GDMBR - Jackson alternate?

[SandLizrd]

On the GDMBR maps, there's an alternate dirt-road route to Jackson, WY.

There's also a written paragraph about a connecting route from Jackson to just north of Pinedale.  Follow the Gros Ventre river, past Kinky Creek.

I met one rider who had done that section, and he said it doesn't really exist for a few miles.  He had to drag his bike through some farmer's field and bushwack through the forest and over the downfalls before he got onto real trail again.

Has anyone else done this route? It shows in TopoFusion but maybe it's grown over?  Or maybe that rider was just lost?

[ScottM]

Just speculation here, but usually ACA researched routes are pretty solid.  I don't know anything about this particular alternate, but if it shows up in TF (both aerial and topo), I'd say it's probably there.  There's always a good chance somebody got lost.  With a GPS track to follow you'd be a lot less likely to get off the intended route.

[SandLizrd]

You're right, Scott, but I have a feeling things are changin' a bit out there.

Most importantly, this is different than a real ACA route.  There's a dirt-road alternate to Jackson (real route), and a paragraph about a route intrepid riders might find (not a real route).  We are told of another map (have to get that next). The route is mostly dirt-road, but there's a several-mile piece designated as trail, and I suspect that's the problem area.

Hiking trails are known to become grown over.  I've had to hack my way through forest, desperately spotting blazes on trees and hoping I didn't miss any. Most people blame it on lack of trail maintenance because the park/forest service won't invest any more - at the same time as they're charging fees where they were never charged before?  Revenues should be UP.

The ACA maps aren't new any more. TourDivide riders became desparate when a store on the map didn't really exist (locals wondered because they said it never had existed).  And this wouldn't be the first time a farmer plowed & said what are they going to do about it.

Of course, a GPS route would answer the question.  Certainly the rider I met could've gotten lost.  But he had a trailer and was really unhappy about that trail section, so I must believe he did the best he could? It sure would be nice to ask somebody who's been there!

[ScottM]

Ah, there's some actual trail on the route.  Yeah, that makes it a lot more dubious.

Perhaps post in the ID/MT/WY (all one) forum over on MTBR?  Local knowledge is hard to beat.

For GPS, you could also try searching on motionbased for any sign of a track in that area. 

Are the dirt road portions of the route ok (per that rider that got lost), and only the trail eaten up or non-existent?