Other Routes & Tracks

This page presents Tracks and potential alternate Routes along with their descriptions and disclaimers provided by the contributing inmate. "Tracks" (and waypoints from them) have been collected by a rider using a GPS unit. We use "Routes" on this page to refer to waypoints generated from maps, unverified at the time they were posted.

1. Cardwell-Pony-Ennis.gpx, This Track covers the first leg of dirt, part of Day 4 of the 2010 MT 1000 ride collected by MoonDogMT with Horse607 and Jeff. on 06/23/2010. Posted 06/24/2010 for the 2010 Montana 1000. Might be usefull if coming from some other direction on the way to the Gravelley Range Road.

A DR650, GS1150 and KTM990 made the trip. We went up the south boulder river road past the IU Geologic station and were not able to follow the original route from North to South Meadow Creeks without backtracking to the east before ascending South Meadow Creek from just west of McAllister. Some of the less travelled tracks are somewhat sandy and we ran into only one slightly boggy spot.

2. salmon_to_darby_via_horse_creek.gpx. This Route was created by Horse607 from a track collected in the Fall of 2010. It may be an alternative to the Day 6 primary route leg through the Big Hole to Darby for some, or a ride during West Fest. For comparison, this leg is 108 miles from Salmon to Darby versus 118 through the Big Hole and 80 miles directly on Highway 93. Horse607's description of this alternative:

"The other alt route that takes off from Salmon to the south on hwy 93 to Williams Creek rd, # 021 to Panther Creek rd # 055 then along the Salmon river to Colson Creek rd # 123 which takes you up to the top along the MT ID boarder, which is rd # 044. Once on this rd you can either take Thunder Mountain rd # 091 or continue on rd 044 to Wood Creek rd # 5669. If you head down Horse Creek, on the Idaho side, there is Horse Creek hot springs which has a campground. Cool place to camp and take a soak. Anybody that wouldn't mind getting too Darby until Saturday this would be a fun ride having camped at the hot springs. There also is Woods Creek campground on the MT side where Thunder Mtn rd and Woods Creek rd join at the bottom.

The face symbol in the track marks Horse Creek Hot Springs on that track. We decided to make this one of the alt routes because once you start up Colson Creek rd it is a narrower and pretty windy road at times, not technical just slower. When I rode it they had just run a blade over it from Colson Creek to the top. There were a few spots that were kinda soft, as in sandy feeling, not a problem but something to keep in mind if you decide to ride this way and they just bladed it. I rode it on my 990 no problem. This is a fun ride if you want to take the time to do it, im a slow old fart though. "

3. Salmon-NorthFork-Connor-Darby.gpx. This Route was created by Horse607. It may be an alternative to the Day 6 primary route leg through the Big Hole to Darby for some, or a ride during West Fest. For comparison, this leg is 144 miles from Salmon to Darby versus 118 through the Big Hole and 80 miles directly on Highway 93.Horse607's description of this alternative:

"The other alt is to turn at North Fork on rd # 030 following the Salmon River till you get to the Spring Creek boat ramp and take rd # 038 which takes you up along the boarder and turns into rd # 044. Then you have the options as mentioned above as far as heading off the top to Darby. I think this might have been a loop for last years Westfest?"

4. Graveliesalternate-RTE.gpx. This Route was created by jjmyzrider and goes from West of Nevada City to the intersection of the Call Road in the Gravelley's. It is approximately 16 miles long, and for those who don't need gas in Ennis and looking for a more "interesting" route into the Gravelleys. In jjmyzrider's words,

"I went snowmobiling through here this last weekend. ... I did not go all the way to Call Rd (Gravely Range Road). ... I have ridden that route a couple of times on the bike, and it is rough. It is an alternate for a reason, however doable on most bikes, if the weather holds out."

And, he promises more to come!

5. day2alternate1-RTE.gpx. This Route was created by jjmyzrider and provides a more technical alternative to Hwy 200 in the first part of Day 2. The route follows the continental divide for a good part, past Stemple Pass along the Flesher Pass Trail, returning the Hwy 200 NE of Lincoln. In jjmyzrider's words,

"The alternate starts at the summit of Dalton Mountain road. Heading towards Lincoln, take a right. There might be a sign, referring to trail 467, that is the route you want to take. Follow GPS route, trail will begin to narrow about a mile down. You will go buy an old broken down car. The route turns into an ATV trail from that point forward. It gets rougher and steeper, although heading down hill which makes it easier. Once to the bottom, you will meet up with a road again. Follow that road until you get to the intersection with a way point marked turn out point. If you found what you just went through difficult and dangerous, you will want to turn right and follow that back to the main route. If you enjoyed what you just went through, carry on to the left and have fun. You will come to a Forest Service sign. If you see this sign you are on the right track. The area around this sign, to the west mainly, has been logged in the past couple of years.

Expect…

1. Logs over the trail

2. Snow in areas over the trail

3. Steep rocky loose sections

4. To have to back track if not passable

5. It to take a long time

You will come out on top of the Continental Divide. This will be at Marsh Creek, where the MT1000 went last year. From here you will follow the CDT east to Stemple pass. From Stemple Pass east, you will ride a road for a while, which will narrow and turn to an ATV track. That will turn into a single track route that is marked as the CDT. It will come out on the top of Fletcher Pass. This route is much like the trail previous. You should expect to encounter those same things on this route. If at the end of that trail, you feel like time is running low, you can take a right on top of Fletcher pass and slab it towards I-15 and meet back up with the route near Silver City, about 10 miles before I-15. This would cut out the Little Wolf Creek section of the ride. However that is a nice ride through Little Wolf Creek."

Updated 06/29/2011