Days 18 to 23

I am spending tonight at a motel in Boulder, Wy. After three days of evening thunderstorms I am taking a break to dry everything out, shower, and take care of some equipment issues. I spent several hours in Pinedale today doing laundry, replacing a failed air mattress and failed hydration pack, and doing some food shopping for the next stretch.

Tomorrow I should reach Atlantic City, Wy. After that is probably the most challenging section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from a water management perspective. The route goes from there to Rawlins through the Wyoming Great Basin. It's 130 miles of dirt roads with zero towns or services.  There are two reliable water sources along the way (Diagnus Well and A&M Reservoir). It should be interesting.

Pictures and comments for the last few days appear below.

Lima to Upper Red Rock Lake, MT:

Video leaving Lima (pronounced like the bean):

Saddle issues (fixed with some zip ties and tightening some bolts):

Although most of the day was terrain like shown below it was not as remote as it looks. I don't think more than 30 minutes ever went by without seeing a farm vehicle or road maintenance vehicle. I was also playing leapfrog with a group of younger riders.

Becca, Andrew,  and Tiago, a group I have run into several times since the town of Wiser:

Upper Red Rock Lake (rain it did):

Upper Red Rock Lake, MT to Warm River Campground, ID:

About 10 A.M. I crossed into Idaho over Red Rock Pass and about 24 hour later I crossed into WY.  After descending from Red Rock Pass most of this day was spent going in and out of small towns. The landscape got more forested again.

Incredibly clear river near Island Park, ID:

None shall pass:

Riding near the Warm River (it was as cold as any other):

Warm River Campground was swarming with families and motorhomes and I ended up sharing a site with Ethan, a rider from NY city.

Warm River Campground to Colter Bay:

Lake of lillies:

Somewhere off the beaten path in Grand Teton NP:

Riding through an area of the park that burned about 20 years ago:

Random Teton NP images:

I raced to set up my tent as the thunderstorms started.

Colter Bay to Falls Campground (south of Togwotee Pass):

Ethan, who I rode with part of the day yesterday and shared campgrounds with for the last couple of days: 

He did something only someone lucky enough to be too young not to know better would do. He started out riding the Transamerica Bike Route (an entirely on road route) and switched to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route after running  into some Divide riders. Luckily his bike was somewhat suitable for it.

Leaving Teton NP and climbing Togwotee Pass:

Lake at the top:

The descent, like about half the climb, was on dirt. Due to recent rains I had my first encounter with "death mud". It quickly clogs up your tires and drive train. Thankfully the section with it was brief and I only had to unclog my wheels and chain once.

It rained on me the last 5 miles of the day and throughout the night. I delayed a bit longer than I should have in switching to rain gear and paid a bit for that with some minor shivering while setting up camp.

Falls Campground to Whiskey Grove Campground:

This day started off with a breakfast at Lava Lodge. After that was miles of dirt that was shared with swarm of atv riders. Thankfully most slowed when passing me.  By the time I got to the top of Union Pass the atv riders had all disappeared and the concern became the whether.  Due to lightning in the area I didn't muck about when going over the top of the Pass.

Lava Lodge decorations:

Climbing the last mile of Union Pass:

Riding through an Aspen Grove (these are wonderful, as the temperature drops about 15 degrees in them):

Near the end of the day:

Whiskey Grove Campground to Boulder, WY:

This morning was probably the coldest yet and it took me a while to get out of my tent. The view of the river right next to my campsite made it worthwhile though:

The day went by pretty fast. The first 20 miles was on pavement and really flew by.  I saw a brown bear a couple hundred feet from the road but didn't get a picture.  After passing through Cora I hit Pinedale for some shopping, as mentioned earlier, before knocking out 10 more miles of pavement to get to the motel in Boulder.