Day 15: Between Rain Storms
Saturday July 3
From Lava Mountain Lodge to Pinedale, WY
94.2 miles, 5550 ft climbed, 993.5 cumulative miles
Predawn alarm with a quick pack up while we ate breakfast sandwiches purchased last night rewarded us with sunrise over the hills. Getting to and over Union pass took all morning and starting couple hours earlier than we normally do meant cooler/friendlier temps. We thought we’d be all alone and enjoy some tranquility but then we started seeing ATVs go by and not just one or two but there were many and they just kept coming towards us and Union pass. It was Saturday and clearly a big recreation activity. They carried coolers, dogs, fishing rods, kids, and kayaks along with all sorts of people. We almost caused a traffic jam with Sprinter van, two ATVs and us on a narrow road.
For about 20 miles we pedaled up and down undulating road at around 9000 ft. The road had lots of loose gravel and although the elevation profile on our bike computers looked fairly flat - it wasn’t!
We watched the dark clouds form and rain in the distance and we also felt a few big rain drops. It seemed like we’re pedaling towards the storm and we found ourselves avoiding puddles.
Today was a 90+ mile day without any services. We filtered water at three different streams and black flies and mosquitoes swarmed us and followed us. Luckily Sarah carried bug spray with was reapplied readily and mostly helped.
Surprisingly we didn’t see any northbound cyclists today - we wondered if they are now all north of Pinedale.
We rode through more cattle ranching country and open range and lost count how many cattle guards we crossed on this trip - 50 or closer to 100? The cattle is always surprised and a little scared of us.
We have admired the metal and woodwork and the pride that goes into each ranches’ archways/signs/entry — gorgeous and impressive welcome signs.
About 25 miles outside of Pinedale, in Cora, a roadside restaurant on its second day of opening was a nice surprise for a coke and ice cream. We rode fast pavement almost into Pinedale until a turn off on hard-packed, still fast rolling, dirt. The clouds were fluffy and storming with lightning far in the distance. The Wind River Range towered on the horizon - we earned these views before hopping on a bike path 2 miles outside of the downtown main strip, again avoiding the storm.
Pinedale feels like another well-earned milestone. Almost halfway!
Published July 4, 2021