Day 37 – Drums
July 29, 2012
Start: Colter Bay, Grand Teton NP
Finish: Brooks Lake Campground
Today’s miles: 45.1
Total miles: 1111.7
Splats: 1
Divide crossings: 1
Wildlife: fox
I can’t believe I’m paying $10 for a campsite tonight in the Shoshone National Forest when there’s plenty of free camping all around. I didn’t feel like looking for a campsite in the dark, so I’m here. I have to say it’s nice to have a flat tent site, a picnic table and a bear box (so I don’t have to hang my food in a tree). If it weren’t dark, the view would be amazing too!
I was excited to tackle Togwotee Pass today. I’ve been looking forward to it since my uncle and I drove over it on our way to Banff. Before tackling the climb, I loaded up at the Buffalo Valley Cafe with coffee, a root beer float, and the Grizzly Burger. I left pumped.
Partway up, I stopped at the Togwotee Lodge, where I had shipped myself some supplies from Butte. Had I known the little grocery store at Colter Bay was so well stocked, I would have just resupplied there. As it was, I already had extra food; now I have even more. That’s one of the downsides of using maildrop. I should have almost enough food to skip my next planned stop in Pinedale. We’ll see what happens.
As I continued to climb, I discovered how to use the monocycle (that’s what someone at the lodge called it) as a musical instrument. The ends of the handlebar are open, and by hitting either side with my palm, I can make a drumming sound. I drummed my way up the pass, trying not to drum too hard because whacking the handlebar does not help the monocycle’s stability.
I crested the pass, riding the last bit in the rain. When I stopped to adorn myself with rain gear, the wind picked up and blew me over while I was simply standing. I had to wait for the wind to subside, then continued upward. Overall, the pass was very well graded and traffic was light, making for a pleasant crossing of my 8th divide crossing. Woo hoo!
