It’s amazing what a solid
night’s rest can do for you. We went to bed so early last night
that I slept nearly 12 hours. The ride today continued on the
rail trail, but it became infinitely better when we got to the
part where it was closed to motor vehicles. Even though we
skipped the worst part yesterday, we
still got our share today
of 4-wheeler groups flying by. As we rode closer to the Warm
River, the trail got better and better with absolutely stunning
views. We went through a couple old wooden tunnels and watched
several fishermen down below on the banks of the river. Just
gorgeous. Warm River Campground is the suggested stopping point
for the night. We arrived in time for lunch, so we decided to
eat, relax a bit, and then push on. Wyoming is just a few more
hours. However, Mother Nature had other plans. We were riding
up the canyon above the Warm River and a huge front moved in –
the wind was absolutely ripping. We turned around and flew back
down to the campground where we immediately set up tents. We
had already started cooking dinner when the storm hit so luckily
we were able to wait it out inside the tents. About a half-hour
later the hail and rain had stopped and we climbed out and found
almost two inches of water in Scott’s bowl on the picnic table.
It was a bit discouraging that we didn’t ride farther today, but
I’m sure glad that we didn’t try and keep riding through that
thunder storm.
Day 21:
21 July 2004 Warm River CG to Campsite #6, John D.
Rockefeller Jr.
42 Miles
Idaho was short lived. We
climbed up out of the Warm River canyon and into some incredibly
flat farmland. A few paved miles later and it was back to dirt
and back into the Targhee National Forest
shortly before we
entered Wyoming. Right after crossing the border we met a Dutch
couple riding northbound. Sietze Haan and Renate Albers stopped
to chat with us for a while. Sietze’s bike was loaded – full
panniers and a BOB. We swapped stories about the future
sections and they shared some dried apricots that Paula had
given them (Costco goodies). Sietze had a nasty wreck earlier
in the route in some loose gravel and they had spent about a
week in Rawlings (I think) recovering from that. He said the
BOB started swaying and he couldn’t slow down fast enough to get
it back under control. I understand how that could happen, on
some of our fast descents the trailers get moving – very scary
when you’ve got a lot of weight back there, which I think was
the main culprit with Sietze.
Anyways, they told us not
to go into Flagg Ranch because it was just a tourist mess and
instead recommended Campsite #6 on the John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Memorial Parkway. The campsite was spectacular, situated
between two streams with our own pit toilet, bear-proof food
container, fire ring, picnic table. One stream went right by
the site and was perfect for filtering, the other one was a
little further back behind some thick bushes and was deep enough
for a cold bath. I arrived quite a bit in front of the group
and just relaxed in the sunlight until the gang arrived.
Day 22:
22 July 2004 Campsite #6 to Turpin
Meadows CG
43.8 Miles
Our ride today took us
through the “industrial camping” (as the book calls it) area of
Flagg Ranch. We were all glad that we didn’t camp there. We
then followed the pavement and summer traffic and road
construction to the Grand Teton National Park. The views were
absolutely incredible, but the roads were certainly not designed
for cyclists. In the middle of the park we decided to drop down
to Colter Bay Village were we did some shopping and then rode
back up to the main road and cruised out of the park at Moran
Junction and climbed up to Turpin Meadows Campground where we
were greeted by a parking lot full of horse trailers. Heavy
rains started just as we got the tents set up. The boys came
over to our tent and we read a chapter from Band of Brothers.
Scott picked up Patriot Games at the gift shop back in
the Park and has been quite engrossed with it since then. It
rained most of the night.
Day 23:
23 July 2004 Turpin Meadows CG to Warm
Springs Creek
44.3 Miles
Because of all the rain last night we
decided to skip a couple segments of the trail that were labeled
“impassable when wet” because they were most definitely wet.
Sietze and Renate had told us that the mud was really bad. It
is wonderful to meet people going the other way and swap stories
and hints with them. Because of the mud, much of today was
spent on the highway, complete with all the summer travelers and
their enormous motor homes and trailers. We were right between
Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks and once again the civil
engineers who designed the roads up here neglected to think
about cyclists. Togwotee Pass (9,658 ft – CD crossing #7) was a
long climb. When we got near the top we looked back at a sign
warning motorists of the downhill grade for the next 17 miles –
too bad we weren’t going the other direction. About a half mile
after the pass we pulled off at Wind River Lake where they have
a nice little picnic area. We broke out the PB & J and made
sandwiches. Another guy was there fishing at the lake and he
let
Dad and Scott use a couple of his extra fishing poles for a
while. They each caught a rainbow trout. The guy was in the
National Guard, so Dad and he were instant friends.
After a nice lunch break we continued down
the pass to Union Pass Rd. Supposedly there used to be a
bicycle-only campground here before the actual climb.
“Used-to-be” being the key phrase there. With nowhere to camp,
we started an extremely tough four mile climb. By the time we
topped out it was already starting to get dark and we hadn’t
eaten dinner yet, so we stopped at the Sawmill Lodge. It’s
quite a classy place, but luckily they had some really good
burgers that were reasonable priced. The criss-cut fries were
delicious as well. After dinner it was completely dark and
quite cold, so we bundled up and got the headlamps out. We rode
done the road another mile or so and turned on FR 532 (the
alternate) and rode another mile to a little primitive
campground. Our tents are set up about ten feet from Warm
Springs Creek.
Just FYI, there was a little corner on the
climb up Union Pass Rd where I had signal on my phone, so I
called Mom and talked to her for a while. Angela is staying in
Guayaquil until August 1st. That was the first time
since before July 10th that I’ve had signal, but I
still wasn’t able to check my messages so I’m glad that Angela
emailed Mom to her about her travel changes. I miss her.
Day 24:
24 July 2004 Warm Springs Creek to
Whiskey Grove CG
40
Miles
We woke up the next morning
to the fact that we were camped quite close to some large youth
group – school bus and all. We didn’t spend much extra time
there eating breakfast and loading up, but Dad still got a few
minutes to fish. We got back on the main route and continued
climbing up towards Union Pass (9,210 ft – CD crossing #8) on a
much gentler grade than the climb yesterday. The actual pass
wasn’t much of a pass at all – more like a huge open meadow on
top of a mountain. This is where the Wind River, Absaroka, and
Gros Ventre mountain ranges all converge. We crossed it and
stayed in the high country for a few more miles before a fun and
muddy downhill all the way to the Green River. We were cruising
down the descent and I came around one corner and didn’t have
time to swerve and miss a large muddy section, so from that
point on I tried to hit each and every one. My main water
bottle is mounted on the bottom of my down tube, so it was
absolutely caked. Good times. After we crossed the Green
River, we continued on dirt towards Pinedale and met another
group of north-bound cyclists. Karen from West Virginia,
brothers Kurt and Yella from Pittsburg, and another Dutch guy
named Jille. They told us where to get water going through the
Great Divide Basin. We’ll hit that in about three days from
now. It will be nice to have that section completed.
Whiskey Grove Campground is
about a quarter mile off the route and in a nice grove of trees
right on the banks of the Green River. Dad made friends again
with a couple from Colorado camped next to us. Before bed they
brought over a bundle of firewood and some fresh produce – two
apples and two bananas and a bunch of oatmeal packets. That was
quite possibly the very best produce I have ever had.
Day 25:
25 July 2004
Whiskey Grove CG to Pinedale, WY
35.1 Miles
Today’s ride was short and
fast. Of the 35 total miles, about 30 of it was on pavement.
We made it to Pinedale before lunch, so we ate at Subway
(quickly becoming a group favorite) and went to the local bike
shop to get Braedon’s broken spoke fixed. It’s actually a
hardware store that has a small bike shop in the back. The bike
guy wasn’t there, so they let Dad use the tools and he did the
work. Then we came straight across the street and down a block
or so to the campground. After a hot shower (very nice), we
played pool and watched the Red Sox vs. Yankee game while we did
laundry. The Red Sox were up 6-2 in the 6th when we
left – go Sox. I also finally got reception again, bouncing off
of some AT&T tower I think, so dialing 123 didn’t work to hear
my messages, but by dialing my own number from my cell it went
straight to my voice mail. It was so good to hear Angela’s
voice.
Day 26: 26 July 2004 Pinedale, WY to
Little Sandy Creek Campsite
53.9 Miles
Before we left this morning
in Pinedale we went grocery shopping for the next five days – 4
days to Rawlins plus a rest day near South Pass at the Willie
Handcart Site. It was a hardware/sporting goods/grocery store
that had a surprisingly good selection with decent prices. I
bought one of the big two-quart Nalgene bottles and am now
wishing that I would have bought a couple more. They fit great
on top of my BOB alongside the top dry bag. They also had those
Gerber hatchets; I want one of those as well. It was fun to
watch people’s expressions as we divided and packed the food
into our BOB bags. Not the normal occurrence outside a grocery
store but definitely a good conversation starter.
Today’s ride wasn’t too bad
considering the 50 mile distance. The first 30 or so were paved
and relatively flat. We stopped for lunch at about mile 25
behind a mound and some big sage brush for cover because it
looked like a big storm was coming. Luckily it only sprinkled
for a bit and then stopped – the heavy rains seemed to split
around us. We were fortunate. When the pavement ended, the
climbing began. Most of it wasn’t too bad, nothing really long,
just lots of ups and downs. The map calls it “Roller-Coaster”
terrain. We narrowly missed another huge storm up on top here,
I video taped some of it. We are camping alongside Little Sandy
Creek which ironically is pretty good size. The sunset was
beautiful. Dinner was a hearty meal of chill-mac and saltine
crackers.
Day 27:
27 July 2004 Little Sandy Creek Campsite
to Willie Handcart Site
44.9 Miles
The first 20 or so miles
today were along gravel roads paralleling and criss-crossing the
Continental Divide. We were trying to outrun a huge
thunderstorm heading up to South Pass and the Sweetwater River.
The thunder and lightning was spectacular. I was in the front
pedaling like mad trying to make it to the little rest area on
the highway before the storm hit, Dad and Scott were in the back
and said that they even felt shocked (electricity) from their
metal brake levers when the lightning hit close. I made it up
to the highway, took out the video camera and waited for the
crew to catch up. Then we raced down the hill and across the
bridge and I was just pulling into the rest-area parking lot
when the big hail started coming down. Because that particular
crossing of the Sweetwater River was used by the Oregon,
California, Mormon Pioneer trails and even the Pony Express,
Wyoming built a nice little rest-area/interpretive center where
we gladly waited inside as the
rain came pounding down in sheets
outside. We were certainly blessed in our timing, and that’s
not the first time that the rain has waited for us. I’m not
saying that we haven’t gotten wet, because we definitely have,
but we have been blessed.
After lunch in the covered
picnic area at the rest stop the sun came out and the road dried
up so we continued on to South Pass City and then to Atlantic
City where we ate dinner at A.C. Merc – wonderful burgers and a
really cool old building and décor. After climbing a
horrendously steep hill out of Atlantic City, we rode another
eight miles or so (four miles of it off the trail) to the Willie
Handcart Site where we are going to rest tomorrow. They have a
huge campground here for the Youth Pioneer Treks that the Church
does now, but we are the only ones camping here tonight. This
weekend a group of about 1000 people will be here, so again our
timing is good.
28 July
2004 Rest day at Willie Handcart Site
There are two senior
couples here serving six month missions for the duration of the
summer – this place is closed during the winter for good
reasons. One of the couples, from San Diego took us on a short
tour. With the help of the rescue company sent by Brigham Young
from Salt Lake, the Willie Company made it here from the 6th
crossing of the Sweetwater which is about 27 miles back. They
camp here because it provided the best shelter from the early
snow storm. There is an extremely small canyon here, no trees
whatsoever, but I guess the canyon was a blessing compared to
the wide open, windy hills that make up the vast majority of
Wyoming. The Willie Company was in bad shape before they even
got here and by the following morning, several had passed away.
Fifteen people are buried in a circular grave and the original
trail is still easily visible – the ruts from the wagons and
handcarts still show. Quite a somber place to stop and think
about the amazing faith and perseverance of those Saints.
Tomorrow we are going 80
miles through the Great Divide Basin to the next water source at
A&M Reservoir. Hopefully we’ll get to bead early and get an
early start.
Day 28:
29 July 2004 Willie Handcart Site to A&M
Reservoir
81 Miles
A very, very, very long
day. Read tomorrow’s entry for any highlights.
Day 29:
30 July 2004 A&M Reservoir to Rawlins, WY
56.1 Miles
We are camped at the KOA
right next to I-80 in Rawlins. It is quite a different
atmosphere compared to the past few days, but the showers make
it all worthwhile. We got into town at about 3:30 pm after
leaving A&M Reservoir at about 10:30 am, so we made good time.
The Great Divide Basin was basically a huge, barren, windy dust
bowl and to be honest, I am glad that we are past it.
Fortunately, the wind was at our backs for the majority of the
time (when we were headed more directly east). This would be
reason enough for me to do this route North-to-South because
riding through the Basin against a headwind would be something
awful. A&M didn’t have much water in it and the water that was
there was extremely murky. Trying to filter it we had to stop
and clean the filter after just three bottles. We were grateful
for the water though – it was a welcome site after the 80-some
dry miles yesterday. And the sunset was incredibly beautiful.
It will be so nice to get back into the mountains and have
access to crystal clear, cold streams again.
The highlights of the past
135 miles were lots of pronghorn and even a few herds of wild
horses. It is a beautiful picture to see them run together
across the rolling hills of sagebrush. They are very efficient
territory markers too with large piles of their excrement.
Three days to go until Steamboat.
Day 30:
31 July 2004 Rawlins, WY to Little
Sandstone Creek Campsite
52.9 Miles
Today’s ride was brutal.
The first 20 miles were even on pavement. There was quite a
strong headwind that held my top speed on a paved downhill
section to 12 mph. I hate wind… By the time the pavement
stopped, the climb started up and over the Continental Divide
for the 14th official crossing. The downhill on the
backside was lacking and the vast majority of the rest of the
day was uphill. I don’t know what made the difference, probably
a combination of the wind, the climbS (plural being emphasized
here), but it was probably the hardest day yet for me. You’d
think that a person would be in shape after nearly five weeks of
this. One benefit though, was that we finally got back up into
the mountains. Around mile 40 we entered Medicine Bow National
Forest which runs across this southern part of Wyoming down to
the Colorado border. The trees weren’t large – mostly aspens
mixed with a few pines – but the shelter that they provided from
the incessant wind and sun was absolutely amazing. Finally at
about 8:30 pm we pulled into a little primitive campsite above
Little Sandstone Creek. The creek was appropriately named this
time; it was difficult to filter from the trickle flowing down.
The little outhouse that was there was absolutely rancid. We
were too tired to care, so after another hearty Past-a-roni
dinner of white cheddar shells with a couple cans of tuna, we
crashed into the tents.
Day 31:
01 August 2004 Little Sandstone Creek Campsite
to Steamboat Lake State Park
49.8 Miles
This morning I woke up
fairly early feeling quite refreshed (which surprised me). I
washed the dishes from last night that we had unanimously voted
to leave dirty until morning. Then I heated up some water for
the standard oatmeal and hot chocolate, but this time I treated
myself to three packets of oatmeal.
J We filtered as
much water as we could out of the little stream. There was this
really weird fluffy-orange-moss-like growth on everything that
was underwater. We found a spot that was a couple of inches
deep before the orange stuff started so I held the intake end of
the hose just barely below the water surface with my left hand
and the bottle with my right hand while Dad pumped. The filter
got really stiff after about ¾ of all the bottles so we decided
to stop there and fill the rest up later.
We packed everything up and
climbed back up to the highway and followed it down to a country
road where the alternate started. After being so exhausted
yesterday we decided to take the alternate and
skip a huge
watershed divide. By this time we were all getting thirsty and
the water that we filtered tasted like it was rotten. The map
said that 1.8 miles on this country road would take us alongside
the Little Snake River. We decided to push on until that. The
only problem was that everything was totally fenced off. So we
stopped at the first ranch house: the Lazy C2 Bar and I walked
down to ask if we could have access to the river to filter some
water. No one answered at the house so I walked further down to
a trailer house. A Latin guy answered who didn’t speak much
English and it kind of startled him anyway to have me knocking
on his door. He said we could go down to the river, so I walked
back up to the road to tell everyone and another Latin guy came
riding up to the driveway on his four-wheeler. I asked him and
he offered the hose on the main house so we jumped at the
chance. It turned out that he is Peruvian and works summers up
here on this ranch and goes back to Peru for the winter. We had
a great conversation while everyone was filling up the bottles. Cilvestre Inga Casas is his name. His phone number in Peru is
011-51-64-252725. The number at the ranch is (970) 583-6644.
Talking with him made me miss being in that culture again. The
water was fabulous – cold and clean – and Dad took a picture to
remember it.
After following the Little
Snake River for another eight miles, we crossed it and had lunch
of PB&J on the bridge. I got there first and was checking out
the river. It was still fenced on every side but right under
the bridge there was a small log jam and tons of trout were
pooling there. The majority obviously were small with a couple
larger ones in the mix. Dad and Scott got out the fishing stuff
while I made the sandwiches. Dad caught a beautiful rainbow
about 20 inches long, maybe a couple of pounds and had to climb
down the embankment and over the fence to land it. I got it on
video. After lunch we started climbing again, lots and lots and
lots of ups and downs. At Columbine (elev. 8,700 ft) we topped
out and rode the next four miles mostly downhill to Steamboat
Lake State Park where we are camped for the night. Only about
30 miles, mostly downhill, to Steamboat Springs tomorrow.
Angela is home. I talked
to her for a bit on Dad’s phone (mine has had terrible coverage
this whole trip) It was wonderful to hear her voice. She’s
coming with Mom on Tuesday to pick us up.
Day 32:
02 August 2004 Steamboat Lake State Park to
Steamboat Springs, CO
29.6 Miles
The ride today was a quick
one. Short mileage and most of it was paved and downhill. We
went through the extremely small town of Clark, Colorado and
stopped at the small store there to get
something to drink.
While there we met a Japanese cyclist who was an inspiration.
He had flown into the most northern airport in Canada and then
proceeded to ride north on logging roads as far as he could
possibly go, turned around and headed south with Tierra del
Fuego, Argentina being his end goal. He had a big spiral bound
road atlas that he was following and told us that he wanted to
head over to Utah and see Arches and Zion National Parks and
then head south to see the Grand Canyon and then continue on
into Mexico. He said his Spanish was a little better than his
English. We told him what we knew about Ecuador and Peru. He
then told us that after he reached the southern tip of Argentina
he was going to ride back up to Brazil just because airfare was
so much cheaper to Japan from Brazil compared to Argentina. I
guess an additional thousand miles isn’t really that much when
you’ve already ridden 15,000. Wow.
We arrived in Steamboat at
about 2:00 pm, rode around the Yampa River Trail to the base of
Howelson Hill – the famous ski jump in town – and found out that
the campground was in the other direction. So we back-tracked
and saw our Japanese friend again and invited him to camp with
us, but he declined. We continued an additional mile or so
outside of town to the campground. It’s an old KOA campground
complete with showers and laundry so we won’t be stinky when the
ladies come to pick us up tomorrow. We rode back towards town
to eat at a pizza place which was delicious. After coming back
to camp we just kind of relaxed for the rest of the day. Scott
and Braedon swam in the pool for a bit and then snuck into the
hot tub (the sign said it was just for adults). I talked to
Angela for a long time and now it is time for bed. For now the
Bike Trip is over. Until next year, same time, same place,
thank you and good night.
Day 33:
26 June 2005
Steamboat Springs, CO to Lynx Pass Campground
38.56 Miles 8 cattle
guards 6 hrs 30 min ride time
It’s about 11:30 pm and we
are just lying down after a quick “dinner” of peanut butter and
jelly. We rolled into camp so late and everyone was so
exhausted that we decided not to cook anything. Ryan and
Heather came with us this morning to take the van back to
Provo. I won’t say they gave us a ride because they just slept
while Dad and I drove the entire way here. We got everything
set up and ready to leave Steamboat Springs at about 1:00 pm.
(We left Provo at 4:30 am) It was great to get back on the
bikes and aside from not being physically prepared for this
(minor details) it seems as though we just picked up where we
left off last August. If we were just in shape…
Day 34:
27 June 2005 Lynx Pass CG to
Mugrage CG
21.4 miles 5 cattle
guards 2 hrs 39 min
We didn’t wake up this
morning until about 9:30. But we all felt reasonably good which
is quite remarkable considering our condition upon arriving at
camp last night. The first part of the ride was down from Lynx
Pass and then some mellow up and downs through beautiful alpine
basins. Crossing state Hwy 134 we came to an old two story log
cabin that was built in 1880 and was a Wells Fargo mail
station/stage stop for a while. They restored it in 2000 and
did a great job. Just a little farther on down the trail we had
to cross Rock Creek but there was no bridge. Dad took off his
shoes and waded right through it with bike and BOB in tow. In
the middle the BOB tire was all the way underwater. Right after
Dad crossed, Matthew Lee rode up. He is one of the racers,
currently in 2nd place. It was fun to talk to him
for a few minutes – he highly recommends the Canada section of
the GDMBR. I decided to take two trips across the creek
(probably about 20-25 ft wide) because of the hole in my BOB bag
from the bear spray incident last year.
The climbs and descents got
progressively steeper as the day went on. A couple hike-a-bikes
and some scary downhills later and after a huge drop down to the
Colorado River and the “town” of Radium we continued on the
trail just another couple of miles to the small, primitive
Mugrage Campground. There we decided to call it a day. We were
planning on following the book and going all the way to
Kremmling, but it was nice to rest a bit, cook, eat, clean-up,
and have camp set up before dark. We decided to just take it
one day at a time until we get into better shape.
Day 35:
28 June 2005
Mugrage CG to Williams Fork Reservoir CG
28.8 miles 5 cattle
guards 3 hrs 45 min
After a toss and turn night
I woke up at about 7:30. We were camped in a narrow part of the
canyon so the sun didn’t hit us directly for another hour or
so. Dad made friends with a couple that was camped above us (a
former Capt. in the Army) and they invited us up for breakfast.
They didn’t plan on feeding six, so we still at the usual
oatmeal and hot chocolate along with a nice side of bacon and
eggs and cheese and a banana. They also gave us the rest of
their water so we didn’t have to spend much time pumping. I
told Dad that is exactly how I want to treat cyclists in the
future – always have some extra food and water on hand to
share. We started off climbing up towards Gore Canyon, up and
over a watershed divide and then a long, screaming downhill. I
hit 45 mph and I was the slowest. Dad hit 50. The road was
oiled – nice and smooth. Scott got 49.6 and says he won’t be
satisfied until he breaks 50. That is really fast on a bike,
especially a loaded one. The rest of the ride was fairly
mellow, gentle grades. We made it to Williams Fork Reservoir
and decided to camp here. A huge storm was coming – really high
wind, black clouds all around. We managed to get the tents set
up and built a small wind break underneath the picnic table to
be able to use the stoves. Right as we were finishing the pasta
and tuna, the rain started coming down; perfect timing as
usual. Now the rain and wind have stopped and the sun is
starting to poke through – and it’s only 8:00 pm. Good night.
Day 36:
29 June 2005 Williams Fork
Reservoir CG to Silverthorne, CO
38.9 miles 3 cattle
guards 4 hrs 53 min
We climbed up and over Ute
Pass today: 9,500 ft. It was a long one - Dad actually
squeezed in a power nap during one of our "breaks." The ensuing downhill would have been huge
except for a strong headwind. I think I peaked out around 25
mph around a bend when the wind died. With the wind it was
tough to keep it at 20. After we reached the highway, it was a
gentle 13 mile climb up the Blue River to Silverthorne. It’s
nice to be around civilization but at the same time, it’s
horrible to have to deal with such heavy traffic. The view from
the summit of Ute Pass was breathtaking – the Gore Range. On
the climb up Ute Pass we went through some huge mining
operations. I found part of a busted up cell phone just like
mine – including the battery – that I think I’ll keep as a
back-up.
30 June
2005 Rest day in Silverthorne
Shopping, TV, naps, and
lots of cough drops….
Day 37:
01 July 2005
Silverthorne CO to Selkirk CG
33.24 miles 0 cattle
guards 4 hrs 30 min
I honestly didn’t really
feel much better this morning. It’s weird. When I’m eating or
just inside there really isn’t a lot of pain, but the instant
that I start breathing hard it’s almost unbearable. Dad said
that we could just ride up to the campground on Dillon Reservoir
and rest another day but I really want to get going so I pushed
through, devouring the cough drops.
We followed the Summit
County bike path around the reservoir to Frisco, where we
stopped at Wal-Mart. Dad bought a new camera and is studying
the manual by headlamp next to me. After that we hopped back on
the bike trail and rode it all the way into Breckenridge, a
sweet resort town, my favorite so far. The ski hill looked good
too. We locked the bikes together and then had lunch at
“Eric’s”, a great little bar and grill. Nikol was our server, I
include that just because I thought that was a cool spelling.
After lunch we started the ten mile climb up Boreus Pass. The
road was paved with quite a gentle grade (old railroad line).
When we reached the National Forest boundary it turned to dirt
which was quite nice after some 20 miles of pavement today. We
were just teased by a few thunderstorms rolling through. We got
out the rain gear just in time for a brief (30 second) hail
storm and then it was patchy sun for nearly the rest of the
day. We reached the pass
11,482 ft at about 5:00 pm. We
checked out the historical buildings that the Forest Service had
restored and enjoyed a visit with some people that were staying
there for the night. They had an enormous dog named Smokey. I
think it was a giant Pekinese – something like that. He weighed
150 lbs and had long, long, white hair and he absolutely loved
attention.
We coasted down the
backside of the pass (much, much dryer climate than the west
side) and arrived at Selkirk Campground. We hadn’t even gotten
the tents set up when a couple pulled up in a 4Runner and
offered us a dinner of hot lasagna and garlic bread. The wife
said she was so impressed when she saw us come into camp on
bicycles. True guardian angels. Dinner was delicious and now
it is time for bed.
Day 38:
02 July 2005 Selkirk CG to Como, CO
8.52 miles 1 cattle
guard 45 min
03 July
2005 Rest day in Como, CO
Well, we are still in Como,
Colorado just over eight miles from the Selkirk Campground. We
arrived here before noon yesterday since it was almost all
downhill and decided to eat lunch in the Como Depot. My throat
was feeling a little bit better, but right after we started
eating (I ordered a huge, beautiful taco salad) my stomach
started churning and I got chills and could only finish about a
fourth of my plate – very unusual for a GDMBR rider. I went
outside to sit in the sun but still couldn’t stop shaking. Dad
asked the waitress if there was a place where we could camp here
and she told him we could pitch our tents up by the old Civic
Center. It was only about a quarter mile up the hill, but it
took me forever to get there. Dad pulled the tarp and his
thermarest out and just laid it on the “lawn” and I was pretty
much out for the rest of the afternoon.
They apparently have a
pretty good 4th of July party here, so there were
some guys working on the well and Dad befriended one named Bob
O’Conner. He actually took me down to Fairplay, CO, a much
larger town of 610 people, to a small clinic where a nurse
prescribed me some antibiotics. That was this morning and even
by lunch time I was feeling way better. We are now lying down
for the night and I’m hoping to be ready to push out in the
morning. Dad gave me a blessing too last night which helped
immensely.
Day 39:
04 July 2005 Como, CO to Salida, CO
76.3 miles 23
cattle guards 8 hrs 45 min
Happy 4th of
July!! We (Dad and I) woke up feeling quite refreshed this
morning at about 6:00 am. We started heating up water for
breakfast and then got the kids up and we actually had “wheels
up” just after 8:00. I think that’s our new, all-time, earliest
start. Since we had already done eight miles of the books’
route for the day we finished the other 30 to Hartsel before
lunch time. We stopped at a cool little bar/café and I had a
buffalo burger – very good. There really wasn’t any place to
camp there in Hartsel and since it was so early we decided to
push on, hoping to find a good place to camp 20 or so miles down
the road. We made it to mile 94.3 on the map where it said we
would need to ford a creek. I rode straight through it and
didn’t even get my rims wet. I had been looking forward to that
since the morning and it was quite a let down. After everyone
crossed I still took my shoes off and carried my bike across
just to take some funny pictures. There were a lot of cows
upstream too, so we decided not to filter any water there. As
we continued to ride up to the National Forest boundary (San
Isabel N.F.) however, we didn’t find any additional water
source. Most everyone was down to one or two bottles, so we had
to just keep going. It was about a six mile climb to the
watershed divide, but luckily most of it was fairly decent
grade. One
half mile section however was incredibly steep and
just about killed us. After that it was and 1.5 miles to the
top, which we reached just as the sun dropped below the “14ers”
on the other side of the valley. The ensuing 12 mile descent
was steep with gorgeous views, but darkness came quickly and the
last half was quite scary to be honest. We crossed the railroad
tracks just as the Salida’s firework show started way up on the
mountain above the big “S.” We stood there on the side of the
road and watched for a bit, tried to contact the campground
which doesn’t seem to exist anymore, then decided to just ride
into town and try to find out some more info. We came to the
Woodland Motel and Dad went in to ask about campgrounds and came
out a few minutes later with a key. So I took a hot shower and
then talked with Angela until late and went to bed – morning
came much too quickly.
Day 40:
05 July 2005
Salida, CO to O’Haver Campground
16.48 miles 4 cattle
guards 4 hrs
It’s actually the morning
of the 6th. I’m lying in the tent, listening to the
fish jumping outside. Yesterday we woke up fairly early
considering what a late night we had. We went downtown,
couldn’t find the Laundromat so after asking around found
another one up near Hwy 50. Dad stayed behind with the clothes
while Braedon, Scott, and I took off to eat breakfast. After
the meal, we switched with Dad, finished packing the clothes
(clean clothes! – the dirty ones were just rancid). Then it was
west on Hwy 50 down to Wal-Mart to buy supplies. We finally got
out of town around 1:00 pm and started the
climb. Today by the
book was 30 some miles of climbing up and over Marshall Pass.
Everyone was still fairly exhausted from the day before, so we
opted for O’Haver Lake Campground about half way up the pass.
It’s a small lake, but lots and lots of fish. The wind was
absolutely howling last night as we cooked and then laid down,
but now it is beautifully calm. It is nice to be around water
again.
I’ve gained an appreciation for the beauty of the desert over
the past few years, but I sure don’t enjoy pedaling a bike
through it. I miss Angela.
still got our share today
of 4-wheeler groups flying by. As we rode closer to the Warm
River, the trail got better and better with absolutely stunning
views. We went through a couple old wooden tunnels and watched
several fishermen down below on the banks of the river. Just
gorgeous. Warm River Campground is the suggested stopping point
for the night. We arrived in time for lunch, so we decided to
eat, relax a bit, and then push on. Wyoming is just a few more
hours. However, Mother Nature had other plans. We were riding
up the canyon above the Warm River and a huge front moved in –
the wind was absolutely ripping. We turned around and flew back
down to the campground where we immediately set up tents. We
had already started cooking dinner when the storm hit so luckily
we were able to wait it out inside the tents. About a half-hour
later the hail and rain had stopped and we climbed out and found
almost two inches of water in Scott’s bowl on the picnic table.
It was a bit discouraging that we didn’t ride farther today, but
I’m sure glad that we didn’t try and keep riding through that
thunder storm. 
shortly before we
entered Wyoming. Right after crossing the border we met a Dutch
couple riding northbound. Sietze Haan and Renate Albers stopped
to chat with us for a while. Sietze’s bike was loaded – full
panniers and a BOB. We swapped stories about the future
sections and they shared some dried apricots that Paula had
given them (Costco goodies). Sietze had a nasty wreck earlier
in the route in some loose gravel and they had spent about a
week in Rawlings (I think) recovering from that. He said the
BOB started swaying and he couldn’t slow down fast enough to get
it back under control. I understand how that could happen, on
some of our fast descents the trailers get moving – very scary
when you’ve got a lot of weight back there, which I think was
the main culprit with Sietze.
Our ride today took us
through the “industrial camping” (as the book calls it) area of
Flagg Ranch. We were all glad that we didn’t camp there. We
then followed the pavement and summer traffic and road
construction to the Grand Teton National Park. The views were
absolutely incredible, but the roads were certainly not designed
for cyclists. In the middle of the park we decided to drop down
to Colter Bay Village were we did some shopping and then rode
back up to the main road and cruised out of the park at Moran
Junction and climbed up to Turpin Meadows Campground where we
were greeted by a parking lot full of horse trailers. Heavy
rains started just as we got the tents set up. The boys came
over to our tent and we read a chapter from Band of Brothers.
Scott picked up Patriot Games at the gift shop back in
the Park and has been quite engrossed with it since then. It
rained most of the night.
Dad and Scott use a couple of his extra fishing poles for a
while. They each caught a rainbow trout. The guy was in the
National Guard, so Dad and he were instant friends. 
We woke up the next morning
to the fact that we were camped quite close to some large youth
group – school bus and all. We didn’t spend much extra time
there eating breakfast and loading up, but Dad still got a few
minutes to fish. We got back on the main route and continued
climbing up towards Union Pass (9,210 ft – CD crossing #8) on a
much gentler grade than the climb yesterday. The actual pass
wasn’t much of a pass at all – more like a huge open meadow on
top of a mountain. This is where the Wind River, Absaroka, and
Gros Ventre mountain ranges all converge. We crossed it and
stayed in the high country for a few more miles before a fun and
muddy downhill all the way to the Green River. We were cruising
down the descent and I came around one corner and didn’t have
time to swerve and miss a large muddy section, so from that
point on I tried to hit each and every one. My main water
bottle is mounted on the bottom of my down tube, so it was
absolutely caked. Good times. After we crossed the Green
River, we
continued on dirt towards Pinedale and met another
group of north-bound cyclists. Karen from West Virginia,
brothers Kurt and Yella from Pittsburg, and another Dutch guy
named Jille. They told us where to get water going through the
Great Divide Basin. We’ll hit that in about three days from
now. It will be nice to have that section completed.
Before we left this morning
in Pinedale we went grocery shopping for the next five days – 4
days to Rawlins plus a rest day near South Pass at the Willie
Handcart Site. It was a hardware/sporting goods/grocery store
that had a surprisingly good selection with decent prices. I
bought one of the big two-quart Nalgene bottles and am now
wishing that I would have bought a couple more. They fit great
on top of my BOB alongside the top dry bag. They also had those
Gerber hatchets; I want one of those as well. It was fun to
watch people’s expressions as we divided and packed the food
into our BOB bags. Not the normal occurrence outside a grocery
store but definitely a good conversation starter. 
to the little rest area on
the highway before the storm hit, Dad and Scott were in the back
and said that they even felt shocked (electricity) from their
metal brake levers when the lightning hit close. I made it up
to the highway, took out the video camera and waited for the
crew to catch up. Then we raced down the hill and across the
bridge and I was just pulling into the rest-area parking lot
when the big hail started coming down. Because that particular
crossing of the Sweetwater River was used by the Oregon,
California, Mormon Pioneer trails and even the Pony Express,
Wyoming built a nice little rest-area/interpretive center where
we gladly waited inside as the
rain came pounding down in sheets
outside. We were certainly blessed in our timing, and that’s
not the first time that the rain has waited for us. I’m not
saying that we haven’t gotten wet, because we definitely have,
but we have been blessed.
There are two senior
couples here serving six month missions for the duration of the
summer – this place is closed during the winter for good
reasons. One of the couples, from San Diego took us on a short
tour. With the help of the rescue company sent by Brigham Young
from Salt Lake, the Willie Company made it here from the 6th
crossing of the Sweetwater which is about 27 miles back. They
camp here because it provided the best shelter from the early
snow storm. There is an extremely small canyon here, no trees
whatsoever, but I guess the canyon was a blessing compared to
the wide open, windy hills that make up the vast majority of
Wyoming. The Willie Company was in bad shape before they even
got here and by the following morning, several had passed away.
Fifteen people are buried in a circular grave and the original
trail is still easily visible – the ruts from the wagons and
handcarts still show. Quite a somber place to stop and think
about the amazing faith and perseverance of those Saints. 
We are camped at the KOA
right next to I-80 in Rawlins. It is quite a different
atmosphere compared to the past few days, but the showers make
it all worthwhile. We got into town at about 3:30 pm after
leaving A&M Reservoir at about 10:30 am, so we made good time.
The Great Divide Basin was basically a huge, barren, windy dust
bowl and to be honest, I am glad that we are past it.
Fortunately, the wind was at our backs for the majority of the
time (when we were headed more directly east). This would be
reason enough for me to do this route North-to-South because
riding through the Basin against a headwind would be something
awful. A&M didn’t have much water in it and the water that was
there was extremely murky. Trying to filter it we had to stop
and clean the filter after just three bottles. We were grateful
for the water though – it was a welcome site after the 80-some
dry miles yesterday. And the sunset was incredibly beautiful.
It will be so nice to get back into the mountains and have
access to crystal clear, cold streams again. 
mountains. Around mile 40 we entered Medicine Bow National
Forest which runs across this southern part of Wyoming down to
the Colorado border. The trees weren’t large – mostly aspens
mixed with a few pines – but the shelter that they provided from
the incessant wind and sun was absolutely amazing. Finally at
about 8:30 pm we pulled into a little primitive campsite above
Little Sandstone Creek. The creek was appropriately named this
time; it was difficult to filter from the trickle flowing down.
The little outhouse that was there was absolutely rancid. We
were too tired to care, so after another hearty Past-a-roni
dinner of white cheddar shells with a couple cans of tuna, we
crashed into the tents. 
skip a huge
watershed divide. By this time we were all getting thirsty and
the water that we filtered tasted like it was rotten. The map
said that 1.8 miles on this country road would take us alongside
the Little Snake River. We decided to push on until that. The
only problem was that everything was totally fenced off. So we
stopped at the first ranch house: the Lazy C2 Bar and I walked
down to ask if we could have access to the river to filter some
water. No one answered at the house so I walked further down to
a trailer house. A Latin guy answered who didn’t speak much
English and it kind of startled him anyway to have me knocking
on his door. He said we could go down to the river, so I walked
back up to the road to tell everyone and another Latin guy came
riding up to the driveway on his four-wheeler. I asked him and
he offered the hose on the main house so we jumped at the
chance. It turned out that he is Peruvian and works summers up
here on this ranch and goes back to Peru for the winter. We had
a great conversation while everyone was filling up the bottles. Cilvestre Inga Casas is his name. His phone number in Peru is
011-51-64-252725. The number at the ranch is (970) 583-6644.
Talking with him made me miss being in that culture again. The
water was fabulous – cold and clean – and Dad took a picture to
remember it. 
under
the bridge there was a small log jam and tons of trout were
pooling there. The majority obviously were small with a couple
larger ones in the mix. Dad and Scott got out the fishing stuff
while I made the sandwiches. Dad caught a beautiful rainbow
about 20 inches long, maybe a couple of pounds and had to climb
down the embankment and over the fence to land it. I got it on
video. After lunch we started climbing again, lots and lots and
lots of ups and downs. At Columbine (elev. 8,700 ft) we topped
out and rode the next four miles mostly downhill to Steamboat
Lake State Park where we are camped for the night. Only about
30 miles, mostly downhill, to Steamboat Springs tomorrow. 
something to drink.
While there we met a Japanese cyclist who was an inspiration.
He had flown into the most northern airport in Canada and then
proceeded to ride north on logging roads as far as he could
possibly go, turned around and headed south with Tierra del
Fuego, Argentina being his end goal. He had a big spiral bound
road atlas that he was following and told us that he wanted to
head over to Utah and see Arches and Zion National Parks and
then head south to see the Grand Canyon and then continue on
into Mexico. He said his Spanish was a little better than his
English. We told him what we knew about Ecuador and Peru. He
then told us that after he reached the southern tip of Argentina
he was going to ride back up to Brazil just because airfare was
so much cheaper to Japan from Brazil compared to Argentina. I
guess an additional thousand miles isn’t really that much when
you’ve already ridden 15,000. Wow.
back
to camp we just kind of relaxed for the rest of the day. Scott
and Braedon swam in the pool for a bit and then snuck into the
hot tub (the sign said it was just for adults). I talked to
Angela for a long time and now it is time for bed. For now the
Bike Trip is over. Until next year, same time, same place,
thank you and good night. 
It’s about 11:30 pm and we
are just lying down after a quick “dinner” of peanut butter and
jelly. We rolled into camp so late and everyone was so
exhausted that we decided not to cook anything. Ryan and
Heather came with us this morning to take the van back to
Provo. I won’t say they gave us a ride because they just slept
while Dad and I drove the entire way here. We got everything
set up and ready to leave Steamboat Springs at about 1:00 pm.
(We left Provo at 4:30 am) It was great to get back on the
bikes and aside from not being physically prepared for this
(minor details) it seems as though we just picked up where we
left off last August. If we were just in shape…
We didn’t wake up this
morning until about 9:30. But we all felt reasonably good which
is quite remarkable considering our condition upon arriving at
camp last night. The first part of the ride was down from Lynx
Pass and then some mellow up and downs through beautiful alpine
basins. Crossing state Hwy 134 we came to an old two story log
cabin that was built in 1880 and was a Wells Fargo mail
station/stage stop for a while. They restored it in 2000 and
did a great job. Just a little farther on down the trail we had
to cross Rock Creek but there was no bridge. Dad took off his
shoes and waded right through it with bike and BOB in tow. In
the middle the BOB tire was all the way underwater. Right after
Dad crossed, Matthew Lee rode up. He is one of the racers,
currently in 2nd place. It was fun to talk to him
for a few minutes – he highly recommends the Canada section of
the GDMBR. I decided to take two trips across the creek
(probably about 20-25 ft wide) because of the
hole in my BOB bag
from the bear spray incident last year. 
The climbs and descents got
progressively steeper as the day went on. A couple hike-a-bikes
and some scary downhills later and after a huge drop down to the
Colorado River and the “town” of Radium we continued on the
trail just another couple of miles to the small, primitive
Mugrage Campground. There we decided to call it a day. We were
planning on following the book and going all the way to
Kremmling, but it was nice to rest a bit, cook, eat, clean-up,
and have camp set up before dark. We decided to just take it
one day at a time until we get into better shape.
The road was
oiled – nice and smooth. Scott got 49.6 and says he won’t be
satisfied until he breaks 50. That is really fast on a bike,
especially a loaded one. The rest of the ride was fairly
mellow, gentle grades. We made it to Williams Fork Reservoir
and decided to camp here. A huge storm was coming – really high
wind, black clouds all around. We managed to get the tents set
up and built a small wind break underneath the picnic table to
be able to use the stoves. Right as we were finishing the pasta
and tuna, the rain started coming down; perfect timing as
usual. Now the rain and wind have stopped and the sun is
starting to poke through – and it’s only 8:00 pm. Good night.
We climbed up and over Ute
Pass today: 9,500 ft. It was a long one - Dad actually
squeezed in a power nap during one of our "breaks." The ensuing downhill would have been huge
except for a strong headwind. I think I peaked out around 25
mph around a bend when the wind died. With the wind it was
tough to keep it at 20. After we reached the highway, it was a
gentle 13 mile climb up the Blue River to Silverthorne. It’s
nice to be around civilization but at the same time, it’s
horrible to have to deal with such heavy traffic. The view from
the summit of Ute Pass was breathtaking – the Gore Range. On
the climb up Ute Pass we went through some huge mining
operations. I found part of a busted up cell phone just like
mine – including the battery – that I think I’ll keep as a
back-up.
I honestly didn’t really
feel much better this morning. It’s weird. When I’m eating or
just inside there really isn’t a lot of pain, but the instant
that I start breathing hard it’s almost unbearable. Dad said
that we could just ride up to the campground on Dillon Reservoir
and rest another day but I really want to get going so I pushed
through, devouring the cough drops.
ten mile climb up Boreus Pass. The
road was paved with quite a gentle grade (old railroad line).
When we reached the National Forest boundary it turned to dirt
which was quite nice after some 20 miles of pavement today. We
were just teased by a few thunderstorms rolling through. We got
out the rain gear just in time for a brief (30 second) hail
storm and then it was patchy sun for nearly the rest of the
day. We reached the pass
11,482 ft at about 5:00 pm. We
checked out the historical buildings that the Forest Service had
restored and enjoyed a visit with some people that were staying
there for the night. They had an enormous dog named Smokey. I
think it was a giant Pekinese – something like that. He weighed
150 lbs and had long, long, white hair and he absolutely loved
attention. 
climate than the west
side) and arrived at Selkirk Campground. We hadn’t even gotten
the tents set up when a couple pulled up in a 4Runner and
offered us a dinner of hot lasagna and garlic bread. The wife
said she was so impressed when she saw us come into camp on
bicycles. True guardian angels. Dinner was delicious and now
it is time for bed.
Well, we are still in Como,
Colorado just over eight miles from the Selkirk Campground. We
arrived here before noon yesterday since it was almost all
downhill and decided to eat lunch in the Como Depot. My throat
was feeling a little bit better, but right after we started
eating (I ordered a huge, beautiful taco salad) my stomach
started churning and I got chills and could only finish about a
fourth of my plate – very unusual for a GDMBR rider. I went
outside to sit in the sun but still couldn’t stop shaking. Dad
asked the waitress if there was a place where we could camp here
and she told him we could pitch our tents up by the old Civic
Center. It was only about a quarter mile up the hill, but it
took me forever to get there. Dad pulled the tarp and his
thermarest out and just laid it on the “lawn” and I was pretty
much out for the rest of the afternoon.
Happy 4th of
July!! We (Dad and I) woke up feeling quite refreshed this
morning at
about 6:00 am. We started heating up water for
breakfast and then got the kids up and we actually had “wheels
up” just after 8:00. I think that’s our new, all-time, earliest
start. Since we had already done eight miles of the books’
route for the day we finished the other 30 to Hartsel before
lunch time. We stopped at a cool little bar/café and I had a
buffalo burger – very good. There really wasn’t any place to
camp there in Hartsel and since it was so early we decided to
push on, hoping to find a good place to camp 20 or so miles down
the road. We made it to mile 94.3 on the map where it said we
would need to ford a creek. I rode straight through it and
didn’t even get my rims wet. I had been looking forward to that
since the morning and it was quite a let down. After everyone
crossed I still took my shoes off and carried my bike across
just to take some funny pictures. There were a lot of cows
upstream too, so we decided not to filter any water there. As
we continued to ride up to the National Forest boundary (San
Isabel N.F.) however, we didn’t find any additional water
source. Most everyone was down to one or two bottles, so we had
to just keep going. It was about a six mile climb to the
watershed divide, but luckily most of it was fairly decent
grade. One
half mile section however was incredibly steep and
just about killed us. After that it was and 1.5 miles to the
top, which we reached just as the sun dropped below the “14ers”
on the other side of the valley. The ensuing 12 mile descent
was steep with gorgeous views, but darkness came quickly and the
last half was quite scary to be honest. We crossed the railroad
tracks just as the Salida’s firework show started way up on the
mountain above the big “S.” We stood there on the side of the
road and watched for a bit, tried to contact the campground
which doesn’t seem to exist anymore, then decided to just ride
into town and try to find out some more info. We came to the
Woodland Motel and Dad went in to ask about campgrounds and came
out a few minutes later with a key. So I took a hot shower and
then talked with Angela until late and went to bed – morning
came much too quickly.
climb. Today by the
book was 30 some miles of climbing up and over Marshall Pass.
Everyone was still fairly exhausted from the day before, so we
opted for O’Haver Lake Campground about half way up the pass.
It’s a small lake, but lots and lots of fish. The wind was
absolutely howling last night as we cooked and then laid down,
but now it is beautifully calm. It is nice to be around water
again.