The Re-Tour 2018 (of Montana and Wyoming) Trip Report

How does that saying go? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, ..."

If you've been a reader of previous trip reports, you may recall one of the craziest trips to date - The De-Tour - which occurred almost exactly one year ago (but that just finished writing up and posting). That trip was a great one for many reasons, but it had gone nothing like we'd expected - snowing or raining every day - eventually forcing us to abandon our Tour of Montana and Wyoming for what we hoped were clearer skies, in Utah.

...where it also rained on us.

Even so, upon our return, Monte @Blackdawg, Mike @Digiratus, and I almost immediately started talking about doing it all again - as originally planned - able to see the sights in Montana and Wyoming this time - "next year."

Well, "next year" was now...

Read all of chapter 1, and get ready for a trip even more awesome than the last!
The Re-Tour (Aug 2018) - Day 1, We Head East​

The Re-Tour (Aug 2018) - Day 1, We Head East


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Our journey through Idaho towards Montana and Wyoming continued through Old Elk City and then through the Macgruder Corridor - the smoke getting thinner and the skies bluer. Amazingly beautiful country!

Well, for a while anyway - until the "r"ain word was mentioned...

Read the story and see the pics: The Re-Tour Day 2: Macgruder, Paradise, and ...Seriously, Mike?​

The Re-Tour Day 2: Macgruder, Paradise, and ...Seriously, Mike?


--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2]​

 

What was the third day for Dan, Mike and I was actually the day we'd meet Zane and Monte for the official start of the trip. We were up early with a lot of miles to cover - and some great stops along the way - before we'd arrive in Cooke City at our designated meeting time of 5pm.

The question on all of our minds - when would Monte show up?

Read all of day 3 and check out the photos:
The Re-Tour Day 3: Monte's "Right On Time"​

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The Re-Tour Day 3: Monte's "Right On Time"​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3]
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...The wet and cold continued all night - or rather, the wet continued and the cold got colder! We awoke, just after 8:00am to a dusting of snow spread across camp and our trucks, and several inches on the surrounding mountains.

"Welcome to Montana guys!" Monte said as he climbed out of his tent...

Read the story and lots of pics: The Re-Tour Day 4: It Always Snows at Goose Lake

The Re-Tour Day 4: It Always Snows at Goose Lake


--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4]​

 

...Now mid-afternoon, we continued up Big Pryor mountain, through gates and across grassy hillsides. We reveled in the beauty and the took in the views as we climbed, the white clouds and blue skies contrasting so nicely with the golden-green of the landscape. This truly was what we were hoping for on the Re-Tour.

Read the story and lots of pics: The Re-Tour Day 5: We Follow the Sun into the Pryors

The Re-Tour Day 5: We Follow the Sun into the Pryors


--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5]


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...Our stomachs satisfied for the moment, we continued down the mountain - only a single planned overlook between us and the bottom, our road spitting us out near the confluence of the Bighorn and Devil's Canyons which we could already see in the distance... it was at this overlook that tragedy struck. (Tragedy is perhaps a bit strong a word to use in this case, but what unfolded was definitely a bummer...)

Fnd out what happened, and photos from this amazing day: The Re-Tour Day 6: Into the Abyss

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The Re-Tour Day 6: Into the Abyss​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] ​

 

Sometimes we just get lucky - and this morning was apparently one of those times for me. I mean sure, I situated my truck for success the night before, and I'd brought the camera into the tent thinking there might be an opportunity to capture a bit of early orange hue, but I never thought I'd get the display that I did, while still warm under my comforter.

It started as it so often does - just a hint of brightness along the horizon and deep purple highlights on the clouds in the sky. This is the moment, I thought to myself...

It really was the start of an amazing day.

Read the whole story: The Re-Tour Day 7: Uphill Both Ways to Copman's Tomb​

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The Re-Tour Day 7: Uphill Both Ways to Copman's Tomb​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7]


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...The truth was, this was a day we'd all been looking forward to - but perhaps no one more than me. This was the day that we'd return to what was <em>the trail</em> that pushed me the hardest the year before; the trail on which, I confided to Mike - "This is right on the edge for me." It was also the trail where Frank had called it quits - nearly twice - and where we'd banded together to get out in one piece. It was Boulder Basin.

Read and see what happened this year: The Re-Tour Day 8: Boulder Basin, My Favorite Trail

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The Re-Tour Day 8: Boulder Basin, My Favorite Trail​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8]​

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Man I wish I lived out west! The views are amazing.

 

...we set about making breakfast - a feast really, one that would hold us over until late in the afternoon. Dan got to work on some hash browns, Mike on scrambled eggs and salsa, and I fired up the griddle for bacon and sausage. In no time, we'd gotten everything cooked...

Sounds good, right? Check it out with the rest of the story at: The Re-Tour Day 9: Our Trucks are Too Heavy

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The Re-Tour Day 9: Our Trucks are Too Heavy

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--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9]​

 

...just after the next water crossing we all pulled to the side of the road making a clear path for the UTVs to just keep driving on the road.

But no. These were UTVs. And when you drive a UTV, rule #1 is "Be a Dick." So they crossed the river, and then proceeded off-trail to skirt around us. And not just by a couple feet - we're talking 30- or 40-feet off of the road.

Nice, guys. Way to be stand-up humans.

To relax our nerves, we turned back to enjoy the views around us. Despite the UTVs, life was good.

Full story and lots of pics: The Re-Tour Day 10: We Finally Explore Sunlight Basin

Sad Jeep wonders, "Can I join?"
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The Re-Tour Day 10: We Finally Explore Sunlight Basin​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9] [day 10]​

 

Photos really can't capture
the beauty of this place - the
views so vast and the colors
so bright. Eventually, we put
our cameras away and we
just looked out over it all.

Check it out for yourself: The Re-Tour Day 11: We Mountain Hop to Goose Lake



The Re-Tour Day 11: We Mountain Hop to Goose Lake



--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9] [day 10] [day 11]​

 

Our last camp fire had been both long and too short. We'd metered out all of our remaining wood - making it last - until the flames on the last logs finally went out. That meant we were working on less sleep that normal as we set out west - spirits high that the trucks were running, a bit bummed for the events from the day before.

But it wouldn't be long before the trucks would be patched up and we'd be on the road again - that we knew for sure!

Read the last day: The Re-Tour Day 12-14: The Stars Align on Our Long Way Home​

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The Re-Tour Day 12-14: The Stars Align on Our Long Way Home​

--- catch up on the whole story so far ---
[day 1] [day 2] [day 3] [day 4] [day 5] [day 6] [day 7] [day 8] [day 9] [day 10] [day 11] [day 12-14]



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Thanks for reading the Re-Tour! Hope it was entertaining. If you missed a day, you can check them all out using the links above

...and for more trips, look here.








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