Day 19: Pavement

Wednesday July 7

A&M Reservoir to Teton Reservoir, WY

72.1 miles, 2027 ft climbed, 1231.5 cumulative miles

We were the first to leave the reservoir but another couple of riders were not far behind us having set their alarm to 5 am same as us. We usually get up early and ride early to beat the heat but everyone has their own routine.

The sage was fragrant as we left the reservoir. Families of Pronghorns ran across the road just in front of us. A badger raced next to the road to get back into his hole. We also saw wild horses in the distance (see first pic and zoom waaay in).

15 miles into the ride, a turn and surprise paved road. This was the kind of asphalt where grass and weeds grow in the cracks. We started to see a few houses/trailers scattered in the distance and joked that this is the kind of place where you can dump a dead body and no one will ever find it. The pavement improved when we merged with the highway which saw us all the way to Rawlins. A long climb into Rawlins and straight to the grocery store. 50 miles by noon done.

After about 2.5 hours in town, getting groceries, lunch, sorting accommodations ahead and catching up with WIFi access, we braved the afternoon heat and a long climb out of town on the other side.

We were relieved to be out of the basin and were planning on camping at the Teton Reservoir, just 15 miles south of town. The reservoir was underwhelming but the scattered sites were awesome and we picked one based on the wooden wind break it still had standing. There must be a reason why they were up.

Filtering water from the reservoir was a priority as we needed to fill up all our water bottles. The water was silty and we questioned how well our water filters will handle it. There was clay and the kind of mud that grabs you and pulls you in all around the reservoir. Let’s just say that one of us had a close encounter with the grabby mud, lost, fell in with all her rain gear on (which she wears even if it’s 95 degrees because it’s the only thing mosquitoes can’t bite through) and wasn’t happy about it. If only we had pictures!

We cooked dinner and watched the sky change colors as the sun went down.

Just as we were getting ready for bed, an intense wind storm started. Sarah was already in her tent, using her body weight to keep her tent standing. Irena was returning from the pit toilet whose windows rattled from the wind and by the time she hurried to her tent, three stakes already popped up from the ground. Just as quickly as the storm started, it was over and we took quick action to reinforce our tents. Then it was dead calm and warm.

We are relieved to have the Great Basin behind us and feel fortunate that the weather was in our favor.