Robertson Draw fire south of Red Lodge

Excellent info...thanks!

Here's my plan for the Big Horns and I'll see if it jives with what you suggested.

I overnight in Gillette, WY and plan to begin the day riding north on Hwy 16 and swing over to Buffalo. Not having been in this area ever, I relied on threads that talked about riding Ten Sleep. My plan is to ride west out of Buffalo on Hwy 16 through Ten Sleep Canyon, take Hwy 31 up north through Hyattsville to Manderson and continue on Hwy 20 north to my overnight at Greybull.

Since the ride will be short, I planned to drop my stuff off at my stay and head back out on Hwy 14 east through Shell Canyon. How far up should I ride to on 14?

Does this sound reasonable or should I consider ditching Ten Sleep and instead ride up I-90 out of Buffalo to Sheridan and take Hwy 14 west through the Big Horns?

I can not wait to get to these rides....102f here today.

Thanks again for the helpful tips!

Mark

Thanks BigJohn!

It's looking a little more positive compared to last night. Sunday's weather looks like it'll help out a bit too. I know you are in Red lodge the night before me. I'm planning on the Beartooth on Tuesday. Good luck. Hope to meet you at the rally!

Mark

Any ride across the Big Horns is a good ride. My preference is 14 from Ranchester to Greybull, or cut off and take 14A into Lovell. Beings you have rooms in Greybull I would take 14 over.

Either road over the Big Horns is entertaining, but like I said, 14 would be my preference. I have been over all of them multiple times.

You might consider moving your over night from Greybull to Cody and spend a couple hours at the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, although two hours is far from enough. I have stopped there three times over the years to take it all in.

I should add, you want to be off Beartooth by 4PM. It is typical for nasty weather to blow over late afternoon and it can get a bit windy and wet. One year we got over pretty late and just caught a bit of rain. We ran into some people that went over Beartooth a half hour later and they said they had to stop because it was raining so hard. There is nowhere nice to stop!

That's exactly what I needed to hear. I'm committed to Greybull due to reservations that can't be cancelled. Sounds like I'll re-route I-90 out of Gillette to Ranchester and ride 14 all the way to Greybull. I've heard that stretch is beautiful.

Affirmative on getting off Beartooth before 4pm. That's a short day for me and I overnight in Red Lodge so no problem.

Guessing I'll be making a list of alt routes to explore next year.

I owe you a beer!

Mark

From Gillette take US 14/16 to Buffalo, ride the Cloud Peak Skyway and Ten Sleep Canyon, then do as you planned, take the county road to Sanderson along the Nowood River. bride to Greybull, dump your stuff. Ride US 14 up to Burgess Junction, have some Pie, Ride US 14A West and return to Greybull. If you are feeling groggy at Burgess Junction head East on US 14 go as far as Manchester and reverse course. Remember, "You haven't ridden a road until you've ridden it both ways!"

I've bailed on Red Lodge, I'm staying with friends near Billings on Tuesday night. I may or may not ride Chief Joseph and Beartooth on Tuesday enroute to Billings, it will depend on the fire and the weather. See ya at the rally.

Awesome...see you at the rally! A beer for you as well!

I will come armed with trip reports.

The last time I rode Beartooth Pass was in 1999 during the 1999 IronButt Rally. It was about 11:00 at night and snowing. They closed the west gate on the highway about 15 minutes after I went through there. When I came down the east side I was stopped by a trooper who wanted to know how I had gotten there. In all honesty, I have never had a horribly strong urge to go back.

bigjohnsd said:

From Gillette take US 14/16 to Buffalo, ride the Cloud Peak Skyway and Ten Sleep Canyon, then do as you planned, take the county road to Sanderson along the Nowood River. bride to Greybull, dump your stuff. Ride US 14 up to Burgess Junction, have some Pie, Ride US 14A West and return to Greybull. If you are feeling groggy at Burgess Junction head East on US 14 go as far as Manchester and reverse course. Remember, "You haven't ridden a road until you've ridden it both ways!"

I've bailed on Red Lodge, I'm staying with friends near Billings on Tuesday night. I may or may not ride Chief Joseph and Beartooth on Tuesday enroute to Billings, it will depend on the fire and the weather. See ya at the rally.

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This is exactly what I was going to say. Have a safe ride and stop by Shell Falls.Don’t be out too late up high, we have big deer, Elk, Moose and yes free range Cows.

PGlaves said:

The last time I rode Beartooth Pass was in 1999 during the 1999 IronButt Rally. It was about 11:00 at night and snowing. They closed the west gate on the highway about 15 minutes after I went through there. When I came down the east side I was stopped by a trooper who wanted to know how I had gotten there. In all honesty, I have never had a hooribly strong urge to go back.

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It is a lot nicer ride in the day time, and no snow. It is beautiful country. I rode up Beartooth in July of 2006(?) in snow. We went with a group and most riders turned back. There was 2-3 inches of snow, but he road was warm so it was melting. There was enough car traffic to leave a nice wide wheel track to follow. The snow stopped before we got closer to the summit. The weather was supposed to get better and it did. When we hit the summit it was warm and sunny, t-shirt weather.

Rharrod said:

This is exactly what I was going to say. Have a safe ride and stop by Shell Falls.Don’t be out too late up high, we have big deer, Elk, Moose and yes free range Cows.

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We also have Cattle Trucks taking cows to the high country summer pasture this month.
The cows poop and pee in the trucks.
The poop and pee turns into a nasty slurry that runs out of the trucks onto the road.
You will often see a greenish brown stripe on the outside of the entrance to a corner, that stripe is very slippery, especially when dry, makes a tar snake seem like child's play. The worst case is where there are two corners in opposite directions following each other, the **** stripe crosses the road right where you are transitioning from left to right. DAMHIK!
RIDE SAFE!

bigjohnsd said:

We also have Cattle Trucks taking cows to the high country summer pasture this month.
The cows poop and pee in the trucks.
The poop and pee turns into a nasty slurry that runs out of the trucks onto the road.
You will often see a greenish brown stripe on the outside of the entrance to a corner, that stripe is very slippery, especially when dry, makes a tar snake seem like child's play. The worst case is where there are two corners in opposite directions following each other, the **** stripe crosses the road right where you are transitioning from left to right. DAMHIK!
RIDE SAFE!

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Good idea to not tailgate a livestock trailer
When I pass one, I move far left in-case one takes a pee out the side.

USDA Forrest Service website for Robertson Draw fire

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/custergallatin/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD923971

/Guenther

bigjohnsd said:

We also have Cattle Trucks taking cows to the high country summer pasture this month.
The cows poop and pee in the trucks.

RIDE SAFE!

Click to expand...

Small price to pay for a good steak
OM

Lee said:

Good idea to not tailgate a livestock trailer
When I pass one, I move far left in-case one takes a pee out the side.

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Also, I try to avoid following one while it is raining.