On 14 June, following a lovely pancake breakfast at the Climber’s Ranch and a spectacular sunrise and cap cloud over the Tetons, I rode north into Yellowstone
The route north from the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch went up past Jenny Lake on Teton Park Rd, which is a much better alternative to getting back out on 191 through Moran. While starting off on the bike path, I took this photo of my bike and some flowers in front of the Teton Range. (The bulge in my right rear pannier is due to the long tent poles on my otherwise marvelous Big Agnes Fly Creek UL-1 and one of the reasons that I have just upgraded to the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2 Bikepack tent with the shorter poles.)
This is the magnificent panorama alongside Jackson Lake
And finally, I was up the road and in Yellowstone National Park.
Due to road width issues (and the fact that motorists in Yellowstone are looking for bears, bison and caribou and not paying attention to cyclists) a lot of riders and all cycling tour groups will bypass Yellowstone, heading down through Jackson Hole and up over Teton Pass Highway, leaving the TransAmerica route, rejoining it west of Yellowstone. I’d never been in Yellowstone before and was heading to Lamar Valley, so this wasn’t an option. But, if I were to do the TransAmerica route again, I would take the bypass and avoid the narrow roads and drivers who might not be aware of how wide their RV really is.
Many of the US Park Service campgrounds have a special “no-turn away” policy for cyclists and hikers. When I pulled into Grant Village campground there were “ALL FULL” signs everywhere, but I parked my bike, waited in line with those people with reservations, and was given a campsite for about US$5.
The following day the weather changed for the worse. With cold rain coming forecast for the late afternoon, I rode to only as far as Canyon Village with the plan to set up camp before the rain began. Well, that was the plan.
Every opportunity has a price point. It looked like the rain would be heavy all night long and there was a hotel in Canyon Village with some empty rooms. However, there was just no way that I could justify spending around US$400 to enjoy the luxuries of a night indoors. The delay, talking with the staff at the Canyon Lodge (and accessing email and web using their wifi) was my big mistake. I should have just gotten my campsite, set up my tent and then gone to get food and find the internet. But, I dawdled and the rain started coming in. As soon as I got my campsite location and headed over to drop my gear and find a flat spot, the drizzle turned to a downpour. As fast as I could I got my footprint down, staked up the tent, got what I could off of my bike and inside the tent but things got wet and somehow there was water inside. It was chaos. I pumped up my air mattress, which served as an island in the middle of a little lake inside the tent. And the rain didn’t let up all through the night. Luckily I had just enough juice in my portable battery to recharge my GPS and keep my phone going through the night, listening to audio books. It was on that night that I decided to buy a two-person lightweight tent for my next big trip, just so that on long wet nights inside I’d have enough space so that I could have thrown in my panniers and set up my bedding in a dry space. It was a long, long miserable night.
This was a picture inside my tent… condensation. Self-condemnation. Remember.. always get your tent up before the rain begins.
Up next… across Yellowstone to Lamar Valley!
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