Prepping for 3 weeks in Wyoming/Montana

[md-lucky]

Beautiful place! Party at your place in a couple weeks? I may be in Missoula...

If you're going through Missoula take a detour and go down the bitterroot to Darby. You can see the now famous Dutton Ranch (the old Chief Joseph Ranch) where they film the TV show Yellowstone.

Backtrack a few miles to Skalkaho Falls and go over Skalkaho Pass to Philipsburg. Awesome little town. Go through Georgetown lake and end up in Butte Montana - make sure you do the underground tour in Butte the next morning.

 

[jhmoore]

If you're going through Missoula take a detour and go down the bitterroot to Darby. You can see the now famous Dutton Ranch (the old Chief Joseph Ranch) where they film the TV show Yellowstone.

Backtrack a few miles to Skalkaho Falls and go over Skalkaho Pass to Philipsburg. Awesome little town. Go through Georgetown lake and end up in Butte Montana - make sure you do the underground tour in Butte the next morning.

Looks nice--thanks! I have family in Missoula and near Flathead Lake, but have never been north of Yellowstone. Hoping to make it up there this trip.

 

[srpuywa]

me and the wife just finished a two week trip across the north cascades highway to Harlem MT, down to Billings, over Beartooth to Yellowstone's Old Faithfull. Great trip and Montana gas prices are around $2.90

 

[srpuywa]

OK, so can anyone guarantee for me whether I'm going to see serious snow at any point during this trip??

(b) I don't own snow chains for 265/70R17, so have to decide whether to buy a set and load them up in the car...

you can buy a set at Les Schawb and they will buy them back if you don't use them

 

[CutthroatSlam]

If you're going through Missoula take a detour and go down the bitterroot to Darby. You can see the now famous Dutton Ranch (the old Chief Joseph Ranch) where they film the TV show Yellowstone.

Backtrack a few miles to Skalkaho Falls and go over Skalkaho Pass to Philipsburg. Awesome little town. Go through Georgetown lake and end up in Butte Montana - make sure you do the underground tour in Butte the next morning.

Skalkaho Falls on our trek over Skalkaho Pass to fish upper Rock Creek:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/216866-4runners-scenic-places-83.html#post3065531

Though I have never watched the Yellowstone series, it’s a fact that they are filming it down at Chief Joseph Lodge in Darby. Our real estate agent has a listing in Hamilton that the cast and crew were renting and we forced the seller on our home to cancel a VRBO rental to the cast and crew that he had forgot about.

Tell me about this underground tour in Butte?

 

[CutthroatSlam]

If you're going through Missoula take a detour and go down the bitterroot to Darby. You can see the now famous Dutton Ranch (the old Chief Joseph Ranch) where they film the TV show Yellowstone.

Backtrack a few miles to Skalkaho Falls and go over Skalkaho Pass to Philipsburg. Awesome little town. Go through Georgetown lake and end up in Butte Montana - make sure you do the underground tour in Butte the next morning.

OK, so can anyone guarantee for me whether I'm going to see serious snow at any point during this trip??

(a) I know that I own not one, but two, full-size ice scrapers (for clearing windows)... but currently cannot find either one in the garage!

(b) I don't own snow chains for 265/70R17, so have to decide whether to buy a set and load them up in the car...

Although it can snow every month of the year there, nothing sticks this time of year. You won’t need snow chains.

Drive the Bear Tooth Highway, also the Chief Joseph Highway out of Cody. They will take your breath away. Truly spectacular. Also drive the “Going to The Sun” road through Galcier National Park. It’s a bucket list drive.

If you make it to Cody, by all means check out the Buffalo Bill Museum. They describe it as the “Smithsonian of the West” and they are not kidding. 5 different wings. We did’nt even make it to the gun wing. We were entranced with all the Remington’s in the art wing. Would die to have an original Remington bronze for our Montana home.

 

[srpuywa]

Although it can snow every month of the year there, nothing sticks this time of year. You won’t need snow chains.

Drive the Bear Tooth Highway, also the Chief Joseph Highway out of Cody. They will take your breath away. Truly spectacular. Also drive the “Going to The Sun” road through Galcier National Park. It’s a bucket list drive.

Going to the Sun Road is still closed going east to private vehicles

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/s...idge-waterton-lakes-boundary-fire/1240202002/

Beartooth Pass was pretty cool

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Going to the Sun Road is still closed going east to private vehicles

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/s...idge-waterton-lakes-boundary-fire/1240202002/

Beartooth Pass was pretty cool

Forgot about the fire

 

[jhmoore]

Forgot about the fire

Currently closed, but the info behind this link should change over time:

https://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm

 

[jhmoore]

Getting close to D-day!

Sleeping is 6 inches of memory foam plus winter sleeping bag and backup heavy down comforter. Have toyed with the idea of picking up another 6 inches of memory foam, just to be sure, but so far haven’t pulled the trigger. Hope that I don’t regret that!

Decided to skip any real cooking because of space concerns. Thus no cooler. (Also no fridge.). No full-size stove. No pots and pans. Keeping it to a Jetboil, dehydrated meals, and instant oatmeal. I figure that most days I’ll do breakfast and one meal out of the car plus one meal in a restaurant—except when I’m more remote.

Nav is an iPad with (a) Google Maps with cell service through my phone, where available, and Gaia with GPS through my InReach Explorer when more remote.

Emergency comms is the InReach. Also handheld BaoFeng to listen in on park service comms re big animal location.

Too damn much camera gear. No less than five tripods! But not enough camera bodies. :-(

Tire deflator and portable compressor. Still need a base plate for the jack. Also still trying to locate my folding shovel in the garage. Wish I had room for a full size shovel.

At this point I’m probably not going to purchase snow chains for this trip. Odds that I’ll need them are probably low and it’s yet another $100+.

 

[syndicate1]

Great table, folds flat

https://www.tailgatertiretable.com

 

[MissouriBreaks]

Not sure of your route plans, but a good drive to consider would be the Missouri Breaks Back Country Byway. There are a couple of free government campgrounds along the Missouri River along the drive. They are pretty basic, with camping spots, fire pits, and a pit toilet. But Free is Free!