Day 15 - Coulter Bay, WY to Double Bar J Ranch - Dubois, WY

So... Hell of a birthday ride for me today (64!)... Our group of 6 (Mike & I, a German (Wibke), and 3 Kiwis) stayed in a cabin in Coulter Bay last night. After Mike suffered a mechanical yesterday (blown out rear hub bearing), he decided to hitch into Jackson to get a bike shop to try and fix it. Wibke decided to go along with Mike as she was suffering from tendinitis in here Achilles. So I set off on the regular route of the GDMBR with the Kiwis with the intent of meeting back up with Mike in Pinedale of he could get his bike fixed...  A good plan, but like all plans, they rarely last past the first unexpected "oh crap!" moments.  Such was today... even though it started beautifully, Including my second Moose siting!

Our plan was to ride up Togwothee Pass in the morning and hopefully beat the rain predicted for sometime in the early afternoon.  We all set off pretty early after a good breakfast, and I was on the road by 7:30, though Ingrid skipped breakfast and headed out only a bit after 6:00 am.  I guess I should have skipped the food, as that 90 minutes would come back to bite me!

After about 15 miles, I began to feel raindrops, and the sky to the sout and west looked ominous at best. So I stopped and kitted up in rain gear and kept on as the sprinkles turned to a steady hard rain.  This the stopped, and after beginning to overheat, I stripped off the rain gear, and rode another 15 minutes thinking it would all blow though quickly like so many mountain squalls do... Not this one! Within a few minutes it began raining torrentially, so I took cover under a roof overhang at a US Forest Service maintenance building, where I put my rain gear back on, and waited hopefully for an hour or so to let the worst blow though (this is where cell service becomes really valuable - I usually check the radar, and can typically adjust plans accordingly. Our cabin in Coulter Bay had no wifi, so I committed the cardinal sin of riding in the high mountains... I relied on yesterday's weather forecast!

Any, after slowly getty cold in my shelter, I remembered to check the basic forecast that I can call up on my satellite communicator.  It's not very detailed, and there's no graphics like the radar maps on your phone, but the hourly updates though the day for heavy showers - 90% were kind of hard to miss. So... I bundled up and set back out to climb the remaining 1500' of Togwothee Pass.  

Which probably would have gone OK if id done so a couple hours earlier like Ingrid.  But... I wanted, and after another 4 miles and 850' of climbing, the rain turned first to sleep, then to a driving wet snow! When the snow began to accumulate, and I started to worry about weather or not I could keep peddling through the slush (much less stay warm) I decided it was time to do the smart thing, not the "badass" thing, so got off the bike, and stuck out my thumb. Within a couple of minutes, a wonderful family from Michigan with a huge Class A RV pulled over and took pity on me and offered me a ride:-).  Best decision of the day, for sure.

Here's the view from the windshield of the RV shortly after they picked me up! Crazy!  By the time we reached the top of the pass about 3 miles later, cars were fishtailing all over trying to get up the other side. Fortunately, the RV had Double wheels on the drive wheels, and lots of weight to keep it firmly where it was pointed.  About 15 miles over the pass, and 1500' lower in altitude, the dropped me out on the side of the road and I profusely thanked them for their kindness before heating out the the motel cabin I had reserved the day before.  There I was met in theain lodge by a blazing fire and a hot chocolate, ending a rather harrowing day on a high note.  Shortly after, Ingrid called from a restaurant just up the road where she'd been having lunch after just getting over the pass as the first flurries were coming down. The other two Kiwis then called Ingrid to let her know they'd taken shelter at a lodge I'd ridden past just before things got snowy. On the other side of the pass.  

So... The plan for tomorrow is to regroup. Now that we're warm and dry we can think a bit more clearly:-) Still, it's incredibly beautiful here, but you definitely need to be aware of how vicious nature can be when you're not paying enough attention!

Not sure just what we'll do yet, but we hope to meet back up with Mike and Wibke in Atlantic City (WY). Then it's off across the Great Basin :-)

Cheers from the GDMBR!