GDMBR Day 42
Start: Colter Bay Campground, Grand Tetons NP
Finish: Pond’s Lodge, Island Park, ID
Miles: 90.4 miles
Odometer: 1,798.6 miles
Ascent: 4,700 feet
Descent: 5,300 feet
Location: https://share.garmin.com/Judice
Highlights:
I anticipated that today’s trip would be incredibly beautiful. The route took me down the Ashton-Flagg Ranch Road along the southern border of Yellowstone National Park. My expectations turned out to be correct, it was beautiful. The road was closed because of snow which was nice because there was absolutely no one else out there for miles and miles. I finally began climbing to elevation and had periods where I had to get off my bike and push through snow drifts. As I climbed higher and higher I pushed more and more. At one point I was pushing over and through 3 to 4 feet of snow with some postholing when I saw some teenagers up ahead with shovels digging through the snow. My first thought was that these kids were out wheeling on a closed road and got themselves stuck in the snow. As I got closer I realized there were a couple of adults supervising and in fact these kids were from a Boy Scout troop camped nearby who decided to shovel out the road. How incredible is that. This was hard work. They did have a tractor helping out but for the most part the scouts were working with a singular focus. I was happy to see them because the road on the backside (or downhill) was completely clear of snow and that made my job a lot easier and fun. I thanked them profusely and told them how terrific they were. The scouts were very curious about my trip and how I started down at the Mexican border.
I was hoping to hit the hundred mile mark today. I was running out of juice on my external battery and iPhone (which I use for navigation) so I stopped at a national forest campground near a beautiful river. Over in the group camping area an extended family reserved the spot for a family reunion. They invited me to use the electrical outlets to charge my phone and battery and generally welcomed me into their space. After eating lunch, visiting, and charging everything up I jumped back on my bike. From the campground there was an old rails-to-trails path following for miles and miles along the river. The views was stunning. I rode easily and enjoyed the breathtaking views down into the canyons and the river’s rapids below. In the late afternoon scary, dark clouds descended and thunder and lightning and hail sent a fright through me. Amidst open fields and groves of aspens, there was really no place to seek cover. The hail was thick and heavy and battering my helmet and rain jacket. The road begin to fill with water and hail “marbles” and reminded me of being a kid out riding in south Louisiana rainstorms through puddles. I guess I was trying to make it fun because I fully expected to be struck dead by lightning. As fast as the dark clouds flew over, they drifted away and I was left with sunny skies and wet roads for the rest of the afternoon.
The rains left lots of puddles in the wet dirt road. Since I was completely soaked already I didn’t mind riding through these little lakes. However, I came to one puddle and as I was riding through I began to sink further and further until I felt like there was no bottom. I hopped off my bike into waist deep water. I had to drag and carry my bike to the other side. This wiped the smile off my face. At this point I was on about mile 80 and pretty tired. As soon as I hit civilization I was completely wasted and checked in to a cabin because I felt I deserved a shower after the rough afternoon. I would go to the local bar/restaurant later and eat an enormous meal, including local fresh trout, a beet salad, and chocolate molten lava cake with ice cream.