published a sketch of the route on their site https://www.bikepackingroots.org/wild-west-route.html . I tried to map this sketch on Ride-with-GPS, but there were several points where I had no clue. For example, the route turns west north of Darby-MT, but there simply isn't any allowed trail going into that protected Wilderness area.

This changed when I found the full track, some weeks ago, probably provisional, on www.trackleaders.com/wildwest . The provisional route was done partly or fully by a bunch of test riders. The route can be zoomed-in to great detail, so there are no more questions marks about where it goes.
I mapped it by State. Because the route flip-flops between Montana and Idaho no less than 7 times, I took the two states together. Because more than 90% is in Idaho, I will mostly refer to it as Idaho. The excursions from Utah into Wyoming are even less substantial, so I simply denote it as Utah. So we deal with three States: Idaho, Utah and Arizona.

I find the new route very interesting. After mapping it, I found that I had cycled about 500 miles of this route in the past, on a total distance of about 2700 miles. So there are a lot of interesting new roads and scenery to discover.  I sincerely consider riding it next year. Relevant questions that I like to share some thoughts are:
- how hard is this route ?
- in what direction to ride it ?
- in what season ?
I hope others reply to my opinion and add more information.
Because my gut feeling is that the route is better done South-to-North, I will often discuss points in that direction. But it is easy to reverse the lists.

How hard is the Wild West route ?
Of course, a lot depends on the quality of the road surface. The promotors promise a section-by-section grading for road quality. Awaiting this information, I have to use more global characteristics. The first is the amount of climbing. This is quantified in the ratio "elevation gain/distance" which I call Climbing Index. Quantification of elevation gain is somewhat arbritrary: what size of surface roughness do you consider as elevation gain? But I will use EG here not in absolute value but relative. This eliminates a lot of arbitrariness.
Here is a comparison by State from the Ride-with-GPS data:
- Arizona : 886 miles ; 60170 ft ; 68 ft/mi.
- Utah/WY : 587 mi ; 40940 ft ; 70 ft/mi.
- Idaho/MT : 1259 mi ; 91130 ft ; 73 ft/mi.
So the route has a very consistent amount of climbing north and south. The Climbing Index is substantially higher than for the Great Divide Route. Using the same metric and the same tools (RWGPS) the GDMTB route has a Climbing Index of 59 ft/mi. In my opinion it is not wrong say that the new route is about 15% harder than the GDMTB route.
However, I don't think 70 ft/mi is outrageous. In a topic on the Idaho Hot Springs MTB Route, I proposed to extend the IHSR route by a loop that includes the Magruder route to Elk City and the return over Burgdorf and Yellow Pine. That loop amounted to 97 ft/mi !

Another comparison is on amount of pavement. Some years ago, before recent reroutes, I counted all paved roads longer than 5 miles in the GDMTB route. It worked out to a bit less than 25% of the total distance, much in contrast to what  Adventure Cycling said in its publications. Whether a road is paved is often difficult to see on maps, even in satellite view, so the estimate is prone to error. Here are my best guesses for the Wild West route:
- Arizona : about 240 mi paved, i.e. 27%
- Utah/WY : 68 mi paved, i.e. 11%.
- Idaho/MT : 77 mi paved, i.e. 6%.
Clearly the promotors took care to chain dirt roads as much as possible. In Arizona this ambition is frustrated by the Grand Canyon. You cannot bypass some of the major highways in that area, although they tried and got permission to include unknown dirt roads on the Navajo Nation territory. In my opinion, the ratio for Idaho could be further reduced by going from Arco to Ketchum over the Antelope Pass: less paved, challenging climb and better scenery.

Another useful measure of how hard a route is, is the distance between resupply points. When this distance exceeds the average daily distance, planning about food and liquids is more critical. This average daily distance depends on personal choice and ability, but I take 60 miles as a reasonable guess (i.e. 60*70=4200 ft average daily elevation gain) and 70 miles as do-able in case of need. There are 11 segments where 70 miles is not enough to get to the next resupply point:
- AZ: Young to Sedona, 126 mi
- AZ: Flagstaff to Cameron, 134 mi
- AZ : Marble Canyon to North Rim, 94 mi
- UT : Bryce to Loa, 83 mi
- UT : Salina to Soldier Summit (gas station), 124 mi
- UT : Soldier Summit to Kamas, 84 mi
- ID : Soda Springs to Blackfoot, 86 mi
- ID : Challis to Connor, 151 mi
- ID : Connor to Elk City, 119 mi
- ID : Pierce to Riverbend, 100 mi
- ID : Troy to Tobacco River, 87 mi
The Skyline Drive over the Wasatch Plateau, between Salina and Kamas, is clearly a bottleneck. Much depends on a single gas station. Another resupply problem is between Challis and Elk City. Connor-MT only has a small deli.
I did not do this analysis for the GDMTB route, but from memory I guess that in the GDMBR only the Great Divide Basin, the Gila and possibly the stage from Silver City to Antelope Wells qualify.

On an even more detailed scale you could ask for the number of 'unrideable' sections, like Fleecer Ridge (S-to-N) or Lava Mountain Trail. I looked for sustained gradients over 10% and found, fortunately, only a few. This depends of course on the direction. Going S-to-N I found
- about 2.5 mi at 11% near Pinai Peak
- about 1.5 mi at 13% in a climb to the North Rim
- a steep needle near 15% between Challis and the Morgan Creek Rd. It is easy to bypass over the lovely Morgan Creek Rd from US-93. Why spend energy on this nuisance with such long and tough climbs ahead?
- Horse Creek Pass between Shoup and Alta Montana, 5000 ft climb sustained near or over 10%.


What season ?
A distance of 2700 mi with an average daily distance of 60 mi, takes 45 days. Multiply by a factor of 7/6, for 1 day of rest or troubles or whatever per week, and you get to 53 day. In my experience, there is still a lot of winter snow in Idaho in June. So a start in the North near mid-July will finish the ride by end-of-August. Very hot in the south! Probably better to start mid-August and finish by end-of-September at the Mexican border.
Or start at the Mexican border mid-June. By the time you get to the Wasatch Plateau and the Magruder road, the snow has probably cleared. Finish end-of-July.

What direction ?
I am inclined to favor South-to-North. In the favorable time-window you have much longer daylight. I find it also more pleasant to move to cooler region as the summer develops, sun on your back.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2018, 04:15:15 PM by mathieu » Logged

  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #1 on: January 03, 2019, 02:30:24 AM
Pete A


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« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2019, 02:30:24 AM »

I was one of the "test" riders in 2018 for the WWR.  We started in the North; I think everybody did.  We originally planned to start in July but ended up departing in mid September knowing that there was a significant risk of the winter overtaking us; it did.  For the first couple of weeks we had numerous challenges with fire re-routes due to closures.  These were either short road sections or we found alternative tracks through the wilderness areas.

Three of us started with one dropping out in Derby and I continued with my son to SLC.  We arrived there in mid October.  By then winter was heading in fast and we decided that there was nothing to prove with day time temps just above freezing and night times significantly below with regular rain, sleet and snow.  We had been ground down by the trail, the weather and the shortening days were impacting on the daily distance covered.

I read the analysis from the OP with interest.  Having toured the GDMTB a couple of years ago Nobo I feel I can make some comments on relative difficulties.  The WWR (the northern half) is overall relatively more demanding than the GDMTB.  The reasons I say this are:

- The daily height gain/loss are greater.
- The route feels more remote and (we were pioneering) distances between re-supply are further and what that re-supply comprised of was uncertain in many locations.
- The tracks felt rougher - maybe as a result of being more result or due to different maintenance protocols - one section resulted in a grueling 12 mile hikabike with much carrying of the bike over fallen trees and river banks.
- The fire closures were a problem for the first couple of weeks
- The communities we passed through did not have the awareness of bike packing and there was an absence of the amenities found on the GCMTB
- In some (quite a lot) of the wilderness areas we traveled for the majority of the time without seeing anybody for days.  Where we did meet people they were usually hunters on quad bikes that just thought we were completely insane and a push bike was not a sensible mode of transport.
- The availability of bike shops on route is very low - first proper shop we passed was in Sun Valley.  The detours required to get parts in the case of a mechanical could be significant.

The WWR is an awesome trail that I would recommend for any experience bike packer looking to get off the beaten track.  Stuff will happen on the trail and you are going to have to be self sufficient and not be overwhelmed by the stuff you cannot control or influence.

If anybody has questions on the WWR then feel free to post below.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #2 on: January 08, 2019, 03:44:32 AM
mathieu


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« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2019, 03:44:32 AM »

Pete, thanks for tuning in. Your first-hand experience adds a lot to the paper analysis I did.
I suppose you had the GPS track when you started the ride. Did you also have a map or list of locations with services, like groceries, gas stations, restaurants?
How many days did your ride to SLC take? What was your average distance per day?
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #3 on: January 30, 2019, 01:51:28 AM
Pete A


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« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2019, 01:51:28 AM »

Pete, thanks for tuning in. Your first-hand experience adds a lot to the paper analysis I did.
I suppose you had the GPS track when you started the ride. Did you also have a map or list of locations with services, like groceries, gas stations, restaurants?
How many days did your ride to SLC take? What was your average distance per day?


We had a gps track, elevation profile and some trail notes giving mileage of potential resupply.  As pioneers we were expected to fill in the gaps as we progressed.  Due to fire diversions in the north we relied on MapsME to find alternative trails through some extensive tracts of wilderness.  The trail notes were basic and nothing like those available for other routes like GDMTB.  We did a lot of research on google maps and similar when wifi was available to plan the next leg of the route in regards to the logistics.  There were the inevitable screw ups with a planned stop at a trading store and restaurant cancelled due to winter closing that led to another 20 miles riding in the rain to get to a camp ground with motel and closed gas station.  At midnight we were cooking pasta and tinned tuna in a coffee machine. 

We averaged 60 odd miles per day.  The biggest differences to the GDMBR were the altitude gains per day; track conditions were generally a lot worse and bordered on brutal at times but most of all was the communities we passed through were just not used to bike packers.  We were regularly told what we were doing could not be done or that we were insane.

It is an awesome route and I would highly recommend it if you want to get onto some untraveled trails in some wild country.  Full guide etc is due out early summer apparently. 
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #4 on: January 30, 2019, 10:48:23 AM
mathieu


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« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2019, 10:48:23 AM »

Thanks for the reply. I find 60 miles per day quite impressive considering that you had to deal with reroutes, short daylight and seasonal closures.
Could you list the main sections that you found brutal riding?

After more route study, I am convinced of the upsides of going S-to-N in June-July, especially the much longer daylight and many services operating only in the tourist season.
Riding northbound, you have to wait for the clearing of winter snow on the high grounds. In 2014, riding north from Challis in mid-June, I found the Horse Creek Pass between Shoup and Alta-Montana still snowed-in and the rangers strongly discouraged an attempt on the Magruder road before July.
Also the Skyline Drive on the Wasatch Plateau in Utah seems impassible if parts of the road are still soaked from snowmelts. I read that you have to wait till summer for the roadbed to dry up, but one expert source even recommends to wait until mid-July.
See http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/skyline-drive.htm .
Comments from riders that did the Skyline Rd in early summer are very welcome, as I am still planning to get there by end of June.

After a more detailed inspection of the Idaho route in the Benchmark Atlas and on Google maps in satellite view, I have to correct an estimate in my first post. The paved sections in Idaho/Montana add up to at least 225 miles, i.e. 18% of the route in these states.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #5 on: February 11, 2019, 02:15:39 AM
Pete A


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« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2019, 02:15:39 AM »

Brutal of course is relative but the descent to Clarke Fork involved 12 miles of hikabike and a lot of portage through forest on overgrown track and ending up with carry down river bed.  The bottom section of the Olympian Trail (the bit not ridden often) near Saltese was uncomfortable, rail bed rocks.  The Mugruder Corridor was a protracted section of broken track ragged to bits by 4 x 4 and quad bikes.  Descent to Salmon river was rough although it was the end of a long day and very  cold with failing brakes.  The track out of Salmon river was very broken and made for slow uncomfortable riding.  The tracks out of Craters of the Moon into Blackfoot felt like they had a special finish on them to break your ass.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2019, 02:29:10 AM by Pete A » Logged

  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #6 on: August 15, 2020, 03:21:40 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2020, 03:21:40 PM »

I'm a little suprised how few ride reports and/or discussions of this route can be found online.  This thread is one of the only first-person accounts I could find.  Considering that there are now phone apps and both printed and pdf guidebooks available, this seems odd.

Anyway, I'm considering a trip on the northern portion of the route beginning in Whitefish in late August.  Objective would be to arrive in Park City by late Sept.  So pretty similar to Pete A's trip, but 2+ weeks earlier hopefully making a critical difference.

Has anyone else ridden all or portions of the WWR that can chime in here?  
Pete A, given your apparent experience w/ the locals in 2018, how would you predict they will behave given these Covid times?  Unwelcoming but tolerant?  One reason I"m considering this route right now is the remoteness.  Seems like very little interaction w/ others will be necessary.  My intention would be nearly 100% camping, and sanitize hands & don a mask during reasonably quick in/out resupplies.  

FWIW my background includes successful solos on the GDMBR, Baja Divde, TransEcuador, etc.  Although this will be my first major tour since a fractured femur in late 2018, so likely slower & less fit.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2020, 03:27:42 PM by Inertiaman » Logged

  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #7 on: August 15, 2020, 11:40:14 PM
Pete A


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« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2020, 11:40:14 PM »

Some thoughts in regards to C19 and planned route.  There have been some adjustments to the route we followed and these are on the Bike Packing Roots (BPR) app and supporting material published by BPR.  I am not sure of cost of these but I am certain they will be a very good investment.  Further to this, BPR are publishing information on community closures on the route from C19 and fire reroutes on the WWR Facebook page.  Kurt and his team are very on to these and doing great work to keep people up to date in as close to real time as possible.

For C19, and this is my opinion as somebody that has had C19 when it was emerging as the strange Chinese flu.  Considering the remoteness of the route and lack of cell phone coverage I would suggest that carrying a spot tracker (or similar device) with the full evacuation insurance would be extremely prudent.  The time difference between feeling slightly off colour and thinking I am going down with flu to being totally dependent on another person for my most basic of needs while thinking that dying would be a relief from the pain in trying to breath was only 12 hours.

There appears to be significant information available on infection rates in communities and so you will be able to make a judgement on whether you need to avoid or whether it appears relatively safe.  One bit of planning that may be worth doing is contacting the stores that you are going to be reliant on to confirm that they are still operating and what their hours are; the same for motels.  I am sure that they will be grateful for your business.

The section you are planning to ride is some of the best bike packing I have done; have a totally awesome time and enjoy the simplicity of the journey in these crazy times.


* Pete.jpg (177.9 KB, 960x959 - viewed 608 times.)
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #8 on: August 16, 2020, 06:21:14 AM
Iowagriz


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« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2020, 06:21:14 AM »

Just finished segment 1 this week. I have also done Banff to Lincoln.

WWR is more remote and wild feeling. Climbs seemed longer and supply points seemed more space. Water was plentyful.

Use the WWR app for download their waypoints as they are very helpful. Navigation can still be a small challenge,  just double check you are on the proper road shortly after major/confusing intersections.

The counties that you pass through have some of the lowest covid rates in Montana,  we took the normal precautions and didn't feel any animosity from the locals.

I'm still digesting the week, but the first tip that comes to mind is to try and time your Hiawatha trail ride after 5pm, or before 10am. The trail was empty for us at those times,  but another group said that were nose to tail with traffic at midday.

As I process, I'll come back with more info.


Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #9 on: August 21, 2020, 09:45:27 AM
threepin


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« Reply #9 on: August 21, 2020, 09:45:27 AM »

Inertiaman, if you are leaving from whitefish I can give some suggestions from here to the route- too, i have ridden a fair amount in the regions of the section 1 , Not sure i get some of the routing choices like along MT 56 (Bull River rd- pretty region but generally speaking I avoid montana highways as the shoulders are sparse and the speed limit is 70 on 2 lanes) or paralleling the interstate west of superior.

Is the route still evolving?- seems like now there is a general path those of us with local knowledge could help provide alternates or more scenic options
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #10 on: August 21, 2020, 05:43:12 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2020, 05:43:12 PM »

@threepin, I'd happily consider any suggestions.  My thinking for Whitefish-->border was to ride the GDMBR route, since that was all closed due to fire when I did GDMBR in 2017.  The detour I rode was very similar to the WWR alternate.  May as well see something new.  Although I sure enjoyed a nice swim at Dickey lake that I wouldn't mind repeating.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #11 on: August 21, 2020, 08:46:15 PM
threepin


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« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2020, 08:46:15 PM »

Have you been to glacier? you could do a route to and through the west edge of the park. And then use parts of the gdmbr to get to the dickey lake area.
If you are ok with climbing you can take the gdmbr north out of whitefish to the werner peak rd and then climb to a saddle(with a great view of the empty upper lazy creek  valley} in the whitefish range (a bit of a grunt) then descend through largely closed roads to the outside north fork road at big creek, then you take the outside north fork a couple of miles to the camas rd where you enter glacier (no entry station) then from the end of the camas rd you take the inside north fork rd to polebridge. There you can either take the gdmbr south over red meadow pass to upper whitefish lake and the fitzsimmons rd to stryker just a bit from Dickey lake.

Such a route would have more and better views than the full section of the gdmbr through there but would be harder. Timed properly, I.e. early morning departure you should have little traffic on most of that route.

I might be able to pm you a track if its of interest.

From dickey lake you could either take back roads paralleling 93 to eureka and join the WW route there or if you want to try something different than what you may have done last time you can go up fortine creek to edna creek. up edna to a pass then down pinkham creek to rd 7182  to the bridge over koocanusa.
again harder but i think nicer.

cheers,

Bill
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #12 on: August 30, 2020, 03:15:09 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2020, 03:15:09 PM »

I've been to Glacier several times in the past so probably would not deviate all the way to Polebridge etc.

Do you have alternatives in mind for the Highway 56 section or the bit near the interstate west of Superior?  

On logistic detail I'm "struggling" with is where to buy fuel canisters en route.  While I can't rule out getting lucky at private campground general store or something similar, there seems to be few/none "deterministic" spots in the first 3 segments to acquire MSR style canisters.  Would like to avoid carrying ~ 3 500g (EDIT - I meant 220g size) canisters but would also like to avoid finding myself fuel-less.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #13 on: August 30, 2020, 07:16:06 PM
threepin


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« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2020, 07:16:06 PM »

I just got in from a ride- i did a deviation for the 56 area and i rode a route west of st regis that might extend to superior, i'll review later tonight or in the AM.
Have to think about the fuel canisters.

Where is home?
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #14 on: August 31, 2020, 12:02:29 PM
threepin


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« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2020, 12:02:29 PM »

For the rt 56 part I just modified the clark fork alternate near Troy by using lower lake creek and iron creek roads to stay west of the creek and rt 56-they are shown as good on OSM and Kootenai NF maps but that does not guarantee success.

WRT to interstate section
i have in the past taken a route from Pearson (where the moon pass rd meets end of the hiawatha) down to avery (take the old road down by the river its gated at the lower end less traffic and less dusty)  thence up the st joe rd to red ives and the NF 320 rd which goes to the east end of Superior. This version is  7-8k of vert  some of which is steep between red ives and the border- you would miss the Hiawatha and the the railroad grade parts along the interstate which in my view are skippable.

Since segment 2 goes up the next creek valley to the east if one was continuing on and did not need resupply you could take rd 388 between the 2 valleys in montana  or a combination of roads 715 and 720 in ID over to the route west of hoodoo pass.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #15 on: September 02, 2020, 12:26:46 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2020, 12:26:46 PM »

Where is home?

WA and AZ.  Currently in AZ.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #16 on: September 02, 2020, 12:50:15 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2020, 12:50:15 PM »

I'm having trouble piecing together your proposed modification to the Clark Fork alternate.  Can't find Lower Lake Cr Rd or Iron Creek Rd.  Also, are you aware that they are currently recommending against the Clark Fork alternate due to severe washouts/landslides on the road about 12 miles or so after the intial turn to the west off the main WWR route?  Wasn't sure if your mod was intended to get around that or was in a different section.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #17 on: September 02, 2020, 12:57:50 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2020, 12:57:50 PM »

OK,, I think I understand your Clark Fork variation now.  You just avoided the intial 5 or so miles of HW56, but ultimately you follow the Clark Fork alternate in its entirety?  That still leaves the washouts in the Cabinet Mountains to contend with, so I'm unlikely to take that path unless someone indicates that it has been passable. 
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #18 on: September 02, 2020, 02:50:39 PM
Iowagriz


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« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2020, 02:50:39 PM »

I scouted the Clark Fork alternate the month prior to my trip (I live in Missoula, so it is close).  I wouldn't do it, not worth it.  From the top of the pass it took us 90min to go 4 miles.  Then we camped at the bridge (a highlight of the trip).  However, the remaining 3miles took us 2hrs in the morning. The 3 or 4 washouts have you forging along the river.  We were there in late June and it got a little dicey. I wouldn't recommend if alone and I wouldn't recommend prior to July 1st.  The road from the end of the washouts to Clark Fork is really cool, but after that is mostly pavement to Noxon. 

As a side note, I rode the main route from Troy to Noxon and didn't mind hwy 56. Traffic was light (not riding on weekends), the climb up and over Rattle Creek pass was beautiful.  It would be nice to have an alternative, but the hwy wasn't that bad.
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  Topic Name: Wild West Route Reply #19 on: September 02, 2020, 03:00:52 PM
Inertiaman


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« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2020, 03:00:52 PM »

Thanks for that first-person info @Iowagriz.  I've done lots of road tours so occasional pavement and traffic isn't a big concern for me, and given your description of the current state of the alternate, I'll definitely take the standard route.

Does your user name imply some Iowa origins?  I grew up in Cedar Rapids.  Ragbrai was my first "tour" in 1976 Wink
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