Sisters To St. Paul
Day 8

 

Date: August 1, 2005

Route: Teton Park Loop

Distance: 53 miles

Ride Time: 3h 35m

Elevation Climbed: 1400’

Weather: Sun, rain, thunder, lightning, hail, and wind. 65 to 75 degrees

 

 

Log

Our start was delayed because of rain. We used the time to finish yesterday’s log and catch up on email. The service here is fickle, fitful and frustrating. Jon has more patience than I. I left (finally!) at 10AM to get in a few extra miles. Jon met me at the entrance to the park. By that time I had taken off my raincoat and t-neck. I tossed them in the car trusting the blue sky and fluffy clouds. We were again delayed by a brake problem with Jon’s bike but he was able to fix it (with my cool tool set!) without too much trouble. We were now really on our way.

The park loop goes on both sides of the Snake River through forests, past lakes, along the wetlands and the desert. The terrain is mostly flat with a few rollers to keep you awake. The exciting thing today was the weather. The clouds built up and roiled in. We could see the lightening and hear the thunder in the distance. The rain showers were visible ahead but we could not predict the path of the cell. Separate fat drops splatted my fairing, then came faster and faster. Lightning struck the ground in the field on our left, thunder roared overhead. We covered the next 2 miles as quickly as we could and arrived thoroughly soaked but in good spirits at Jenny Lodge. After a quick snack we set out again. We weren’t yet half way around the loop and had had enough excitement for the day. The sun stayed with us for about 2 miles. The wind came up and the clouds looked ominous bringing to mind the music of the New Riders of the Purple Sage: “Trouble ahead, trouble behind.” This cloudburst was much more severe deluging us with blinding rain and stinging hail. There was nothing to do but ride through it. My clothes were plastered to me and my feet were sloshing inside my shoes. It seemed like it went on forever but we were out of it in a couple of miles … that’s about 10 minutes. The last 12 miles were in sunshine with help from a light tailwind.

After showers and a short rest, we went into Jackson for Thai food. On the way home we went wild game hunting again. Last night we were delighted to find 8 buffalo. Tonight we found the herd of at least 150! They were in front, behind, and on both sides of the car. We could hear them groan and grunt and feel the ground shudder as they lumbered by. What a thrill! Further up the road we stopped to watch a herd of elk. We saw 2 more herds before we arrived back at the motel.

Tomorrow I want to find that moose again.