Jim asked me how the hike went and I told him it was a bear.

We climbed another mountain together and spent one more day in Jackson Hole. Jim, an optometrist, needed to get back to his family and work and drove back to the small airport. My vacation time was also running short, and I prepared my gear that night for the long ride back. The trip had been an amazing adventure for me: not only did I face some of Mother Nature’s worse elements; I also faced my deepest fears. The trip had tested me on many levels and I prepared for a quiet ride home. As I had been to Yellowstone before, I thought it would be nice to leave via the northeast entrance, the only entrance I had yet to see.

Jackson Hole is just that, a hole. To leave Jackson Hole means your going to travel over some mountains. When I loaded the BMW up that morning I marveled at how beautiful the snow-capped mountains were: being dense like a chunk of granite, I didn’t 2 and 2 together. The morning drive through Yellowstone was enchanting; low lying fog, buffalo in the roadway, and no RV campers to slow me down. As I approached the exit, the road kept climbing gradually. What little traffic I did encounter all acted strangely, flashing lights and honking horns. Snow. They were trying to warn me about the snow-covered highway. Twenty miles of unplowed, four inch deep, snow covered mountain crossing highway. The rain and lightening in Illinois and Indiana was one thing, but this proved to be challenging as well. There was no sense in turning around, as I would eventually have to cross-mountains no matter which road I chose. After I had already traveled several miles in the snow a large RV loomed over the crest of the next hill. The driver must have been shocked at seeing me, for he stopped dead in his lane, flashed his lights, honked repeatedly, then stepped out of his RV into my lane. Lacking much control, it was pure fate that kept that man alive that day. Honestly, he stopped to tell me the road was snow covered. I opened my face shield, looked him in the eye, turned around and looked at the road I had just traveled on, turned back to the man and said: “Really?” “Yes, yes, from here to Cooke City, it’s all snow.” “Well, I’d better be careful then. Thanks for the info and have a good day.” Having lost my precious momentum on the bike, I spun the rear tire and slide from side to side until I had enough speed to balance the bike in a straight line.