Day 30 – Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming to Dubois, Wyoming

Good Winds and Avoiding the Rain

The evening I wrote the last post it started raining heavily for about twenty minutes (after Tom the park employee told me “it doesn’t rain around here”).  It also rained a bit overnight, so the tent was very muddy on the bottom and wet, which doesn’t make packing up fun.

But the morning was great with clear skies and a good view of the Teton range over the lake. I stopped in the store at Colter Bay Village  to pick up supplies for the day and eat a quick breakfast of a cinnamon roll and a small block of cheese. I was in a hurry to get started with the big climb later up Togwotee Pass.

About five miles  later I arrived at a pull-off for the best view yet of the Teton mountain range where I spent about twenty minutes hanging around and taking photos. The view was amazing.  (Yellowstone NP was the country’s, and the world’s, first national park, established in 1872.  Grand Teton NP, just miles away, was established in 1929.)

When I was ready to leave I noticed that my bike, which I had leaned against a post, had fallen over. I felt like I had come back to see that my horse was injured, the way it was just lying on the ground. After checking things out and seeing nothing was broken I got back on the road, which began with a very nice downhill.  After about a quarter mile I checked in my rearview mirror, attached to my helmet, and noticed there was no mirror. So I had to turn around and head back up the hill and to where the bike had fallen over to get it.

I was getting a nice little tailwind, but at mile 20 the climb started. This would last until mile 38, climbing from 6,800 feet to 9,658 feet. It got pretty difficult at times, but the fact that there was some great scenery and that the tailwind was helping a bit made it more bearable.

Close to the top I noticed dark clouds beginning to appear, and about three quarters of a mile from the top a few raindrops started falling and it was getting colder and more windy. I felt if I could get to the other side of the pass I could avoid having to put on the rest of the rain gear (besides the rain jacket I had on).  So that last part of the climb was the worst as I was going as fast as I could, at only 7 mph, trying to make it to the top.

After reaching the summit, I took a quick photo and was off.  The next 25 miles were said to be pure downhill, and it was with only a couple exceptions. It kept looking like it was going to rain and often I contemplated pulling over to put the rest of the gear on.  Eventually, very dark clouds with streaks of rain were all around me, so I put on the rest of the clothing. But somehow it looked bad everywhere except directly above me. With the exception of a few drops, I somehow got lucky and avoided all of it. Then all the sudden it became nice out.

When the road leveled out I noticed the tailwind really picked up and for the last five miles or so into town I was easily cruising in at 19 mph.  At one spot I noticed something I passed that I wanted to take a photo of so I turned around. Riding the other direction was unbearable. There’s a lot of talk among cyclists I’ve spoken with about the unpredictability of the winds in Wyoming.  If you’re going against them it is not going to be a fun day.

So the last few miles of the 68 mile day were fantastic.  If there would have been another town 20 or 30 miles away I would have kept going to take full advantage of it, but towns in Wyoming are few and far between.

Upon arriving in Dubois and heading to the campground I noticed a sign for a very good deal on a motel room. After nine days without a bed, not setting up a tent sounded good.

I’m hoping for more of the same tailwinds today as it’s 70-plus miles to the town of Lander.  If the winds turn against me then there may have to be an alternate plan.