Evening begins over John D. Rockefeller Junior Parkway, Jackson Lake, and the Tetons.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Evening begins over John D. Rockefeller Junior Parkway, Jackson Lake, and the Tetons.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
I think the sign refers to buffalo, but... a lotta wild things happened in the old days.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
After crossing the border in Coutts, Alberta into Sweet Grass, Montana, the I-15 conveyed me to Great Falls. Felt like America. And that felt strange.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The Rainboffalo of Great Falls. Half rainbow trout, half buffalo, all weird.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
After earning my stripes in Cadomin, I applied my stickers. Shout-outs to Rugged Ridge, MudBudz Wheelin, Factor 55, Barlow Adventures and patron saint Nena Barlowe, Lenser, and Leatherman.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Ah, Montana. The view from Travis Creek Road in the Helena National Forest.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Climbing higher, overlooking Park Lake in the Helena National Forest.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Another road closed on the Grand Continental Divide Trail. This happens a lot. America stands still for no one.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Early afternoon on Highland Road outside of Butte, MT. I had a feeling this was going to be a fine day at the office.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Still on Highland Road, more of Montana's mix of narrow, tree-lined singletrack that opens into broad brown valleys and grazing land.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
No road names anymore, only GPS points near Mt. Fleecer, MT. Even in the general, omnipresent near-solitude of Montana, I felt like I was a long way from anything. A short rocky stretch atop this ridge led to...
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
This ridiculously slick, steep, rocky section of shale, 27 degrees at its steepest. This was even lonelier than being at the top, until...
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Cattle emerged from the bushes, followed by cowboys. The vaqueros all had one question: "How did you get down here?! This ain't a road!" If you find a cowboy with homemade blackberry brandy, sip wisely. They need a potent kind of special sauce to live in the Montana woods for weeks at a time. This was a good day at the office.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The cows also wanted to know what I was doing there.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Just turned onto Montana Hwy 87 from Hwy 287, this is what we call foreshadowing. Nasty things ahead.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
On the Yellowstone Branch Line Trail on the bank of Henry's Fork (of the Snake River). A web of black-rock trails begged me to explore, but they were only wide enough for ATVs. The sign prohibits crossing to any vehicle wider then 50 inches. These are regular reminders that my route was made by a motorcyclist, for motorcyclists.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
A good time for a walk, then. Looking upstream of Henry's Fork.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Looking downstream of Henry's Fork.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
I poked the Rubicon's nose as far down a trail as I could, before the passing side-by-side drivers started asking hard questions and calling rangers.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Back to something approaching civilization, outside Marysville, ID. The Grand Tetons line the horizon.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Fall colors fill the gap between myself and the Tetons on North 4500 East in Idaho.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
I had to pull off the road to get a hero shot of the Grand Tetons, since tour buses and rental cars filled all the pullouts.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
A laundromat, public shower service, and car wash in Dubois, WY. This is just up the road from a jackalope as big as a horse that you can sit on.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
On the way to Moon Lake, a good Wrangler test suggested by Bill Riter, the service manager at Lithia Jeep in Great Falls, WY. Marlboro Man weather.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Wyoming is my favorite state. It's beautiful like nowhere else in the world.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The last three miles to Moon Lake to an hour. This stretch of boulders doesn't look like much, but it's waiting to ruin the day for any careless driver - on 33s with 800 pounds of cargo - who thinks he's got better things to do than focus.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Another boulder field, uphill, covered with more snow that hides the worst traps. So first a walkthrough, then two miles an hour and a lot of rocking.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
These were the worst boulder fields. I couldn't see anything but snow. The only tracks I saw other than my own were from two horses. Smarter explorers than me.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Finally, the hill above Moon Lake.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
I decided to go down the hill just to see if I could make it back up. Angled down 28 degrees at its steepest, boulders, stumps, and roots didn't skimp on the challenge level.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Worth it - because I made it back out alive. I recommend lunch by Moon Lake, even in the snow.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Had to get back up the hill, though. The trail split around a giant stump. I thought the right fork would be easiest due to the lack of boulders, but slick roots on the inside of the turn and boulders on the outside killed traction. You can see the brown divot where I spun the front left wheel trying to make it up.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
So I tried the left fork, which I thought would be too hard because of the boulder steps in the middle of the trail. I was already staring at the sky before the step-up. But, given enough throttle to leave skid marks in the snow, the Wrangler climbed up and over.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
A final boulder field climbing up the last stretch to the hilltop. Had to spin the wheels a few times to get through, but this was sweetness and light after what came before.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Union Pass Road, Wyoming. That is all.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Lander Cutoff Road, Wyoming, on the way to Rawlins. This was near the beginning of what would be the longest and most mentally exhausting day of driving on the trip.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The abandoned Carissa Mine on South Pass City Rd, South Pass, WY, one of the richest gold rush mines in the 1860s.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Before cresting the hill and seeing Atlantic City, I was sure I was in a quiet nowhere. I don't know why 57 people live here, but that's Wyoming. You gotta be a hard unit to endure year-round anywhere in this state, so why not... here?
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Let the games begin. Riverview Cutoff, not long out of Atlantic City. Between this spot and Atlantic City, there was a stretch of trail that looked like a pleasant, snowless fall day. Then it turned to this. Then it got worse.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Wyoming cooks up a blend of mud and ice that's the worst of both substances, the combo splashing onto everything and crusting up. There's more than a quarter-inch of it on the rear fenders, and plenty everywhere else.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Early into the adventure, I'd soaked the front with a healthy mud-mâché mask. I had to get out occasionally and beat the crunchy goop off the headlights.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The sun long gone, I'm the only dummy still trying to get somewhere on these back roads. The few locals still out had the sense to be on paved roads, the rest were in front of home fires. This was where I checked my GPS to find out how much further to Rawlins. The bad news: 61 miles. Oops.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
This is me, refusing to stop. Driving through constant rain, snow, and large puddles, there was so much crust outside that I had to bang the driver's door to open it when I reached cattle gates, and had to bang off inches of crust to open the back doors. I still had 40 miles to go.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Nasty and unforgettable. But Rawlins. Finally.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
After the photo I took in the dark, I refused to get out and scrape the front again. This is what I got for it.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Back in Utah and Colorado, the front wheels threw dust. In Wyoming, the wheels throw this. If you need to get in the back door, first you must clear the rear fender, then you must excavate the door handle, then pull. Hard.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The next day, Wyoming warmed up as if the mud run had never happened. So I took a walk and came across this near my hotel, a Willys Motors Jeep Forward Control, Jeep FC for short. It features what Car and Driver called an "endearing happy face."
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
Made from 1957-1966, this is a short wheelbase version. This was another option for post-war veterans looking for a handy truck around the farm less intense than a Power Wagon, with power takeoffs and implement attachments.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
The Jeep FC was based on the Jeep CJ-5, but open, roomy, cab-over cockpit stressed efficient use of space. Industrial designer Brooks Stevens penned the FC, as well as the original Willys-Overland Jeepster, the Jeep Wagoneer, and the 1949 Harley-Davidson Hydra-Glide. According to Hemmings, the FC would inspire Ford to create the Econoline pickup, Chevy to create a Corvair pickup, and Dodge to create the A100 pickup. Jeep created a Mighty FC concept for the 2012 Easter Jeep Safari.
Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey
Rubicon Alaska Cannonball
After a weather-related highway closure, and a micro-fuse incident, I was on my way again down Sage Creek Road toward Colorado. Tests in the high mountains awaited.
