38 miles to Grand Teton Park RV Resort, Moran WY
We climbed 10 miles to the top of Togwotee Pass (9,658 feet elevation). It was not a bad ride because the wind was calm today and it was much warmer than yesterday. We were definitely glad we waited. Yesterday, we met a couple who came over the pass and they were dressed as though they had bicycled through the Arctic. They had gloves, hats, long pants, and shoe covers on. With the winds yesterday, it probably was a lot colder. As a result, Vincent wore his winter bicycling gear and had 3 layers on. When we were about 5 miles into the ride, he began removing layers. I put the clothes he took off into the backpack and noticed he had his fleece, his fleece hat and his gloves in there. Guess he thought it was going to be really cold. Although long, the climb was much easier than the climbs we did in the Appalachia Mountains. While in Dubois, I talked to one bicyclist going west who said he felt bad for the bicyclists riding east who would warn him about the climbs to come. He said they were in for a shock when it came to the Appalachia climbs.
Our view of the Grand Tetons coming down from Togwotee Pass was breathtaking and truly magnificent. The Togwotee Trail, 38 miles of scenic Hwy 26-287, between Dubois and Yellowstone is being significantly improved for the first time since the 1950s. The route up and over the pass has been completed and is great to ride on. We didn’t realize just how nice until we came to that part of the road that has not been improved. Toward the end of the trail, we had to be trucked over the route due to heavy construction.
When we were dropped off by the crew, we met a bicyclist from Virginia. He is currently taking some time off to tour the area with his family, but has bicycled this area extensively. He also told us they picked Ad (remember our friend from the Netherlands) up just outside Rawlins, WY and drove him to Lander, WY. He had lost significant time fighting the wind.
Snow on the Towgotee Trail in June! |
Grand Teton Mountains in the background. |