Day 26 - Section 2A/2B - Wyoming
08/20/06
Warm River Campground, ID 219m to EOS 266m
to Colter Bay, Grand Teton, WY 16m = 63
miles
Grand Teton’s
 My original goal for today was to reach campsites 1-8
which I reached by 5pm. However, I ran out of food and
decided to go into Flagg City and pick up groceries. Big
mistake. Flagg City is another example of an overpriced
resort that has nothing special to offer. Camp sites 1-8
were really nice and I wish I had stayed there instead
of pushing on. Once I got to Flagg City I was disgusted
by their $25 campsites that were noisy and mediocre at best.
I pushed on to Colter Bay in the Grand Teton National
Park. Fantastic! I rolled in to camp at dark and I mean
it was pitch black! They had a full service grocery
store, showers, and a laundry facility. All these things
were a blessing. I set up camp, got some groceries for
dinner, and took a shower. Oh and camp fee’s were only
$12.
After feeling clean and well fed, I crawled into my
tent, and here I am now, feeling beat, writing in my
journal.
I have pushed fairly hard over the last few days and
my body needs some recovery time so I think I will stay
here for a few days and rest.
Day 27 - Section 2B - Wyoming
08/21/06
Colter Bay, Grand Teton, WY 16m to Brooks
Lake, WY 61m = 45 miles
Rest not - Pushing My Body to the Max
This morning after taking a shower and doing laundry,
I went to the Coulter Bay Café and had a huge buffet
breakfast. The food was great and I made six trips to
the buffet bar. I don't think the cafe made any profit
on my breakfast!
The air was thick with smoke and I thought I better
go to the Ranger office and find out where the fire is.
The National Park Rangers couldn’t tell me much about it
because it was out their jurisdiction. But they said it
was east, towards the area I will be riding. My
intuition told me that I better pack it up and head out.
I stocked up on groceries to last for several days
and hit the trail. The time was now 12pm. So much for a
few days of rest.
 I stopped at the USFS Ranger station East of Moran
Junction and found out that the “Purdy Fire” was not
close to the main route, and would not impact my travel
plans. However the short-cut alternate rout was closed because fire
had overtaken the route.
My intuition still told me I needed to push on and
get over Union Pass ASAP!
 I pushed on and rode up Togwetee Pass to Brooks Lake.
That was not an easy ride. It was a steep up hill and it
was a relentlessly long. Once I passed Togwetee Pass and
hit the trail leading to Brooks Lake, the trail was
terribly rough and severely rutted. It was impassable
even by ATV’s. I could see were many cars had been
recently stuck in the mud. Even though the map profile
said this section of the ride was downhill, I kept
riding up hill all the way to the lake.
I arrived at Brooks Lake near dusk. It was a
designated campground and it was supposed to have water,
but the park service closed the pump do to contamination.
It was a beautiful sub alpine lake that was nestled
in between amazing granite rock walls. It was one of the
nicer camp sites I had stayed at.
Day 28 - Section 2B - Wyoming
08/22/06
Brooks Lake, WY 61m to Whisky Grove
Campground, WY 125m = 61 miles
Burning Up The Trail
I broke camp early and picked up water at a gas
station further down the road. Then I came to a
construction zone and again I had to get a ride with the
pilot car. The detour lasted 14 miles, which was all
downhill. These detours are supposed to go up hill, not
down!
I pushed hard and fast up Union Pass. I was in animal
mode and put forth every bit of strength I could muster
to get up that hill quickly. The hill just about killed
me. It was steep, the climbing was relentless, and it
was super muddy. The fire crews were using the road to
transport their heavy equipment and USFS were keeping it
watered down for dust control.
 I consumed 3 bagels and went through a gallon of
Gatorade just getting to the top. Once I got to the top,
a firefighter pulled me over and told me that the road
will be closed soon and that I needed to get down. The
official GDMBR route was the new fire boundary, which was not the
case yesterday. I talked to another firefighter, while
eating lunch, and during the half hour we talked the
fire nearly doubled in size and the winds were gusting
to near 50mph. USFS issued a red flag warning and
evacuated all the fire fighters off the blaze and
grounded air support. The winds were driving the fire in my
direction.
Fortunately, I was able to continue down the other
side, but the firefighter told me that for the next 30
miles all the campsites west of the road were closed.
That meant I would have to ride to Mosquito Lake, an undesignated camp site. I was originally planning
on camping at the Lake of the Woods at 93.5. I wasn’t
sure if I was going to have the energy to make it
to Mosquito Lake. I needed rest and I was feeling very
spent. But I pushed on.
I made it to Mosquito Lake with about an hour of
light to spare. As I looked around I noticed a lot of
bear scat and a lot of torn up ropes and ripped food bags
hanging in the trees. Then I heard a bear snort in
the close distance. That was all I need to hear. I push
on, 12 more miles, to the Whisky Grove designated campground.
The trail immediately after Mosquito Lake was mostly
downhill. After two miles it turned in to a very rough
and rocky trail. I was able to still maintain a good
speed, but the road was extremely rough and it made my
BOB trailer very hard to control.
With only a few more minutes of sun light to spare I
pulled into Whisky Grove Campground feeling absolutely
exhausted and cold. I had hardly enough strength to wash
up and fix dinner.
Day 29 - Section 2B - Wyoming
08/23/06
Whisky Grove Campground 125m
to Pinedale, WY 159m = 34 miles
Am I there Yet?
This morning’s ride was paved and was supposed to be
relatively easy, but the head winds were very strong so
the riding was slow going. The geography is very
desolate and open. Along the roadside were many erected
wind fences to keep strong guests from posing a danger
to cars.
By noon I made it into Pinedale, WY. Pinedale is a small
town but it is also a great place to take rest. I stayed
at the Pinedale RV campground. The camp facilities were
fair and was the worst looking campsite I had stayed at. I
had to stop, so this was it for a few days.
I found out the forest service closed the road going
to Union Pass right after I had crossed it. The fire tripled
in size last night. The forest service said the road was
going to be closed until the first snow. I was the last
person to have biked over it and I made it only by
hours. My intuition proved right again, but now my
body is paying for it. This morning I was so sore I could
hardly walk normal.
Day 30, 31, 32 - Section 2B - Wyoming
08/24/06 to
08/26/06
Pinedale, WY 159m = 0 miles
Rest Days
Pinedale has a great grocery store and a nice camping
store. Even though the map says they have a bike shop
here it consists of Wal-Mart quality bikes and parts.
Across the street from the campground is the Wrangler
Café. It is the best place in town for food and the
prices were very reasonable. The Pinedale public library
is very nice and has several public computers.
I found Pinedale to be the most racist town I have
ever visited. While I was in the grocery store waiting
in the checkout line there was couple with a newborn
baby standing in front of me. A 70+ year old lady waiting in
front of them turned around an said, "What a beautiful
white baby!" That remark took me totally off guard. What
a terrible thing to say. Then I realized that I haven't
seen a single African American since I entered the US. I
wish people could understand that ethnic diversity is a
wonderful thing and that God made us all in his image.
To be prejudice against someone because of the racial
background is an insult to God. That is like saying God
made a mistake.
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