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| Not that there’s no beauty in desolate wastelands, but… it made me happy to see this! |
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| That weather thankfully moved away |
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| Climbing up Togwotee Pass — beautiful and not too difficult now that I’m pretty strong on the bike 😇 |
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| (Maybe helped by favorable winds) |
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| A lot of snow at the top |
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| Another great sign |
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| Coming down the pass I had my first view of the Tetons. The German guy I met at the rest station a couple days before told me that it would be great to see the Tetons for the first time and I didn’t understand exactly what they were — I thought being back in the Rockies was it, which wasn’t that interesting. But when I saw this, I said “WOW” out loud. That night I camped at the bottom of the pass and got my tent up a couple hours before a MASSIVE lightning storm started nearby, to the point where I could feel the thunder through the ground in my tent. I’d seen a lot of TransAm racers and there was a couple that I knew were on the pass when it hit — I hope they found shelter |
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| I survived the storm and entered the park |
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| I’m pretty sure this was a bald eagle! National Geographic? 😏 |
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| I took a detour and a day off at Jenny Lake to explore that part of the park. The shuttle boat takes you across |
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| An absolutely stunning trail through Cascade Canyon. Looks like something out of Lord of the Rings! When I didn’t have people around me I had to sing to myself to warn bears I was coming (so they don’t get surprised — one of the worst things you can do) |
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I didn’t have a backpack so I settled for the ultra-ultralight solution — grocery bag! Not comfortable or durable but it carried 2L of water, sunscreen and a Cliff Bar for many miles. (Take notes Ben.) A guy with proper hiking gear who I passed a couple times laughed each time he saw my setup
The second night in the campsite (with a great view of the mountains from my tent) I had Silja from Minnesota for company. She had driven out to hike the backcountry — snow messed up her initial plan so she was down in the established site. I was pretty scared walking around the campground at night and I can’t imagine how it would have been in the actual wilderness! (She had an accidental discharge of bear spray while removing the safety when she thought there was a bear so it must be terrifying! At least it would be for me) |
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| Made it! |
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| Some climbing to get into the park proper |
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| Overpriced general store, but what can you do |
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| The next day I rode a 65 mile round trip essentially just to see this Mud Volcano. Absolutely not worth it on my “day off” from riding the TransAm |
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| Although I finally saw moose up close |
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| I missed my bottle cage when putting the bottle back in and it skidded off down the road! It barely just pinged off the rear tire of the car behind me. I’m so grateful I can keep my matching bottles so my bike has a great aesthetic still |
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| Most successful campground meal (canned chili on charred tortilla) |
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| I met Ken (left, from NY) and Richard (center, from the Netherlands) at the campsite. Ken started in Virginia Beach and Richard in Yorktown (ie both at the Atlantic) so they have thousands of miles behind them. Ken agrees that my decision to start in Colorado is the correct way to ride the TransAm trail. We had a colossal lightning storm (bigger than the previous one I mentioned and right on top of the park) at 1am and I had to run out of the tent to put my bike under shelter, just before the rain started |
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| On the road with other people for the first time! I had to wake up at 6:15 so it’s not going to be sustainable, but we can meet up at towns if we do the same distances |
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| We arrived at Old Faithful 10 minutes before it went off! (Happens about every 90 minutes) |
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| Drying things out from the night’s rain. My tent is muddy now ☹️ |
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| The Yellowstone Inn is again like something out of the Lord of the Rings |
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| The Grand Prismatic Springs were a great recommendation from a rider a week ahead. The turquoise blue pool was super inviting but I resisted the call to the void |
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| On the way out of the park |
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| New state: Montana! |
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| Behind the scenes of that picture |
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| We stayed at a very old hotel — love the atmosphere! |
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Where I’m writing the post from
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Something concerning: there’s a cold weather front moving in and a winter weather advisory for parts of Montana. We may get snow in a few days. Will have to make sure I’m in a town if that happens.
Ah that explains the long out n back on Strava. You must really love riding to do a 100k on your day off 😁.
ReplyDeleteThe grocery bag is a great UL solution for a short hike!
It is impressive out there: the animals, the scenery, the small towns, but especially the vastness and silence where there is no one else around. I've done it many time by motorcycle, which is half way from being on a bike to being in a car. It's too fast, and the noise of the bike makes it difficult to really soak it all in, so not like being on a bike. But the vast expanse. So different from the UK, yes?
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that it took a bit of time to realise why you took a photo of a painted rock!
ReplyDeleteCall of the void: avoid at all costs! At least you're following the call of the wild…
ReplyDeleteThat hotel looks cool
ReplyDelete