Today we rode from Buffalo Campground, Idaho, US to Colter Bay, Wyoming, US. Sunny weather with little clouds, thunderstorms (no rain) end of afternoon. Road conditions included some paved roads, gravel roads, jeep track, and some single track. Highlights of the day include riding the Yellowstone Branch Line Trail, getting towards and into the Tetons.

Riding statistics: on Thursday, August 18, 2022, day 18 on the route, it took 11:36h (08:36h moving time), between 07:18 and 18:54, to cover 144 km (89 miles), including 1367 m (4485 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 17 km/h (11 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 57 km/h (35 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 12 °C (54 °F) and a maximum of 47 °C (117 °F).

Totals: So far, it took 5 days, 4 hours, 58 minutes, and 0 seconds of cycling time to cover 1809 km (1124 miles), including 21475 m (70459 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.7 km/h (9.2 mph).

Today we started again with our usual schedule, alarm clocks set at 6am. Because of the traffic during the night, we both did not sleep well. One positive thing about this road, is that it reminds me of our holiday in 2019. Back than we have used this road to ride from West-Yellowstone to Jackson. That early in the season it was not possible to ride to the Yellowstone south entrance. I tried to call my loved ones because they were already at the airport where they would depart for their holiday to Mallorca. Unfortunately, I could only get a data signal, no voice call. No problem, we used a messenger app, and I wished them a good flight. After a cleaning up, a quick breakfast, and preparing the bikes we left the campground.

Almost immediately after leaving the campground we got onto a gravel road, which quickly changed into a rough dirt road. The road went through a beautiful scenery, pine forests, meadows, cows, and power lines. After about 15km (9.5 miles) we turned onto a more formal trail, the Yellowstone Branch Line Trail. It used to be a railroad track in the past. First, we went through meadows and gras land. Then it changed, and we went into a canyon. We were still pretty at a high altitude, and there was a fast-running river deep below. Gradually, we went downhill until we were at the same level as the river. Near the end of the trail, we also saw a (closed) tunnel where the train must have gone through. We had to go around, over quite a narrow edge. The trail ended at the Warm River Campground, which looked amazing. If we had known, we would have cycled a bit longer yesterday, so that we could have slept here instead of the Buffalo campground.

After passing the Warm River Campground we had to get up a steep climb, bringing us back up at a higher elevation. Fortunately, the climb was on a paved road. Not much later we turned onto a gravel road again. We would follow this gravel road almost all day, bringing us all the way into the Grand Tetons. Again, the scenery changed as we gradually climbed (and climbed, and climbed). The first view on the Grand Tetons mountain range was stunning. Quite a highlight so far. As we neared them, we got much better views on them. We had a lot of climbing to do this morning because we had to get into the Grand Tetons mountain range. We passed different lakes, some of them were completely covered with water plants, and you could not see any water anymore. The last section of the gravel road went through a forest in which all trees were dead. It seemed to been have caused by forest fires in the past. There were already some new trees, but these were still very small.

At 4:30pm, we arrived at the Flag Ranch. This is a hotel and restaurant at the intersection of the roads between Yellowstone National Park (south entrance) and Grand Teton National Park. We bought snacks & drinks, and took a short break inside the Flag Ranch. Unfortunately, the restaurant would only open at 5:30pm. Meanwhile, we called the campground in Colter Bay, 25km (15.5 miles) down the road, to check availability. There were plenty of camping spots available, and they have showers, laundry, and a restaurant. We decided not to wait for the restaurant at Flag Ranch, but to cycle on to Colter Bay immediately. The road to Colter Bay is a wide paved road, with a wide shoulder. We enjoyed cycling this road, and it reminded me again to our 2019 family holiday.

When leaving Flag Ranch, a thunderstorm started to develop. We already heard thunder and some rain drops started to fall. Fortunately, it passed us. Somehow, it looked like a short steep climb followed by a long downhill to Colter Bay (at that moment we called it heaven because of the showers, laundry, and restaurant we were looking forward too). Of course, the downhill wasn’t a downhill, it was like every other day, up & down, over & over again. We stopped at the park sign and the lake to take some photos. It looked quite differently compared to the snow- and ice-covered landscape in Spring 2019.

Eventually, it was already getting darker, we arrived at the Colter Bay Campground. We went into the office and got ourselves a camp spot which we could share again by putting both our tents in the same spot. After quickly setting up our tents, we went for a shower, do groceries, ate at the restaurant (expensive and not that great), and do laundry. It was already pitch dark when we cycled back to our tents.

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