Touring in October
 

Hey guys, planning my trip from the Oregon coast to Eastern North Dakota and I have a couple questions. Just ordered up the ACA maps to plan the route, taking the Lewis and Clark trail for most of the way. Working on my gear list for the trip and I am wondering what kind of weather conditions to expect with taking a tour in October? Anyone have experience touring in the late fall months?

Really, that is the wrong time of year for that route. Expect snow in Yellowstone. I've had snow there in early September a couple times.

If you are already On the Oregon coast, in October, snow will not be expected ...

but as you are going east and gaining altitude all the time no Promises ..

I'd go south down the Coast , that time of year , If I were You.

i think i would be concerned about cold weather, but than again, cold weather makes me miserable. i did the Southern ACA in Dec, Jan, and found it acceptable... the northern ACA was May-Aug and was great.

Are you a gambling man? If so, do it and hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Or strike out in mid September. It'll all work out.

Fall is the best time to tour. Just make sure it's Fall and not Winter at your touring latitude.

I began the Trans Am route last year on the Oregon coast around the second week of September. Got as far as Yellowstone, when snow, wind, cold temps and an even worse forecast forced me to pull the plug. Not saying you cannot do it. It just wasn't worth it to me. My journal:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/..._id=13035&v=fv

i had a similar experience in Yellowstone. fortunately, i was prepared for it...

but, in any case, you could always catch a ride over the Yellowstone, or Glacier (if you are going that way).

In '82, i was on foot, and even though there was plenty of snow and cold in Yellowstone and at the top of Togwotee Pass, for the rest of my travel through Wyoming and Colorado, it was glorious up until Thanksgiving.

The L&C route doesn't go through Yellowstone.

OP: Do some weather research re: places along the route. For example, searching for average daily temperature three forks, montana yields a chart from TWC showing an average daily high in October of 61 and an average nightly low of 32. Again, those are averages over the entire month. It's likely to be below those averages later in the month. Dickinson, ND is 58 and 28 respectively. Only you can decide whether you would be comfortable with those (and possibly worse) conditions, keeping in mind that you could hit some snow on mountain passes.

IMO the main thing is to know what you might be up against and how you will react to such. That will be a function of many things. Time allotment, aversion to weather extremes and plain old want-to. I had some good advice when I began a tour that I knew was much later than it ideally should be. That being that the weather can turn on a dime and you may have to wait it out on occasion. Otherwise you end up hating life, fighting the elements. While I did wait, the situation and moreover the forecast for where I was heading was even worse. While I could wait out a few days, the ten day forecast held no such promise. Then it becomes a time element problem. How much time do you have to do the ride? For me, my window of opportunity was not big enough to wait it out. And with advancing time, days get shorter etc. Bottom line, I did the tour for my enjoyment. When that wasn't happening, being home with family and work(yes I love what I do for a living) provided greater utility than enduring the balance of the tour.

Thanks for the advice guys. I have about a month to do the entire trip and I will be taking off from Oregon at the end of September and touring through October. From what I can tell from the maps I've looked at so far, it seems like the Lewis and Clark route follows the Amtrak train route relatively close so there is that option to bail from the tour if for some reason the weather turns for the worst.

I've been doing research on average temps and whatnot for different points along the tour route and the averages don't seem to be too bad. I think if I pack some cold gear for those just in case moments I should hopefully be alright, and if it turns for the worst just hop on the train and take that home.

After roughly 2/3 of the way east up the Columbia River Gorge, Amtrak's Empire Builder heads north to Spokane then across northern ID, around Glacier National Park and then across the "High Line" (the U.S. 2 corridor) in MT and then across northern ND before dipping down to Fargo. You could have up to a couple hundred kilometers between you and rail line. Many more if you take the more southerly option of the L&C route that passes through places like Wisdom, Dillon and Billings. (For example, Missoula to Whitefish to catch the train would require a good 2 days of riding, if not 2 1/2.) Also keep in mind that you can only get on board with a bike at stations with checked baggage service. (You will also need to box your bike.) In MT, the only stations with checked baggage service are Whitefish, Shelby and Havre. In ND, you have only Williston, Grand Forks and Fargo.

If you are planning to go the southerly way across Lost Trail and Chief Jospeh Passes and down into Dillion, etc., I would expect those "just in case" moments to be "more likely than not" moments. Chief Joseph is around 7,300', and Wisdom, in the valley, is right around 6,000', which is why the average low in October is about 20. When we were there in '11 it got down to about 39 the last night of June. The nice thing is that if it's clear and sunny that helps take some of the chill off.

Not trying to discourage you at all. I am sure it will be very pretty. Just want to let you know what you might encounter. BTW...If you find yourself in Twin Bridges, make sure to check out the Bike Camp there. It's a very nice facility.

I toured in the winter in Canada and I didn't find it at all that bad, but I was able to stay indoors almost every night. You should definitely check out warmshowers.org, if you haven't already. Also there was a thread about winter touring last year, not what you will face, but it may be helpful. Winter Touring Help

Definitely do some test runs in the spring, when the weather would be somewhat similar to October. 1-2 day loaded tour would be great too.

As for enjoyment, its really just about how you look at it. But as gif4445 said, if you don't enjoy it you can always pull the plug, there is no need putting yourself through something you hate just for completing it.