Idaho and Montana

[Jerry]

Would anyone be interested in exploring places in Idaho and/or western Montana? Anywhere specific? What time of year?

[hutchman]

Jerry, I "explored" parts of Montana 4 years ago on a 1150GS BMW. We followed the Continental Divide on dirt and FS roads as closely as we could. I want to do this again in a Jeep. There was actually only one section that my "new" WJ would not have been able to get through.

This is a big trip and takes some planning and cannot be done in weekend. If I had someone to go with and this other person had the time and the desire to spend at least 2 weeks, I would start the planning process.

This is a kind of a "once in a lifetime" trip. I would kill to do this one again.

Here is a link to the ride report I posted on ADVRider.....

The Top 1/2 of the Continental Divide - ADVrider

If you are interested......let's go!

[richardattek]

Beartooth area South of Redlodge Mt. The road in the upper right corner of the picture.

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by hutchman

Jerry, I "explored" parts of Montana 4 years ago on a 1150GS BMW. We followed the Continental Divide on dirt and FS roads as closely as we could. I want to do this again in a Jeep. There was actually only one section that my "new" WJ would not have been able to get through.

This is a big trip and takes some planning and cannot be done in weekend. If I had someone to go with and this other person had the time and the desire to spend at least 2 weeks, I would start the planning process.

This is a kind of a "once in a lifetime" trip. I would kill to do this one again.

Here is a link to the ride report I posted on ADVRider.....

The Top 1/2 of the Continental Divide - ADVrider

If you are interested......let's go!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report on the Continental Divide bike trip, Hutch. It was a most enjoyable read and the pics were great, too. It's a bit much for me, but I hope there are some folks on the forum who might do that adventure with you. What a trip!

Originally Posted by richardattek
Beartooth area
Hellroaring Plateau Montana

Excellent suggestion, thanks Rich.

[Binford]

Originally Posted by hutchman

Jerry, I "explored" parts of Montana 4 years ago on a 1150GS BMW. We followed the Continental Divide on dirt and FS roads as closely as we could. I want to do this again in a Jeep. There was actually only one section that my "new" WJ would not have been able to get through.

This is a big trip and takes some planning and cannot be done in weekend. If I had someone to go with and this other person had the time and the desire to spend at least 2 weeks, I would start the planning process.

This is a kind of a "once in a lifetime" trip. I would kill to do this one again.

Here is a link to the ride report I posted on ADVRider.....

The Top 1/2 of the Continental Divide - ADVrider

If you are interested......let's go!

Cool thread! Looks like a blast and I'm not even a motorcycle kind of guy!

I'd be game, but I'm not sure about the 2 weeks. Not a deal killer though. I'd still be game! Sounds like a trip for the CJ-5 though. Having the winch would be comforting. Problem is, the CJ is in rough shape at this time. I wasn't going to really get into fixing it up for another year or so. But then you have to bring this idea up....

So how many nights did you camp and how many spent in motels? The thread seemed to imply you went into a town at least somewhat regularly for gas and supplies. Is that about what you figure for a Jeep trip?

[hutchman]

No need for a CJ......it is not a really rough trip except for a couple of areas. I am confident that the WJ would do fine or any other similar vehicle. We stayed in a motel 2 out of every 3 days, but had planned on camping more. It turned out we needed AC power to charge electronic goodies more than we thought.

As for the time needed, we spent 10 days and went from the Canadian Border to Steamboat Springs, CO. It took us longer than we expected. We did all navigating by gps, which worked out really good.

We did spend some time in bear country, which made me somewhat nervous to camp. But there were many people camping in tents along the road, so I am not sure that this is a real worry. I guess it might be on the one night the bear decided he was hungry!

I spent about a year getting ready for the trip, but I don't think it would take that long this time. Due to heath issues, I need a copilot....so that might be tough getting someone to go with me. My friend Peter, who rode the KLR on the last trip could probably be talked into coming along.

Let me know what you think!

[hutchman]

I don't know if these were in the trip report or not, but just to get you thinking..















You tend to spend a lot of time stopped taking pictures....

[hutchman]

At the risk of boring you to death.......







The three amigos.......





Well, I'm ready to leave..........

[Binford]

Let's do the trip in our GM pickups!

I will seriously consider this trip. I'll have to check on a copilot for myself. Someone I could stand to live in close quarters with for 10-14 days. You thinking next summer for this?

The CJ would still be fun for doing the trip with the top off... But I'll have an XJ by then and that would be a whole lot more comfortable. And if you're taking your pretty Grand, I won't have to worry about bashing up my Cherokee!

As for bears, that's what firearms are for. We could have AC power and a rifle on hand with 4x4s.

Dangitanyway.... Now you got me thinking how much fun this would be....

[Jerry]

I doubt I could make it for 2 weeks, but if I could get away for a week or so, do you suppose my F-150 4x4 could make it over the rough spots. It's sitting on 33" MT tires and is equipped with a limited slip in the rear axle. The wheelbase is 138", but I imagine the break over angle would be the limiting factor.