Day 39, Saturday, August 24, 2012, Grant Village campground, Yellowstone to Signal Mountain Lodge, Teton National Park

Day 39, Saturday, August 24, 2012, Grant Village campground, Yellowstone to Signal Mountain Lodge, Teton National Park

It was friggin' cold Saturday morning. I had to pee real bad around daylight and kept putting it off until I became so aware I had to pee I couldn't put it off anymore. I threw on my Keene's and dashed for the toilet. I did a small internal battle whether I wanted to breakdown my tent and pack or get back in the sleeping bag. As soon as I stuck my head into the tent I opted for back in the bag as it was so much warmer.

I laid there for a while contemplating what I would wear and other unimportant stuff until I knew I could not put it off any longer. Breaking camp is always a lot easier than what one contemplates before attempting it. It was around 28 degrees. My bag had kept me warm but the tent is a 3 seasons tent and it was not keeping the interior warm. I bundled up: bike shorts, long sleeve T, wind front tights, bike jersey, bike socks with wool socks over them, Showers Pass jacket over the top half, the flexible B, B? (It starts with a b but I cannot remember it's full name) around my neck and pulled over the top of my head, and merino wool gloves on the hands. The ride to the restaurant for breakfast was one mile. My feet got cold and my nose was running like a waterfall by the time I reached the restaurant. My face was numb or at least I think it was. 

I didn't thaw out until my food had been served to me, so Bob's attempt to be cheerful landed on frozen ears and psyche. He didn't attempt to speak to me again until it was obvious I had thawed out.

Frank told me to eat real slow and I did my best so it was about 9:30 and the temp had got up to 32 degrees. Four degrees and sunshine helped me ride more comfortably. Eventually I found myself quite a bit out in front of the others. A coyote dashed across the road about 50 yards in front of me. It felt warmer and I elected to pull over and dress down. Off went the jacket, tights, and wool gloves, on went the vest and knee warmers. 

 

Lewis River Falls

We stopped just inside Teton National Park to snack. There were small climbs to be attained so people took off at different times to get it over with. Once we got to a place where the Teton were visible, they weren't. It was a very smokey day. After dinner I was able to get the pictures below with the iPad.

Stats: D= 48.8, T= 3:49, Mx= 35.6, Av= 12.7, El Gain= 1396, Mx Alt= 7749 (add 200 feet), ODO= 4367