As usual, we planned to start out from Madison early. I was up by 5:30 and we had ramen for breakfast. Not the breakfast of champions but I figured it was quick and would get us on our way. But after all was said and done we didn’t get underway until 8:30. We filled up our bottles and headed towards Old Faithful. Since we’d driven through the Park as a family in June when we were heading to WA, we figured there was no reason to stop at all the sights again. Our agenda was to get through the Park and reach Colter Bay Village. It was a 75 mile ride–well within our reach; but we had to climb Craig Pass (elev. 8261) and cross the Continental Divide twice (at elevations of 8391 and 7988). So it would be a tough day.
We rode by West Thumb and stopped at Grant Village for lunch. There was a store where we could buy some stuff for tortilla wraps and fill up our water bottles. We had a nice lunch in the shade, took a power nap, and I got to talk to Chantry on the phone. We were there for a good hour before attempting the next 42 miles to Colter Bay.
During one of our roadside breaks another TransAmer came up behind us and stopped. She had a huge welcome smile and greeted us with an European accent. Her name was Karolina. She’s from Poland but transplanted to France about 15 years ago. After talking for a while we discovered she’s on the same trail and was headed for Colter Bay as well. “See you there!” we said as she took off. We arrived in Colter Bay to another full campground but thankful to know that they’d have a place for us. We set up camp and headed off to take a shower, do laundry, and get some stuff from the store for dinner. While at the store we saw Karolina. We had shared with each other on the road earlier that we were planning to ride the spur to the Tetons tomorrow (Saturday) and then head out of Colter Bay–her on Sunday and us on Monday. So at the store we agreed that we’d probably see each other along the ride to the Grand Tetons.
We got back to camp and I got my kitchen out to start making soup for dinner. But as I tried to pressurize my MSR fuel bottle it wouldn’t pressurize. I took it all apart and tried again and it still didn’t work. Why wasn’t it working? It was like I’d lost a seal. It worked this morning well enough. Dumbfounded, I walked around trying to find help from another cyclist or camper. Unable to get any help I was at a loss to what to do for dinner. Diced potatoes and onions lay on the table with three cans of vegetable broth and a small bag of Lil’ Smokies sausages and the mosquitos were driving me crazy. Forrest and Rocky were both at the laundromat getting our clothes and I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly I thought, “Start a fire dummy.” I scoured all the dead wood I could from around our campsite and started a fire. And with Forrest’s bellowing help we were able to cook dinner on the provided fire grate. It took a bit longer but the boys said it was our best meal yet.
We headed to bed around 11:00. It was the first time in 2-3 weeks that I’d been able to put up my hammock. Last time I froze as the cold air blowed under my sleeping bag but another cyclist (Samuel) told me the key was to bring my air mattress inside the hammock and sleep on it. As my hammock’s exit is from the bottom I didn’t know how well it would work. But I was willing to try it. And it worked great! I slept warm and cumfy all night. Thanks Samuel! I had my alarm set for 6:00 but didn’t get up until 6:30 because my phone had died during the night.
July 15 on the TransAm
I was disappointed to wake up late because we had 68 miles to cover, including our highest pass yet, Togwotee Pass (9658 ft). I had decided before going to bed that we’d have to skip the Teton Spur. It made me sad to do so because I’d always been determined not to miss them. So why skip them? 1) Doing the Tetons on Saturday meant we’d be spending our Sunday at the Colter Bay Campground and as far as I could tell forfeiting any opportunity to hear the preaching of God’s Word and fellowshipping with the saints. 2) it would also mean tackling a massive pass on Monday. 3) Tackling Togwotee Pass on Saturday would make Monday a breeze (the ride from Dubois to Lander is largely downhill). 4) Getting to Dubois, WY Saturday night would open up several options for worship on Sunday. ––So we opted to skip the Tetons and head to Dubois.
Since my stove wouldn’t work we couldn’t have the oatmeal I’d planned. Breakfast ended up being strawberries, bananas, and carrots dipped in powdered peanut butter mixed with water. (Yes Michael, we finally got around to eating the powdered peanut butter you gave us. Thank you!). We got underway by 8:30 and I was tired. I was not looking forward to this pass. We’d have to climb a total of 3763 ft before the day was over. That’s a lot for one day. We’d done close to that a few times already, but this had been a week of climbing. In the last 5 days we’d already climbed an accumulated 14,785 ft and this would be almost 3800 more. But what ya gonna do!? Did we think this was going to be easy!? So off we went to conquer the world–or at least Togwotee Pass.
The ride was not a little difficult. It was a steady, hard climb over many miles though it did level out–or even go downhill–several times. At one point it started raining slowly. Since the mosquitos, flies, and horseflies were so bad I figured it was an answer to prayer so I rode along happily. That is until it starting downpouring. Then I quickly scrambled to put away my phone and my iPod shuffle, dig to the bottom of my pannier for my rain gear (which we hadn’t used since June 16 on the coast of Oregon), and then cover my rear panniers with the rain cover. Guess I should’ve specified to God that a light drizzle would’ve worked 🙂 The rain didn’t last very long but I kept my rain gear on because it was getting chilly and because I wanted it to dry out before I put it away.
We stopped at a gas station halfway up the Pass for lunch and met several cyclists coming down. One guy warned us that a wall of hail was coming. I could see that the sky in the distance was dark and rain-filled. I told the boys to get their rain gear on and we took off up the hill. It wasn’t long before rain and hail began pelting us. “This is pretty cool,” I thought. We can just ride this out, being the tough guys that we are. But then God humbled us. The hail got bigger, fell faster, and hit harder. We ditched our bikes on the shoulder and made for the trees by the road. I found it odd to see that Forrest had run to stand “under” a tree that was nothing more than an 8 ft stump. Rocky and I made for the ones that had lots of branches instead. Forrest soon joined us when he found that his first pick wasn’t stopping much of the hail. We probably waited 5 mins until the hail stopped before getting back on the bikes. The rain was still coming but what ya gonna do? Ride on. When we left the trees Forrest looked back and said “That’s where I was standing at first. I thought it was a full grown tree!” I told him I wondered what he was doing there. Too funny.
As we continued up the Pass the sunshine broke through the clouds and crazy head winds started blowing. It reminded us of that crazy storm we’d had off the coast of Oregon. At the top we first encountered the Continental Divide at an elevation of 9584 ft and then after pedaling a bit more reached the summit of Togwotee Pass (9658 ft). It’s the highest we’d been yet. It felt really cool to be up so high that nearby mountains at elevations of over 11,000 ft seemed within reach. We took the usual photos and gave praise to God that it was behind us.
The ride down was long and gradual with its share of hills. The sky looked dark so I kept my rain gear on and we headed for Dubois, another 30+ miles. I knew it would be a push. I continued to pray for the Lord’s help and trusted Him that we’d make it. It seemed like forever but we did make it. We stopped by the store for dinner before locating St. Thomas Episcopal Church, which also serves as a warmshowers site for hiker/bikers. We arrived here by 6:30 looking forward to a rest day. A hiker named Josh was already here and so he showed us around. We cleaned up, ate dinner, and spent a while catching up with emails, texts, and this blog. We hardly have any reception and our wifi is usually poor so this was a refreshing pit stop. Not intending to attend the Episcopal service, I looked online for local churches. I found a Baptist church in town and a community church so close to here that I could almost throw a rock at it. So we opted for the community church.
Just as we were getting ready for bed guess who shows up? You guessed it, Karolina! Turns out she’d decided against the Teton Spur as well and headed out of Colter a bit later than us. She already knew I was a pastor and that we were taking Sunday off for rest and worship but as she was getting unpacked she mentioned to me that she’d decided to take Sunday off as well. I told her we were voting to church in the morning at 9:30 and she laughed that that was too early to get up on a rest day. I figured that if she happened to be up in the morning I was going to invite her to join us.
July 16 on the TranAm
I woke up at about 7:00 but figured I’d let the boys sleep in until 8:30 or so. But a little before then Karolina got up and we started talking about religion, Protestantism, Jesus, and the gospel. She’s had some bad experiences with churches and religions in Poland. I told her she just needed to meet the real Jesus. She then asked me about the church I was planning to attend and said she wanted to come with us. Wow! God was on the move and we were in the middle of it. I told her it was a Protestant church and according to their website they love Jesus–that was enough for me. I had no idea what we’d hear or what the service would be like but I knew God had something in store for all of us. So at 9:25 we walked to Warm Valley Community Church.
The interim pastor, Duane Dewalt (I think tha’s his last name), greeted us at the door with a handshake and a smile. And we could hardly get to our seats without being greeted by another 10 people or so. What a warm church! [It reminds me of my own church and makes me miss them.] We sat near the front and I sat next to Karolina to help her find her way around the Bible. Soon a man stood up front with a guitar and began to lead us in two songs. After he was done another man gave some announcements and led us in a prayer for the needs of the church. Then we sang two more songs and the pastor came to the lectern and began preaching. I think it was his second Sunday. Last week he’d preached on what the church was and today he was going to preach on wha the church does. He took us to the Great Commission in Mt 28.18-20, to the “commission” before the ascension in Acts 1.8, to the evangelism of Andrew in Jn 1.35ff, and then to the evangelism of the Samaritan woman in Jn 4. He spoke very simply and plainly about the need everyone has for Jesus and about the need the church has to tell people about Him. Not only was it a blessing to me and the boys but I was amazed to see how wisely and perfectly God had planned this sermon for Karolina. It was the first time she’d ever been in a Protestant church and the gospel was plainly presented. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship with the church after the service and then came back to our hostel where Karolina and I spoke about the things of God for the better part of an hour. Please pray that the Lord will do a saving work in her.
After our talk Karolina headed into town to drum up lunch and dinner for us all. She visited several stores and restaurants asking for perfectly good food that would otherwise be thrown away (past its expiration date, etc.). She soon returned with an armful of bread, boxed pasta, cereal, cookies, and macaroni and cheese and said she’d go it again after 8 PM and hit up the restaurants to get us dinner. Apparently she does this all the time and 80% of the time comes away with a cartload. As she puts it, she’s on a moneyless trip across America–and you know, I think she just might do it 🙂
We’ll be heading out tomorrow for Lander, 75 miles away. It’s the next ideal stopping point on the Trail and we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting there as it’s relatively downhill from here. I hear there’s a great bike shop there and a City Park where we can stay for free and even take a shower and swim in the pool. After that it’s on to Jeffrey City, a ghost town left over after the Uranium mines shut down. There’s a “warmshower” site there at a Baptist church. Then it’s Rawlins, WY. And then somewhere in Colorado. So if all goes well we should be CO by Thursday night.
Thanks for praying. Thanks for following. Karolina will be leaving with us on Monday. Whether or not we cycle together we’ll at least be stopping in the next few towns together. Please pray that she’ll see Jesus in us and that we’ll yet have the privilege of seeing Him in her.
Until next time… 🙂
