Day 16

September 3, 2024

Distance: 113km

Climbing: 643m

Animals: Many sculptures but few real ones, but I forgot to mention that we finally saw a bear yesterday - likely a grizzly but it had heard us coming and was already running into the woods.

What would normally be the route for the next two days is impassable due to a large forest fire. The alternative is to ride south from Colter Bay to Jackson, then east to Pinedale where we’ll reconnect with the route. Distance-wise it’s similar but cuts out two big passes (Togawatee and Union).

Overnight it had rained off-and-on and while it wasn’t when we got up it started again once we were riding. It wasn’t cold, and the weather had put beautiful clouds and light on to the mountains.

Weather makes for nice light, beautiful clouds, and more colourful clothing.

The ride to Jackson had more jaw-dropping scenes of the Tetons that we would have missed had we been on the actual route.

Partway to Jackson a bike path appeared and went about 60km to and past Jackson. It’s not like it was a densely populated area - I think it was just an initiative by the Park Service. If every major road had a bike path like this…. It was a vision of what the future should look like.

Many km of bike paths to enjoy Teton National Park.

And the bike path doesn’t end when there’s a bridge (hint, hint, BC).

Here the bike path was a bit off the highway and down the slope which was much more peaceful.

Jackson seemed like a nice resort town in the vein of Whitefish. It’s famous for being a playground for the wealthy, but felt pretty down-to-earth. We stopped in at two bike shops to look for a few things and get our chain measured - dead and in need of replacement so we bought new ones to install ourselves later. I had been feeling roughness in my drivetrain for a few days so I hoped this would be the cure.

Trying out different hand positions for long-distance comfort.

Being off the map we just headed in the necessary direction and figured we’d find somewhere to camp along the way. We stopped for a break and replaced both chains in very little time and my bike definitely felt much smoother. My San Juan loop trip plus what we’ve done on the GDMBR so far was about 2000km - plenty to fully wear out a chain when hauling a big load and riding through so much gravel and dirt.

Once the amazing, unexpected bike path ended (after 60km of bliss!) this alternate route required more riding on the road which is never pleasant. After 100km for the day we started looking for a place to camp and were fortunate to find a very nice spot without much trouble.

One of the nicer informal camping spots we’ve found.

Tomorrow we’ll likely leave the more scenic, mountainous part of Wyoming and get into some more desolate terrain.

Today's ride: 113 km (70 miles)
Total: 1,850 km (1,149 miles)

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