0801 - Leaving Yellowstone - Rejuvenation? Or Last Hurrah?

August 1, 2022

0801 - Leaving Yellowstone

Getting a taste of a bit of the rest of northwest Wyoming

IT'S JUST AS WELL that Plan A is sometimes inoperative. Had I stayed strictly to a plan conceived months ago, and modified more recently, I'd have missed a lovely evening at the USFS Rex Hale campground, fifteen or so miles east of the East Entrance to Yellowstone. Instead of paying $15 for a campsite I'd have shelled out over $200 for the privilege of staying at Pahaska Tepee Resort, which advertises itself as being Buffalo Bill's hunting lodge when he was in the area.

And a lovely sunset I'd probably not have seen.

This wasn't where I'd expected to be, either last winter during initial planning or even as late as this morning. The original plan had me staying at Bridge Bay campground in the park. The modified plan had me exiting the park and stopping at Pahaska Tepee.

Having caught a look at Bridge Bay during last week's driving tour I had jettisoned the idea of staying there: it's basically a campground intended to provide easy access to Yellowstone Lake and the marina, which wasn't of interest to me. So I decided instead to head for Cody, not intending to make it all the way in a day (at 93 miles that's a stretch even if it is mostly downhill).

Unlike yesterday, today I *did* see bison. There's this herd, plus the lone male I surprised rounding a curve that had limited visibility on my side of the road. Fortunately for me a car intervened before the bison could react and decide to charge, and I escaped.

There are still plenty of geothermal features in Hayden Valley and a few along the East Entrance Road.

I crossed with this German rider, who had spent a night at the Rex Hale campground (where I am now) as well as a couple nights with CycleBlaze's very own John Egan, in his guise as a Warm Showers host.

Looking back over Yellowstone Lake, after I've crossed the north end.

Farther up the climb is evidence of fires. I don't think this was from the big fires in 1988, because the new trees are smaller than elsewhere but that could just be the 8,000+ foot elevation, I suppose.

Nearing the top of Sylvan Pass I met three more westbound riders. Steve (center) and Mike (right) are riding the Great American Rail Trail from DC to the Seattle area; the other rider (I didn't get his name) has been on the road for 16 months, trying to visit and raise funds for every National Park in the country. Now THAT'S an undertaking.

Near the top of Sylvan Pass. But not the tops of the Absaroka Mountains through which I'm riding.

Made it! This was, I believe, literally the high point of my trip.

This was another of those long descents where I chose to stop periodically and douse the rims with water to keep them cool.

I reached the base of the major descent, and the exit from Yellowstone, around 1515.

On my way down I spotted some bighorn sheep grazing unconcernedly on the steep hill slope opposite me.

The descent afforded numerous great vistas.

I stopped at Pahaska Tepee around 1530, but my hopes of a water refill were dashed when I saw the "CLOSED" sign on their small grocery store. Checking at the desk, I found the price for a room not to my liking so, since there was plenty of daylight left, I moved on east.

Making it all the way to Cody wasn't going to happen- despite the slope in my favor, I didn't have what was needed left in my legs for that sort of haul (it was another 50-odd miles). Rex Hale, on the other hand, was a mere 14 miles farther on, and eminently do-able especially since the terrain profile follows the Shoshone River downstream.

The rock formations around here include some truly massive beds. I was impressed with the contortions of the block on the center-right.

Along the way I passed through a road work zone, and was nearly flattened when a pavement roller ("steam roller" in the old parlance) started to pull out from a side apron just as I approached. The operator saw me and reversed, leaving me free passage.

As luck woould have it, the operator of the roller is also staying at Rex Hale. It didn't take us very long to put two and two together. "I'd NEVER run over you", Joanne told me. "The machine is too slow." We had a good chuckle at that.

While we were chatting, I was reminded once again what great good fortune has been my lot in life. Joanne works hard, but has to pay her own lodging expenses while on the job (no per diem from her employer). She has health insurance, after a fashion, but it includes a $7,000 deductible so she seeks medical care only when she feels there's no other option.

Tom, the campground host, had shooed me gently out of Site #2 when I arrived. "It's actually reserved." he said. "I just forgot to flip the sign." I had hoped to use that site because it had both water and an electric hookup. On-site water is convenient; electricity even more so because it saves my draining the CPAP batteries I'm carrying and enables me to recharge them if they've been used. You've already seen where I settled.

Some time later he came by and said that the people holding the reservation had opted for a different site; I could have #2 if I wanted it. By that time, though, I was already thoroughly ensconced and settled into #24. In the end I'm glad I was where I was. This fellow ambled into camp a bit before sunset and proceeded to make himself comfortable immediately next to Site #2.

Less than a quarter mile before I had reached the turnoff to the campground I began to hear and feel an ominous "ka-thumpa ka-thumpa ka-thumpa" from the back wheel. I'm quite sensitive to such things these days, but had no desire to dig into it on the side of the road, so I lowered the pressure a bit and limped into camp. I'll deal with it in the morning.

Heart

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Consecutive days without a tire inflation issue: 0 (* - the issue manifested today but I'm not certain exactly what it will mean. But it's an issue so I'm resetting the counter.)

Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 1,140 miles (1,835 km)

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Scott AdamsWell, if the pavement roller HAD run over you, you'd have a lot less wind resistance going foreward! But I suppose crosswinds would be a challenge......
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2 years ago

Keith AdamsTo Scott AdamsI'd probably have had to ride side saddle.
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2 years ago