Day 15: Idaho Falls to Jackson Hole,Wyoming

Let's put it this way: after 92 miles and eleven hours, with coke in one shoe and pee in the other, and with a left boob flecked with melted chocolate, I pulled into the hotel third from last but alive and well and even slightly cheerful. About the chocolate? I have discovered that keeping various items like chap stick and kleenex in my capacious bosom makes for easy access but when you push the concept a little further and use the storage space for cookies and half eaten Balance bars, the results are not so nice.

The good things about today? Most spectacularly the scenery. Drop dead, movie screen, picture postcard, big beautiful coffee table book gorgeous. Also, we are now in our third state having ridden from the Pacific Ocean all the way through Oregon and Idaho. Also we passed the 1000 mile mark somewhere before mile 20 this morning.

The bad things? It was hard. Really. Really. Hard. I have no idea why they say that the 117 mile day is hardest because it surely is not. This day had two hard climbs and the second, and much harder one, started about mile 78 when us slowpokes were darn tired. It was the steepest grade of the trip and at an altitude high enough to leave us gasping for breath. Truth in blogging? I walked about two miles, perhaps more, and I had company doing it. It has been a long time since I walked up any hill but this one was outside the limits of my endurance. We all assured each other that walking made it much easier to focus on the wonderful scenery!

Usually a climb is followed by a rewarding descent but the five miles down from Teton Pass were steep, steep, steep and just one scary hairpin turn after another. We were all cautioned to take it very slowly, to stop at the pullouts, not to let our brakes get overheated and etc. Not a relaxing descent.

Just one climb tomorrow and that will take us over the Continental Divide. Another 88 miles into Dubois. Stay tuned!