Turpin Meadow Campground, WY to outskirts of Boulder, WY
Mileage: 210.7 km (130.9 mi)
Riding Time: 18h 30m
Standing: 12th place
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| Day 9 Map |
Up at the regular time around 4:30am and on the road I
went. The gravel road climbed steadily
up Togwotee Pass. It was a long climb
and didn’t feel too good first thing in the morning on stiff legs. The gravel road met up with pavement at a
hotel and gas station. It was too early
for the gas station which was too bad. I
was looking forward to a coffee. I went
to the bathroom at the hotel and continued on.
The climb on the highway was nice compared to the gravel.
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| Divide Crossing near Togwotee Pass |
I almost missed the turn to Brooks Lake. The trail paralleled the highway and was a
really nice stretch.
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| On the way to Brooks Lake |
Eventually I summited the climb and headed down to the
hotel/ store on the highway. I got some
more food and continued on. I thought
after the big climb up Togwotee, the rest of the day should be easy. If you ever choose to do the Tour Divide,
don’t say that to yourself. Unless you
are standing at the border of Mexico, assume the next section will be
harder. Then you will never be
disappointed. The Warm River alternate
was hot and steep up loose gravel. Lots
of walking for the guy riding a single speed.
The gravel road eventually levelled out and was a series of
ups and downs. I reached a section that
took my breath away. I didn’t realise it
at the time, but I was at Union Pass.
The view stretched on for miles in all directions. I got passed by an older couple on a quad and
it surprised me. It seemed like I was in
the middle of nowhere to see someone so clean casually driving around. I guess there was lots of camping in the
area.
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| Wide open expanse at the top of Union Pass |
The road continued down a fun, fast descent. The road was full of these little kamikaze gophers
that would zip across the road right in front of my tire. I started calling out, “Watch out Fred!” I thought I might as well name them…why
not? The rocky terrain would remind me
of a show the kids used to watch with a rock monster. It looked like the piles of rocks could shift
and start walking around any minute. Rocks, gophers, and then cows. So many cows.
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| So many cows |
The grade leveled out as it paralleled the Green
River. I tried to keep a good pace into
a decent wind. The resistance worked out
well with my gear ratio. The gravel
turned into pavement and I continued to ride toward Cora. Sleepiness set in again as I talked to the
many Freds (gophers) and cows. Then all
of a sudden Pavel rode up beside me. He
surprised me a bit and I wasn’t in the mood to talk. We rode together for a bit and then he pulled
away. I rode into Pinedale near dusk and
stopped at the combination Subway and gas station. I called Kristin and talked about how I
hardly saw anyone that day and my sanity seemed to be slipping a bit. I still felt pretty good physically, but the
times I felt alert and awake were getting few and far between. There were a few hours left in the day so I
kept riding. I thought I could find a
place to bivy near Boulder.
I stopped at an outhouse at the river near Boulder, but it
was full of ants. I looked around a bit
and didn’t see a good place to stop.
Boulder had a hotel and I tried to find out how to get a room. It was late and I couldn’t find anyone
around. I was a bit disappointed, but
also glad. I like that I had not stayed
in a hotel and didn’t want to compromise.
I kept riding on the route and found a nice, cozy spot in a sage
bush.
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| Cozy little nook inside a bush |
I unrolled my bivy inside the bush and slept great. I felt so cozy and secure.
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