Big Southern Butte, Idaho

[SpudRider]

Last week I took my final ride of the season to Big Southern Butte. Big Southern Butte is one of the stops on the Tour of Idaho; it is located on the east side of the Snake River Plain. The nearest town is Atomic City, Idaho. The approach to the butte follows Goodale's Cutoff of the Oregon Trail.







Even with ambient temperatures in the 50s, my oil temperature reached 235 degrees Fahrenheit before I reached the summit. I found a little snow at the summit.

















Descending the butte, I stopped to take a photograph to the east. Atomic city is located in the middle of the photo, halfway to the horizon. On the far horizon, located behind the bike's rear fender and above the bend in the road, is the Teton Range of mountains in Wyoming.



Here's a closeup photograph of the Teton Range. The summit of the tallest mountain, Grand Teton, is 13,775 feet above sea level. Grant Teton is located 114 aerial miles east of Big Southern Butte.



Here are several photographs I took of the Teton Range while visiting Grand Teton National Park last year. The tallest mountain in the photographs is Grand Teton.

[FastDoc]

Great day and good visibility!

That's a tough slow long rocky trail for a big bike and the motor is working hard and not much airflow through the fins and oil cooler. Still, the BRP does great! I remeber how Roger's KLR suffered!

Will the lowlands (relatively speaking) on the way out to BSB get snow too? If the Butte is inaccessable the lower flat areas are fun riding too.

[SpudRider]

Yes, it will definitely snow on the Snake River Plain. The lowlands out there are still 4,400 feet above sea level. However, the snow comes last to the lowlands, and melts there first in the spring. As long as the temperatures are warm enough, I will continue to ride the lowlands all around East Idaho, until the snow stops me.

[FastDoc]

Lows going down to the low 20's here this week, our first freeze of the year. I hate winter! Highs still warm enough to ride but I may freeze in the mornings.

[katoranger]

We are going to get cold this weekend. I need to go put the heatlamp in the chicken coop so that they keep laying.

[SpudRider]

This time of year, Kansas is sounding very appealing. Maybe I can ride my XR650L to Kansas, and sleep in the barn for a few weeks with the chickens?

[irishbiker125]

Brilliant photos Spud. Winter is creeping in here with temperature down to 2 degrees C this morning. Time to put away the bikes for a few months now. I hate this time of the year too. Not much to look forward to at the weekend except to give the bikes a good clean and cover them up.

[SpudRider]

Thank you, IB. I will be starting to winterize my bikes in the next few weeks. The only bike which will see any winter riding is my Zong. I sometimes ride my Zong around town on errands, but only when the temperature is above freezing, and the roads are bare and dry.

[katoranger]

Many people ride year round here. We often have nice warm days. Most of our air comes from the gulf.

[Weldangrind]

Same here, as long as you don't mind rain. They're calling for the temperature to drop below freezing tonight, but it's rarely below freezing during the day. If I travel one hour East, it begins to get nasty very quickly.

Thanks for the pics, Spud. I can't wait to get back to your area and ride.

[SpudRider]

The problem is, I don't like riding in the rain, either! I especially dislike riding in a cold rain.

We had a wonderful, very long riding season this year. If the mild winter continues, and we get less than average snowfall, I look forward to another great riding season next year.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by katoranger

Many people ride year round here. We often have nice warm days. Most of our air comes from the gulf.

Can I come down and sleep in the barn?

[Philamiens]

Thanks for the photos

Becoming cold too here brrrrrrrr 0 celcius this morning

[katoranger]

Originally Posted by SpudRider

Can I come down and sleep in the barn?

Sure. I had the heat on last night. It was about 65 in there.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Philamiens

Thanks for the photos

Becoming cold too here brrrrrrrr 0 celcius this morning

You're welcome.