I actually called Squirrel Creek Guest Ranch last night to make sure they had room for me tonight and come to find out they have had a grizzly and black bear situation over the past few weeks. Guess who reserved a cabin instead of a tent site, yep this guy! Good thing I called ahead.

I left this morning a little nervous because Adventure Cycling Association highly recommends the alternative route on today’s ride to avoid the extremely soft volcanic soil found on the Yellowstone Branch Line Trail.

Unfortunately, the best views are found on the primary trail at the southern end. Justin, the touring baby’s daddy, shared with me his supplemental maps via Apple air drop and a plan was developed to use a gravel road parallel to the trail in the worst spot to avoid essentially riding through a sandy beach environment for five to six miles. The anxiety would now be from not knowing the exact conditions of this newly planned alternate gravel road?

The morning started off with some great gravel roads with a couple road closed gates to go around. It was nice to be back in the woods again with the smell of pine trees and beautiful scenery.

I arrived at a great resupply grocery store at 6:54 am and it opened at 7:00 am. Victory. I got a 10 pack of tortillas, more toothpaste, tuna packages, chapstick and a Skor candy bar. Oh yea, I purchased a delicious cheese danish for breakfast and a chocolate milk to wash it down. Bingo!

On the way to my planned alternate routing, I did get to experience some of the volcanic soil. It was not bad in the middle of the road, but the sides were nothing but sand traps.

I made it to the Warm River Road that I planned for as an alternate and it was just fine and I stayed within sight of the trail throughout for the most part. This road was going to cross the trail three times and the second time I decided to just go ahead and jump on the trail for the last mile. It was just fine and I got my first glimpse of the Grand Tetons.

I also experienced an ATV cattle guard for the first time. Have a pro tip down below from the experience of capturing the photo of said ATV cattle guard.

The highlight of the day was indeed the southern end of the Yellowstone Branch Line Trail. The trail followed the Warm River from above and the views were amazing and totally worth taking the chance with the volcanic soils.

The last miles of the day would be through the Targhee National Forest and then on to the cabin that awaited. I enjoyed more views of the Grand Tetons and I am excited about getting way closer to these majestic pieces of earth art tomorrow.

Pro Tip of The Day: When still on the cow side of a cattle guard and before putting your feet down to take a picture, clear the area below.