I woke up and lingered in camp with my new friends from Australia trading stories. I eventually made my way to town wich is really the visitor center on Jackson Lake in Tetons National Park. It was mostly a paved road and after a 45 minute climb it was down hill the rest of the way. But tourist traffic and downhill speeds made for a very draining couple of hours. Alas the plan of doing most of the work yesterday to have more time today for chores worked out.
I had lunch at the restaurant and rode to the campground. If you have been to any of the National Parks you know you don’t just show up and expect a place to camp, unless you are a hiker or a biker. One of the best programs the National Parks have (I am not sure about all of them but most) is No Turn Around Hike Bike camping. This means if you arrive by foot or bike they will let you stay. There is no way you would be able to do a thu hike or bike tour without this. You may be shoehorned into a tiny patch of gravel but you will not be stranded.
I was surprised when the lady gave me my own site for $12. Not many cyclist today and they have over a dozen sites. Bearboxes and picnic tables in each one.
The rest of the day was pretty boring. Laundry, Shower, Dinner and bed early.
Interesting fact – Teton NP was the first park to have an on-site laundromat. There was plaque inside.
If my posts are starting to make my trip sound repetitive you are not alone I feel it too. Basically the GDMBR is like Super Mario Brothers. You are presented with a challenge or level usually with a “boss” aka a big climb you have to take down. You race through collecting your gold aka scenery and the physical reward. Then you recover, rest, and take on the next level. Don’t get me wrong every level is different and beautiful so not boring but the process is the same. Town on the other hand is boring but necessary. You have to clean up but more importantly you have to eat. Now that the heat has subsided and I have had a chance to stretch my stomach I am ravenous. There is no way to carry enough food so you have to gorge yourself in town.
Looking forward, I do not expect this process of running through level after level to change. There are some big bosses coming up that are legendary. I can’t wait!
Lastly the three French guys rolled into camp today. While we employed different strategies (they stopped short of the climb yesterday) we seem to be on about the same pace overall.