Today we rode from Colter Bay, Wyoming, US to an informal campground at the base of the climb to Union Pass, Wyoming, US. Sunny weather with little clouds, later changing into rain and thunderstorms (our first real rain). Road conditions included paved roads, and different gravel roads. Highlights of the day include the Tetons!

Riding statistics: on Friday, August 19, 2022, day 19 on the route, it took 10:24h (07:18h moving time), between 08:52 and 19:16, to cover 104 km (65 miles), including 1566 m (5138 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14 km/h (9 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 47 km/h (29 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 24 °C (75 °F) with a minimum of 8 °C (46 °F) and a maximum of 48 °C (118 °F).

Totals: So far, it took 5 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes, and 25 seconds of cycling time to cover 1913 km (1189 miles), including 23041 m (75598 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.7 km/h (9.1 mph).

Streets Terrain Satellite Topo

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Leaflet | Map data: © OpenStreetMap

Yesterday evening we got into our tents around 11pm. Because of that we had decided to not set any alarm clocks and see when we would get up. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off my alarm, so at 6am it went of. No big deal, I was already awake. Since it was still quiet in Anna’s tent, I decided to get some more rest. However, a very active squirrel decided to start collecting pinecones for his winter stack. Of course, from the treetop exactly above my tent. This little squirrel threw out dozens of pinecones. Most cones landed just beside my tent, but still quite a few on top of my tent. In a way it was quite funny. Around 7:15am I got out of my tent and started preparations for the day. Anna got up a bit later, and around 09:30am we left the campground.

On our way out of Colter Bay we first stopped at the grocery store to buy breakfast, snacks, and water. The weather was beautiful, and from the parking lot at Colter Bay we had a magnificent view on the Grand Tetons mountain range. We had to leave the park at the east entry and while cycling through the National Park we stopped several times to enjoy the amazing scenery. Several miles out of the National Park we took a turnoff onto a gravel road where we would start the climb to Togwotee Pass.

The first part of the climb would be a 10km (6 miles) section on this gravel road. The road surface varied between nice gravel road and a more difficult rough road. We enjoyed the scenery because we still had occasional views on the Grand Tetons. Also, the forest that we were riding through was a treat. During this part of the climb, we met a father with two sons that were also riding (a part of?) the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. We would see them a few more times today. This section of the climb ended at an intersection with a paved road. There was a gas station where we bought snacks and drinks. While enjoying our little break we met the father with the sons again, and a north-bounder that started in Breckenridge.

The second part of the climb, which was also about 10km (6 miles), was on a paved road. Fortunately, it had a wide shoulder. While climbing to Togwotee Pass, we also passed huge signs (illuminated) warning drivers not to stop for bears. This was apparently an area where many bears are present. We also passed many streams and rivers, where people where (fly-)fishing and Stand-Up Paddle boarding.

Just after reaching Togwotee Pass, we had to take a turnoff into a gravel road. We passed a small lake and very dark clouds started to develop into a thunderstorm. Not much later we passed a huge sign stating that you needed a high clearance 4×4, and that the road was impassable when wet. There was no rain (yet) and we decided to continue. From the tracks in the road, we could clearly see this would be impassable when wet. It was all dried-up clay with very deep tracks. We made good progress, but the thunderstorm was catching up and it started to rain a bit. We could still ride the road, but it did start to worry us a little and we pushed on. We saw that we still needed to cover 15km (9 miles) before we would be back on the main road. The rain got worse and worse, and we decided to stop and put on our rain gear. Now we were even more worried about the road condition. Fortunately, it turned out that we passed the dried-up clay section and were back on a fairly good gravel road. The rain changed into hail, and we decided to take cover under some trees. Since it was only an afternoon thunderstorm, we had good hopes that it would not take long. After about 20 minutes, a bit longer than we hoped, it almost stopped raining, and we decided to continue. Hoping that the rest of this unpaved section would be rideable. Otherwise, it would be a very long hike-a-bike. All-in-all the road condition was not too bad, however we had to be cautious. It was very slippery as we both experienced. At the side of the roads, where the road surface is not level, the bike just slipped away from underneath us. One of us just got lucky, the other one a bit less (bit still lucky enough). Meanwhile we had started a downhill, all the way down we had to be very careful. Despite the tricky conditions we enjoyed it all. Eventually, after about 12km (7.5 miles) we were back on the main road. Still the same road we used for getting out of Grand Teton National Park. The road was completely dry, not a single drop of rain over here. We followed the road for a while and arrived at the Lava Mountain Lodge, which included a bar / restaurant.

We decided to stop and have a late lunch / early dinner. Although there were still dark clouds, and we were wondering if the bad weather we catch up again, we decided that we were not finished for the day. At the bar we ate a hamburger with a cold drink. Just before we ate the last of our meal, the dad with the two sons arrived as well. They were completely covered in mud. They had tried to get through the impassable section when it was wet, and they had not succeeded. The mud got their bikes to a halt, and they could not drive any further. With a lot of effort, they returned to the main road and followed it to the Lava Mountain Lodge, skipping the offroad detour entirely. While we prepared to continue cycling for a while, the dad and sons decided to stay at a cabin.

The idea is to make more miles as long as we feel comfortable. The more we ride today, the easier it may be to reach Pinedale on Saturday. This is where Anna has agreed to meet up with John (her significant other) for a late birthday meetup. Of course, these additional miles were almost all uphill. We honestly started to feel our legs, and the weather remained unpredictable. We were able to make it to the top of the pass but there was no real option for setting up our tents. About 3km (1.5 files) after the top of the pass we found an informal campground. It was between several smaller streams and willow bushes, perfect bear country. Since it also started to rain a bit, we decided that this would be our campsite for the night. As soon as we’d setup our tents we hung our food at a bridge (a low bridge, but there were no trees close by), and went into our tents to get some sleep. Albeit a bit nervous.

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