Intriguing Unknown Territory

Late yesterday afternoon I rode my bike down the paved road, turned left and pedaled the gravel road for only five minutes before reaching the welcoming solitude and quiet of  BLM land.

It was late in the day and looking at the sky and the surrounding mountains I could tell that a weather front was slowly but certainly beginning to move in.

I still had a couple of hours before it would be a concern but even so I realized that it was stupid of me to have not carried an extra layer of clothing in my pack.

We live over 5000 feet, it was late in the day and clouds were building over the mountains in front of me.

As I entered BLM land the first thing I saw was my Spirit Horse.

This is the same horse that Jamie and I saw when we walked this way in the snow and clouds a month ago.

On that day this very beautiful creature scared me at first, running unexpectedly towards me out of the grey and quiet.

He is a sweet and curious animal who that day followed Jamie along the fence line, watching intently as we passed by.

Today, on a sunny and increasingly cloudy afternoon he simply looked up briefly from his grazing.

Apparently I am not as interesting to watch as James is because after regarding me only briefly he went back to the grass.............

This is only the third time I have been in this section of BLM land (once on foot with James and once on LC's mountain bike) and I was surprised to see so many horses in the pasture.............

For a place with very little water when we first arrived in Cody there now seems to be water everywhere.

All of the canals are now filled with water and irrigation of the fields is the name of the game.

Water was never an issue in either Tennessee or Juneau so this is a new experience observing first hand how farmers and ranchers consciously irrigate to grow.

Like a moth to flame I am always drawn to water and before moving on I spent a good deal of time here...........

When I rode LC's bike here I had not been on a bike in almost a year.

I wondered if I would be able to make it up a short steep hill leading from the dirt road where I entered BLM to the trails higher up.

Disappointingly and with much resignation, I did not make the hill.

Yesterday I made the hill.

On a bike that fit me better than his larger-framed bike, remembering how to use the gears, remembering how to grind out climbs, maybe even a little fitter now than last month.

Resignation turned to satisfaction.

At the top of the hill I stopped for a moment to look around me and scope out the area.

And immediately I saw this.............

Also at the top of the hill was a fork with trails leading in two different directions.

I was not familiar with either trail, so randomly picked the one directly in front of me heading west.

I could see that it consisted of a very long flat section that seemed to continue forever.

But I decided to take it, curious where it led - either straight or possibly leading up to the hills I could see ahead of me.

With the lateness of the day and the clouds over the mountains to the west (meaning they were coming from the direction of Yellowstone) I was not prepared for any kind of epic adventure.

I felt restless, needed some alone time and wanted to be out for a while.

Only a quiet adventure.

A view of the ever-present Heart Mountain in the distance..........

Carter Mountain.

Heart was to my 1 and Carter was at 9.  

Two very big and very obvious landmarks that I am becoming accustomed to always tracking as I wander.........

The long straight-away that I was riding.

With all the rain we had over three straight days last week and with all the cows that apparently graze in this section of BLM land the trail was deeply and continuously rutted out.

I had expected a flat and easy ride and although it was not a difficult ride it was teeth rattling.

No matter.

All part of the journey.  All part of the adventure.  All part of the freedom of being in this place at this moment...........

After biking the straight-away for 15 minutes I arrived at an open gate.

The trail dead-ended in the direction I had been traveling, and if I wanted to continue riding I would have to turn either left or right at the gate.

I still have not gotten back into the habit of using a water bladder even though a few weeks ago I had finally gotten around to cleaning out the science experiments that had been growing in both of my bladders since Tennessee.

Drinking water from my water bottle I straddled my bike and considered my options.

Left or right?  Left or right?

After some mild deliberation I decided to drop my bike and go straight - up the hill.

I wanted to see what was on the other side of it...........

The fairly steep hill loomed in front of me, and after only a few minutes I mentally kicked myself for leaving my water bottle in the cage back with my bike.

Gotta start wearing the water bladder........ 

The BLM land immediately behind the house begins with a long gradual climb that eventually tapers off if you head south, but only continues to climb if you stay straight.

If you are heading into the hills you can climb high enough that eventually it leads to pine trees - lots and lots of pine trees and panoramic views of the surrounding area and land almost sixty miles away.

Yesterday I had climbed very little and then headed straight west.

As I walked this one steep hill I looked around me and did not see a tree anywhere.

I was not up high enough.

Again - no matter.

It was obvious as I was climbing that this exploration would be all about rock.

And that was OK too............

As I stood at the top of the hill feeling like the Queen Of The Castle I looked over at the clouds and knew that I still had plenty of time.

I could see the highway leading to Meeteetse in the distance...........

Standing on the top of the hill seeing forever.........

I spent a long time on top of the hill - wandering from one small ridge line to the next, checking out both the rock formations and the small flowers that were growing.

The biggest hill was still directly in front of me and I did not go for it.

Between spending time down by the canal, biking, walking, wandering, taking pictures, and truthfully with a lack of great ambition I decided to stay on the line of ridges I was already walking and take the biggest hill on another day..........

As I was standing on top of large rocks taking in the wide-open and so-quiet scenes around me I looked down and saw this rock configuration.

I wondered if someone had set it into this square or if it was naturally occurring.

As I always do I also spent some time looking at the many different colors of fungi growing on the faces of these very flat rocks.

As they have in the past they reminded me of the coloring of small children............

Before I left this ridge I spent some time doing something that is a favorite past-time in rock-filled Juneau.

I built a rock tower...........

There are increasing amounts of very small, hardy and at the same time fragile flowers now growing on BLM land.

They are all close to the ground, brightly colored and very different from what I am used to seeing.

We are into the middle of May now and I know that the growing season in the Big Horn is very short.

I am curious to see what kinds of wild flowers actually do grow here during true growing season.

How prominent they are.  How diverse they are.

We'll see............

The white stood out strongly against the natural dusty green colors of the landscape and I took a second look before realizing that what I was seeing was a plastic bag.

Stuck to the sage brush and blowing in the wind it looked for a moment as though someone was waving a white flag.

Which reminded me of a song that I have always liked.  

I cannot make links live on this computer anymore and have no idea why, but if you can cut and paste it into a browser it is worthy of a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-fWDrZSiZs

First a coyote carcass and then a deer carcass in one brief biking and hiking trip.

There are remnants of dead animals all over this land...........

Heading back..........

Retracing my steps I biked the same bone-rattling cow-rutted trail, rode back down the hill and again felt compelled to stop by the canal.

By this time it was windy and the temperature was already beginning to drop.

I had left the house a couple of hours earlier in bike shorts and short sleeve t-shirt and now it was getting cold.

But I was also greatly enjoying my quiet and uneventful time outside and was really in no big hurry to cut it short.

I had received three flat tires on my two previous bike rides and with only one more dirt road to follow before hitting black top realized that I was actually going to get out of this particular little journey without incident.

I stayed on trails the entire way which helped.

After my third flat I also picked up thicker bike tubes and green slime.  

With luck that will help...........

Some more pictures of the irrigation canal.

A gate that channels water into two separate canals to feed surrounding ranches..........

The road home...........

The best routes are the ones you haven't ridden. You could pedal the same loops year after year. Many people do, literally or figuratively. But to grow, you need new rides. Risks. Turn down lanes you've long seen but never traveled. Get lost once or twice, then double back to where you started and try again
Live like this and you come to see unknown territory not as threatening, but as intriguing.
Mark Remy, Bicycling Magazine 9/01