Uphill and Against the Wind

 Day 17

Today we head south through the Madison River Valley.  The road gradually climbs all the way to West Yellowstone.  We had decided to avoid the traffic and crowds so our destination is Henry's Lake State Park back in northern Idaho.

To the west is the Gravelly Range,  to the east is the Madison range. In between are terraces called stream terraces that mark the ancient courses of the Madison River. I did pass a talc mine on the western side of the valley partly up in one of the stream terraces. 

It looks like an open pit operation.

The route heads south as Rt 287 turns east and enters the Madison River Pass. 
I found myself on one of the stream benches looking down on the river and spotted this nest.





 Crosses over Raynold's Pass at 6836 and drops down to Lake Henry.

Lake Henry was apparently formed by damming the valley due to glacier activity. It is the same age as the Great Lakes.  It has been dammed a couple of times and increased to its present size.  No swimming or wading though (leeches)



The ride today was uphill and against the wind.  For the first 4 hrs, I had a block headwind (flags out straight), and averaged only 9 miles/hr for the first 3 hrs.  The total time for the ride was about the same as yesterday, but 15 more miles.





Morning Ride

  • Distance
    64.80 mi
  • Elev Gain
    2,569 ft
  • Time
    5h 39m
    Try this route




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