Pushing through to Pinedale

Jackson to Pinedale, Wyoming. Monday, June 24, 2024

This will be a short entry for my longest day so far, in terms of distance. Pinedale, the base for my climb up the Wyoming highpoint Gannett Peak, was 78 miles south of here. Because of today yesterday’s blistering headwind, I thought it would be a big struggle. But it turned out the wind was shifting to the west, and would actually push me a lot of the way. Good thing, because the ride included a scary, twisting canyon and a steep climb up to a plateau.

It was smooth sailing once I got up there, but I feared it would be rude to get in too late. My Warmshowers hosts, Kristi and Clayton, assured me they stayed up late every night, so I felt I had time to slow down a bit and take a couple of pictures.

I hadn’t seen a highway overpass since I left I 90 in Montana. Curious to see this one, in the middle of rangeland without another road in sight.

Turns out it’s a wildlife overpass https://beingwildjh.com/wildlife-champions/wildlife-advocates/success-stories/wildlife-overpasses/ Cool.

As I approached Pinedale, I was looking forward to a killer view of Gannett Peak. I mean, if it’s higher than the Grand Teton, it will be even more spectacular, right?

Wrong.

The Wind River Range is beautiful once you get inside it, but not much to look at from far away. The highpoint, I now recall, isn’t visible at all until you get quite close to it; there are lots of intervening ridges. If you’re the king, I guess, you can afford to be coy.

Along the way, I met Tim, who has hiked the Continental Divide Trail and teaches long distance shooting; Arnie, who opened up the convenience store at the top of my plateau climb so I could grab a much-needed snack; and of course my gracious hosts, who share their large home with scores of bikers passing through. I’m told I will meet a couple more tomorrow night.

Distance 78 miles, 2,345 total. Time 11 hours with stops. Elevation gain 3,197 feet

©️ 2024 Scott Luria