The Bear 100-mile trail race is named for the Bear River Range of mountains
through which the race courses, and for spectacular Bear Lake, where it ends.
Today was the first time we've seen this beautiful lake from the overlook
at the summit of Logan Canyon. I took this photo out the windshield as we
dropped down toward the lake below the overlook:

Wow! I can see why the surrounding area is one of the most popular
places in Utah to visit or live. It's not as spectacular as Lake Tahoe
but it's a whole lot less crowded and unpretentious. This is a much more
peaceful place to
play, relax, and enjoy nature.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Today's 221-mile trek took us through beautiful canyons and lush valleys
with continual mountain views in three states: Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. The weather was great for a leisurely drive, although a bit hazy through Logan Canyon.
Photos came out more clearly by the time we reached Wyoming. Most of the trip was above 6,000 feet;
even at moderately high elevations, it was quite warm.
With several stops it took us about five hours to reach our destination,
the Reunion Flats Campground in Teton Canyon on the western slopes of the
Grand Teton Range. There was no reason to hurry nor any safe way of going fast
hauling a 5th-wheel camper in mountainous terrain and through several little
towns. The roads were all good, just winding and hilly in places. You'll
appreciate this route more if you don't rush through it.
I marked our route in yellow on the map segment below, just to the left of
the roads we took. I'll describe it in more detail below. The brown rectangle
at the bottom left is the NE corner of Utah. Wyoming is the right half of the
map segment, Idaho the left. This view is from the Idaho AAA map so that half
is more detailed.
Grand Teton NP is right of the top arrow; Yellowstone NP
is above it.
This morning we started at Sam's Club in Logan, UT (farther south than shown
on the map segment above) and wound our way up through Logan Canyon on the national scenic byway
(US 89). We passed the campground
where we spent our first five nights in the canyon, Temple Fork Road where we
started two hikes/runs on the Bear course, and the turnoff for Tony Grove Lake,
the farthest we'd gone up the canyon previously.
Then the real fun started because the next hundred miles were new to us. We
both love exploring new ground, whether by foot or on wheels. Most of the route
is designated "scenic" on our AAA maps with little red dots along the highways.
You can see the dots on the map above. The roads that don't have dots, should have. It was very pretty the entire
way.
For those who are interested in the travel part of this journal, here's our
route and some of the things you'll see along the way.
I encourage readers to drive all or part of this route when you're in
the area -- or make it your destination. It's gorgeous country!
US 89 (LOGAN CANYON NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAY): LOGAN TO BEAR
LAKE, UT
I've been curious about all the sights in the upper 20+ miles of Logan
Canyon that we hadn't seen until today. If you go to this
link and
click on "31 Sites & Stops," you can read more about the section of the byway
between Tony Grove Lake and Bear Lake.
- There's the rugged 45,000-acre Mt. Naomi Wilderness Area with some great
trails for running, hiking, and horseback riding up to nearly 10,000 feet in
elevation. Some of these trails are on the Bear 100 course; Jim will
check more of them out when we return next week. This area is known for its gorgeous
wildflowers and extensive wildlife viewing.
- Although we skirted Franklin Basin on the byway, the best way to see this
popular year-round recreation area is to turn off the main road and either
drive its less-traveled roadways or run/hike/ride its trails. The Bear 100
still goes through Franklin Basin. This is also a popular area for fishing
and snowmobiling.
- The Beaver Creek Basin is home to a ski resort that is a snowy playground
for skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobilers in the winter (no wonder, with
over 300 miles of groomed trails) and RVers, hikers, cyclists, and
equestrians in the summer. You can also access the Great Western Trail, which
stretches from the Canadian border to Mexico. (So many trails, so little knee
cartilage left!!)
- Next comes the Sinks area (named for its numerous sinkholes), another
basin that is popular with skiers and snowmobilers in the winter. This area
used to be filled with mines in the 1870s. They produced mostly galena, a conglomerate which contains lead, gold, silver, and copper.
- Near the summit of Logan Canyon, elevation 7,800 feet, are the popular
Limber Pine Nature Trail and the Sunrise Campground. We are tempted to spend a
few nights here when we return. It's a very pretty campground with lots of
aspen trees and some views of Bear Lake. There are a few sites large enough
for our camper. It's also convenient to the last miles of the Bear course.
The crown jewel at the summit of the canyon is the Bear Lake Overlook and
Rest Area. The parking area is big enough for many cars and RVs, so we pulled
in and took a long enough stroll to see the large lake from several angles
(next two photos) and
to read the interpretive signs.

Not much contrast between sky, distant mountains, and
water on this hazy day.

US 89: BEAR LAKE VALLEY IN UTAH AND IDAHO
As you can see from the next map, the northern half of the deep, twenty-mile long lake lies in
Utah, the southern half in Idaho. The lake is eight miles wide.
Map of Bear Lake area from a sign at the Bear Lake
Overlook
I loved the 1,800-foot drop down a long, scenic series of switchbacks on
Hwy. 89 to the town of Garden City, UT, which sits on the western side of Bear
Lake. If I wasn't an accident waiting for a place to happen, that would be a
blast to cycle!
The history of the area around Bear Lake is interesting, beginning with the
Ute, Shoshone, and Bannock Native American tribes who hunted and fished there
for many generations before white men "discovered" it. According to the guide
referenced above, during the 1820s mountain men who came to trap and trade in
the Rockies gathered at Bear Lake for some of their annual trading fairs or
rendezvous. Mormon pioneers established permanent settlements around Bear Lake
in the mid-1800s.
Descending the scenic byway to Garden
City and Bear Lake.
Bear Lake Valley has two main draws for residents and visitors
alike: its fertile agricultural lands and its recreational
opportunities. The area is best known for its succulent raspberries. Although
we saw lots of signs to that effect, we didn't see any place open this morning
to get a raspberry shake.
The lake itself draws numerous visitors, especially in the summer when they
can swim, water ski, sail, and fish. There are at least three state parks
around the lake in Utah and Idaho where families can camp and access the water.
We could see several marinas and sandy beaches as we followed US 89 along the
western side of the lake.
If you like to fish, you might be interested to know that there
are four fish that live in Bear Lake and nowhere else in the world: the Bonneville
Whitefish, Bear Lake Whitefish, Bear Lake Sculpin, and Bonneville Cisco.
Because the lake has been geographically isolated for at least 100,000 years,
these species have evolved to its unique water chemistry, described in the
opening quote to this entry. Anglers not only fish for them in warm weather,
they also ice fish in the winter and early spring when the fish are spawning and come up closer
to the surface (the lake is 200+ feet deep).
Fertile farms on the approach to Garden
City.
We were hoping to find the last bit of the Bear course and see where the
race finishes in Fish Haven, ID, just across the state border a few miles north
of Garden City. We saw a couple of likely places but couldn't determine if either
was correct. We'll have to consult the GPS waypoints and look at the course description more thoroughly
before we come back so Jim can run that part.
I noted that US 89 becomes the Bear Lake Scenic Byway (not national
scenic byway) in
Idaho. It does indeed continue to be scenic with the lake to the east, many
attractive farms and ranches through the valley, and mountains in the Caribou
National Forest to the west. What a pleasant place to live or visit!
US 89 TO ALPINE, WY
We continued to follow Hwy. 89 north and east around Bear Lake in Idaho,
crossing into Wyoming shortly after the Geneva
Summit. No joke! It's also shortly past the town of Paris, as you can
see in the AAA map segment below. The scenic road
then heads mostly north and somewhat parallels the border between
Wyoming and Idaho for about 67 miles until it comes to a junction at the Grand
Canyon: again, no joke; this canyon is in Wyoming, not Arizona.

By mid-morning the haze had worn off and we had bright blue skies. As we
traveled farther north and closer to the Tetons the clouds increased. High
mountain ranges have their own micro-climates.


Like the last four photos above, the next set is from what I jokingly
refer to as "The Windshield Series." I literally take the shots out the windshield
as Jim is driving! He doesn't like to stop very often for me to take photos and
I don't want to miss some great views as we travel. This is our compromise. With newer digital cameras
that have image stabilization, some of the landscape shots I take in this
manner are as good as ones I take the normal way. They often have a vent
reflection in the windshield, however.

Above and below: views of the Salt River Range

There are various diversions along this road besides the great scenery. For
example, there's the "world's largest elk horn arch" which stretches across the
street in Afton . . .

Above and below: the arch is made of
antlers tightly
stacked together.

I can't vouch for the accuracy of their claim, but I can say that one of the great pleasures of travel off the interstate system is
seeing these snippets of Americana. And I actually like this better than the
world's largest peanut statue or biggest ball of twine!
A little farther north in the town of Thayne we stopped at a Maverick
station for diesel ($2.65/gallon) and dumped our gray and black
water for free. We never did find a dump in Logan Canyon or city. We
also ate lunch in the camper while we were stopped. We usually don't eat
any meals out when we're in transit.
Here are a few more photos on the way to Alpine and the Grand Canyon
(sorry, no shots of Wyoming's Grand Canyon from this trip; we
headed the other direction).
Rich agricultural area
Stunning clouds
Snake River Range and Grand Teton Range in distance
US 26: THE SNAKE RIVER IN IDAHO
At Alpine, WY we headed west on a scenic 28-mile section of Hwy,
26 along the Snake River and Palisades Reservoir to Swan Valley,
ID.
Our goal was to avoid the steep 9% grade to Teton Pass from the
east on Hwy. 22 between Jackson, WY and Victor, ID. That was a
bit of a problem two years ago when we had the F-250. Even
though the Ram does much better pulling the camper up steep
grades, why strain the transmission unnecessarily? We'll return to Logan that
way next week, going downhill. Braking is easier with the
Ram because it has exhaust brakes and a good tow-haul package
that supplements the regular brakes; we also have manual
brake controllers for the camper, in addition to the automatic
brakes wired to the truck. (Not sure if I said all that
correctly but if you haul anything, you probably know what I'm
talking about!)

Today we stayed at lower elevations (~6,000+ feet) as we followed the river,
circling clockwise around the south and west sides of the big
loop around the Snake River Range. You can see the loop clearly
on the map above. Although the road is only two
lanes, it is wide and in great shape, with enough straight
stretches for faster traffic to pass slower vehicles.
Here are some "windshield shots" of the river and reservoir
along US 26:



We drove this section eastbound two years ago, but this was our
first time going west and it seemed like a whole new route to
us. It's odd to me that AAA doesn't designate either US 26 or 31
as "scenic" on its Idaho map. If this isn't scenic, I don't know
what is.
US 31 & 33 TO DRIGGS, ID
At Swan Valley we turned right on US 31 and headed north and
east to the town of Victor. This road isn't marked on the AAA
map above as scenic either, but I beg to differ:
Large farm with red-roofed buildings
Patriotic AND energy efficient: windmill +
solar panels

There is a pass on this segment of US 31 (Pine Creek Pass) but
there isn't nearly as much elevation change from Swan Valley as
approaching the 8,429-foot Teton Pass from Jackson Hole.
In Victor we turned left on US 33 and drove north to the town of
Driggs through a broad valley with the foothills of the Teton
Range to our right and occasional glimpses of the
12,000-13,000-footers in the background. We were on more
familiar turf now, and almost to our destination.
THE FINAL LEG TO TETON CANYON
We arrived in Driggs, ID about 2 PM. We had enough supplies that
we didn't need to shop at the large grocery store, but we
did need to check our e-mail before heading up the road another
twelve miles to the campground. We learned that drill when we
were here two years ago; there is no Verizon cell service
at Reunion Flats Campground or at Grand Targhee Ski Resort,
where Jim will be running a race on Saturday.
I watched my phone as Jim drove up Ski Hill Road to Alta, just
inside the Wyoming border. By the time we turned on Forest Road
009 into Teton Canyon, we had no signal at all. We were hoping
it might have improved since we were here before. We did find
one sweet spot about a mile from our campground on the forest
service road, however, right where the race course turns onto
the dirt road for half a mile. One bar means we might be
able to make calls from there, but it's not reliable enough to
get on-line.
This is another beautiful stretch of road. It's thrilling to
catch your first glimpses of the "shark's head" peak of Grand
Teton from paved Ski Hill Road or dirt FR009 (below):

Reunion Flats is one of three National Forest Service
campgrounds in Teton Canyon where visitors have electrical
hookups, clean restrooms, and access to water spigots (no dump).
Reunion Flats is the fist one you come to, just under three
miles into the canyon. The other campgrounds are two miles
farther, at the end of the road near several foot and equestrian
trailheads into the western side of the Teton Range. We reserved
the same site we had two years ago when Jim first ran the Grand
Teton Race.
There are also several isolated dispersed camping (AKA boondocking) sites along the road where
campers can stay for free. We prefer to stay at Reunion Flats
because the campsites are
spacious, adjacent to beautiful woods and two creeks, close to water spigots
we can reach with two or three hoses, and only $10
a night. The paid campgrounds are also fenced to keep the
free-range cattle out. So far, we're the only ones here besides
the campground hosts.

Reunion Flats has only four RV/tent sites for individual
families, however; it caters mostly to groups (hence, the
name reunion). Most individuals and single families camp farther back the road at the other
two campgrounds. Since the forest service road was in particularly
bad shape this year, we were glad we weren't any farther back.
It was much smoother two years ago. (Our volunteer campground
hosts attribute the rough road to economic conditions: no
money to grade it again this year.)
One reason we love this particular campsite is the view from our living
room window. I took this shot from my computer desk soon after
we got set up today:

The peak on the left is Grand Teton, elev. 13,770 feet. The one
on the right is Middle Teton (12,798 feet). Anyone staying in
the campground can get the same view from the entrance parking
area.
I had fun taking pictures of the mountains as they played hide
and seek with the clouds during the afternoon and evening:



Now I can't wait to get out there and see them closer up on the
trails!
Next entries: our training runs/hikes on the Grand Teton
Race (GTR) course
Happy trails,
Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil,
and Cody the Ultra Lab
Previous
Next
© 2009 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil