Timberline continues its strong commitment to the Yellowstone Country as an exciting bicyling and hiking experience, and our programs for the coming season have been re-structured to include expanded hiking opportunities in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.

Yellowstone/Tetons Biker/Hiker

Dates: (7 days, 6 nights; Sun-Sat) June 20-26; July 11-17; Aug. 8-14

Assembly Point: Jackson (airline service to Jackson; Timberline van transfers prior to and following tour)

Tour Cost: $1,450 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, leaders, tour maps & narratives)

The setting for this tour is the beautiful Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in northwestern Wyoming—the jewels of our national parks system. The rugged Tetons, Jackson and Jenny Lakes, magnificent Lake Solitude in Grand Teton, Old Faithful and a multitude of other thermal features, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone—these are just some of the highlights of a fascinating adventure program.

We'll assemble in Jackson and ride beneath the spires of the Tetons to Grand Teton on Day 1. We'll spend our first evening in Colter Bay and then it's on to Yellowstone in the morning. We'll ride along Jackson Lake and then climb from its shores north of Grand Teton to the Snake River. At Yellowstone's South Entrance, we'll van shuttle over a restricted section of road through Lewis Canyon and then we're back on the road at Grant Village in time for the challenge of Craig Pass and its twin contacts with the Continental Divide. From the Craig summit (8262'), we're into a thrilling 7-mile descent into the Old Faithful area and we'll spend our next two nights at the grand Old Faithful Inn.

Day 3 may be a layover day at Old Faithful but it is anything but a rest day. One of our options on this day is a fascinating 13-mile hike deep into the Yellowstone backcountry along a trail that takes us to both Mystic and Fairy Falls as well as to Imperial Geyser, one of the most active thermal features in the Yellowstone backcountry. Another remarkable aspect of this hike is the insight that it offers into the process of regeneration of the Yellowstone forests that were devastated by the fires of l988.

It's back on our bikes on Day 4 as we ride to Madison along the Firehole River and, after another brief shuttle and visit to the Norris Geyser Basin, across the park to Canyon Village. We'll spend the evening at Canyon and devote the morning of Day 5 exploring the magnificent Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We'll cycle the rims, both north and south, and hike to the viewpoints along the rims. Early-afternoon, we'll van shuttle back to the South Entrance and ride through Grand Teton to Jackson Lake, where we'll spend our final two overnights at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

Talk about making lemonade out of lemons, we might just as well hike to Lake Solitude on our layover day (14 miles). For what it's worth, we at Timberline happen to believe that the Lake Solitude hike is the absolute best day hike in our entire hiking program. Following a final evening at the Jackson Lake Lodge, we'll ride from Grand Teton along the Moose-Wilson Road with a visit to Teton Village prior to our return to Jackson.

Total cycling mileage—175
Total hiking mileage—27

Beartooth/Big Horns Biker/Hiker

Date: (7 days, 6 nights; Sun-Sat) July 25-31

Assembly Point: Billings (Laurel) (airline service to Billings; Timberline van transfers to Laurel prior to tour and from Ranchester to Billings following tour)

Tour Cost: $1,395 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, leaders, transfers, tour maps & narratives)

The sign is somewhat weathered, the words slightly faded and difficult to read, but the message is such that the excitement builds. Out there on the fringe of the Big Horn Basin, under the biggest, bluest sky that the Big Sky Country of Montana can offer, we're about to enter Beartooth Country. That sign confirms that we're headed for Beartooth Highway—"the most beautiful highway in America." Hyperbole? Chamber of Commerce rubbish? If anything, when we're climbing Beartooth the next day, you'll believe that the late Charles Kuralt's words were grossly understated.

Timberline's legacy since its inception has always included spectacular alpine ascents among the highlights of its tours. Trail Ridge, Loveland, Slumgullion, Independence, Red Mountain, Wolf Creek—the mighty Colorado passes that carry us to timberline and beyond—they pale in comparison to the absolute challenge and awesome beauty of Beartooth.

As we've worked toward the recrafting of our Yellowstone Country programs in light of National Park Service cycling restrictions in Yellowstone, the concept to which we remained committed is that Beartooth would survive as a viable component of our program. With the creation of Beartooth/Big Horns Biker/Hiker, we've achieved a cherished goal.

In reality, our new program resembles our prior Beartooth/Big Horns Alpiner that has been a part of Yellowstone Country for several years. We've replaced cycling days in the park with hiking opportunities in the magnificent Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness—an area with which we are intimately familiar in the context of our Beartooth Hike.

Our tour assembles in Laurel, MT, just west of Billings and we'll ride toward the mighty Beartooths on Day 1. Our destination this day is Red Lodge and the magical Rock Creek Resort at the gateway to Custer National Forest and the Beartooth road. We'll pause at Red Lodge on Day 2 and hike to beautiful Timberline Lake, nestled in a glacial cirque at timberline with phenomenal views of the towering snowclad Beartooth peaks (9 miles).

This day's adventure doesn't end with our return to the trailhead. We're headed for dinner at the incomparable Grizzly Bar in Roscoe, but be forewarned, some of last year's guests have threatened to return this season if only to be part of another Grizzly Bar experience. We'll spend a second evening at Rock Creek, awaiting our engagement the following morning with Beartooth.

We could go on and on about the Beartooth experience. Simply stated, it is the absolute best! No matter what and where you've cycled in the past, and notwithstanding what lies ahead, Beartooth is without equal. The climb begins as soon as you leave the breakfast table. Twenty-five miles later as you crest the 10,947' summit, with a sense that you are the highest point on Earth, you'll agree that the thrill of alpine cycling is the climb, and not the descent.

The Soda Butte Lodge in Cooke City is our home for the next two nights, and we'll devote Day 4 to the Beartooth High Lakes, a 9-mile trek to timberline that we consider our favorite Beartooths hike.

We've always wanted to ride the beautiful, lightly traveled Chief Joseph Highway that links Cooke City with Cody and, in '99, we'll at last have an opportunity to do so. We're headed to Cody on Day 5 and we'll arrive with ample time to visit the fascinating Buffalo Bill Museum. An evening rodeo in Cody also is an integral part of this western adventure.

As we ride the Big Horn Basin on Day 6, the mighty Big Horns, at first barely visible on the eastern horizon, are an ever-present reminder that the final day of this adventure will be anything but anticlimactic. We'll spend a final evening at the Shell Creek Guest Ranch and head into Shell Canyon the following morning. Shortly into the climb, we'll visit Shell Falls and our climb continues to the summit of Granite Pass (9033'). And then, what better way to conclude this week-long adventure than with a great 18-mile downhill to Ranchester, and a final van shuttle return to Billings.

Total cycling mileage—320
Total hiking mileage—18

Big Sky Classic

Date: (10 days, 9 nights; Fri-Sun) Aug. 20-29

Assembly Point: Jackson, WY (airline service to Jackson prior to tour and from Missoula following tour; Timberline van transfers to and from airports)

Tour Cost: $1,995 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, leaders, transfers, tour maps & narratives)

If your image of the West is one of majestic, snow-capped mountains; crystalline glacial lakes, broad secluded valleys, and a vastness that will expand the spirit and soul of all who behold it, the Big Sky Country of Montana, then, is the embodiment of the West.

In our Big Sky Classic, we believe that we have captured the magic of Montana, and we've blended this magic with the fascination and excitement of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks to create an extraordinary western adventure experience.

In the course of this newest of our Classic adventures, we'll explore Grand Teton and Yellowstone and then leave the parks for the solitude of the Big Sky Country of Montana. The Montana that we'll visit during the final seven days of Big Sky is a land that is extraordinarily rich, not only in its unparalleled natural beauty, but also in its history and culture. In many ways, the story of settlement of Montana is the story of settlement of the entire Rocky Mountain West. The hunger for precious metals and the booms and busts that attended their discovery; the inevitable conflicts triggered by the incursions of settlers onto sacred Indian lands; the emergence of the cattle industry and the cattle barons and cowboys who were the players in that saga—this legacy of Montana is ours to experience.

Our program assembles in Jackson Hole and we'll cycle in the shadow of the Tetons on Day 1 into Grand Teton Park and on to Jackson Lake and an overnight at the grand Jackson Lake Lodge. Day 2, a layover day, is anything but a rest day because we're hiking to Lake Solitude, the quintessential day hike in all of the Tetons (14 miles).

On Day 3, we'll cycle north through Grand Teton along Jackson Lake to the South Entrance of Yellowstone. National Park Service prohibitions against cycling through Lewis Canyon require a short van shuttle to Grant Village, but we're back on our bikes for an encounter with Craig Pass. From the Craig summit (8262') at the Continental Divide, it's downhill to Old Faithful and a night at the Old Faithful Inn.

Early morning of Day 4, we'll cycle along the Firehole River to Madison, shuttle the short distance to the Norris Geyser Basin, and then ride across the park to Canyon Village. Following an overnight at Canyon, we'll spend much of the next morning exploring the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone as we cycle along both the north and south rims. Late in the day, we'll ride along the Madison River through the park's west gate for an evening in West Yellowstone.

The massive Madison Canyon earthquake of 1959 profoundly altered the appearance of portions of the Yellowstone Country. On our way to Ennis on Day 6, we'll visit the Earthquake Interpretive Center and ride the shores of Quake Lake, a creation of that cataclysmic event. We'll climb from Ennis the following morning and then descend into the historic mining town of Virginia City. The downhill continues as we approach the Beaverhead River enroute to our overnight in Dillon.

A "hole" was the term used by early settlers to designate a valley, and much of our next two days belong to the magnificence of Montana's Big Hole. The Big Hole, ringed by the Pioneer Mountains to the east and the Bitterroots to the west, is the heart of Montana's cattle country. Two moderate passes, Badger (675\60') and Big Hole (7360'), mark our journey to Jackson and an overnight at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge with the promise of a long, leisurely soak in the natural hot springs at the lodge. A side trip to Bannack State Park, site of Montana's first territorial capital, is an option on this day.

Day 9 is one of the most extraordinary days in our total program. Following a short ride to Wisdom, we'll turn west toward the towering Bitterroots. Shortly before entering the Beaverhead Forest, we'll visit the Big Hole Battlefield National Monument, site in 1877 of one of the major conflicts between the government and Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce. From the battlefield, we'll begin a long gradual climb to the Continental Divide atop Chief Joseph Pass (7264'), followed by a rapid descent to Lost Trail Pass astride the Montana/Idaho border. The downhill continues into the Bitterroot Valley to Hamilton, where we'll spend our final night, and then it's on to Missoula where our program concludes.

Total Mileage – 485