Lava Mountain Lodge to Colter Village, Grand Teton National Park
Strava: 87.6 km, 910m, 4:58, 212 shifts, 47.5 kph max
Sharing beds on this trip is not the recipe for perfect sleep but it worked pretty well for me this time. We got up at 6 and packed. Daniel had sweet talked the staff into opening the kitchen at 7 for breakfast. So we had eggs and potatoes and toast with bacon.
We headed out and the long climb we did a little of yesterday continued. We turned off on a gravel road and climbed for a long time. Then it turned into a 4wd road that is not open yet and is not recommended when there’s any rain. We soon found out why.
Andrew’s brake was dragging so he got to the summit some time after us. The rain was just starting as we worked on his bike. We sort of got it working and started down. The rain was coming down and it was shocking how little it took to turn the nice dirt into the most sticky crappy mud ever. We were riding with Chaice, a young Australian, but he had to push. For Daniel it was even worse. He physically couldn’t go. Wheels jammed, pushing the bike just jammed his shoes. Andrew stayed with him. Wytze and I both wrestled with our chains coming off, but when I finally got mine on, I was able to ride. We rode the three km down to the main road and waited an hour at a lake. It was chilly but the rain had stopped. Finally Daniel and Andrew arrived and Daniel rode straight into the lake to clean his bike and shoes. I spent quite a while cleaning my bike with a stick.
Finally we were off and regrouped at a gas station/store 10 km down the highway. We bought lots of snacks and used their hose to clean our bikes. There were many other cyclists doing the same.
The sun came out and we decided to risk the next off-road section instead of bailing to the highway. I am so glad we did. We rode with Chaice down a gorgeous descent, not really muddy at all. It was great. After that it was another 15 km of paved back road until we regained the highway.
The views of the Tetons were stunning in this section, continually getting better. After a long way we got to the Grand Teton National Park entrance station and I was (again) embarrassed for my country. Starting this year there is an extra $100 per person surcharge for non-US residents entering a National Park. “America First” what a load of crap! Luckily I could buy a one year pass for $20 and that gave me and up to three more people, any people, entry. So for us it was ok, but several others I talked to had to pay the surcharge.
We rode to the Colter Village convenience store for ice cream and drinks then to the campground. The cabins were full but there is a special section of the campground for bikers and hikers and we got a couple of sites there. It’s well organized and we soon had our tents up. Everything that remotely has a scent goes in the bear box. The host said grizzlies are in the campground nightly. We rode to the showers and got cleaned up, left the clothes in a washer and had dinner at the restaurant. Tasty hazy IPA, large salads, appetizers and most of us had pasta.
I booked us a cabin in Idaho (!) for tomorrow night, then we picked up the laundry, I wrote this and will ride back to camp, no wifi or reception at the camp. Great day!
Nathan's Blog 