{"id":1540,"date":"2021-08-14T12:57:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T12:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1540"},"modified":"2021-08-14T12:57:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-14T12:57:40","slug":"august-14-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bikingwithmike.com\/?p=1540","title":{"rendered":"August 14, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jordan and I had a blast yesterday with our rented ATV.\u00a0 The trail head was down Gallatin Canyon about 6 miles past the turn off to Big Sky.\u00a0\u00a0 Everything was all ready to go when we got there.\u00a0 We rented the ATV from Summit Motor Sports near Bozeman and they were great.\u00a0 We got our five-minute orientation, a map and off we went.\u00a0 Needless to say, it\u2019s a quick way to get into the backcountry.\u00a0 We stopped counting after passing the 5-mile marker but we were way off the beaten path.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They require you stay on the trail and the trail varies from fairly smooth to \u2018hang on to your kidneys!\u2019\u00a0 In the upper portions they only allow ATVs less than 50 inches wide since the trail is quite narrow in places.\u00a0 In any case, we had a blast.\u00a0 We took turns driving.\u00a0 There were a few other ATVs on the trail but not enough to make it irritating.\u00a0 We were actually by ourselves most of the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons learned:\u00a0 It can get very dusty when people pass you or there are multiple vehicles around \u2013 have a bandana handy to cover your nose and mouth.\u00a0 I no longer wear contacts so I didn\u2019t have any problems with my eyes but Jordan said her contacts were getting pretty dried out and a bit gritty.\u00a0 Goggles might be a consideration.\u00a0\u00a0 And, of course, standard equipment when you go into the back country \u2013 water, bear spray, etc.\u00a0 Given the noise from the engines, surprising a bear or moose is extremely unlikely.\u00a0 That said, it\u2019s getting towards fall when bears will be fattening up for the winter so it\u2019s always best to be prepared.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to add a little icing on the cake, I had another letter published in the Chronicle this morning.\u00a0 The text is at the end of this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n