The Big Blue

Day 24

Jackson Lake, WY to Dubois, WY

Distance: 62 miles

Max Elevation: 9,584ft

Bears: zero

Other than climbing to the highest point so far on this trip (the second highest of the whole TransAmerica Trail)...

... it was a cycling day blissfully without incident, and with the most stunning scenery you can imagine.

The start of the day was against a backdrop of pure blue with ice white, as the Grand Tetons framed every beautiful vista that emerged and I climbed steadily from the lodge where I stayed last night.

But by the end of the day, the freshness of the scene and the air had transformed into red, orange and yellow striped rocks jutting out from the dry, dusty ground of cute cowboy town, Dubois.

Still I saw virtually no animals, only a red-tailed squirrel-type critter around half a mile from the Togwotee Pass, and a deer standing poised and motionless in a field near Dubois.

And so on the ride, I started to develop my own theory.

Knowing the French connection to the town (although it is pronounced Doo-Boys not the French way), I speculated that maybe the bears had taken a leaf out of the French holiday manual and taken the whole of August off. 

“Pouf,” sighed the town Grizzly when I put it to him, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. “And why not?” he continued.

“The summer food is just not ze same here anymore,” he continued. “Too many fancy foreign skinny snacks, not enough of those large tender bites with the rendered fat and the ‘I heart West Virginia’ sweatshirts,” he lamented picking the threads of a “Wy-O-Ming?” sweatshirt with chopsticks logo from between his teeth as he spoke.

But I digress.

Going back to the cycling, the other thing to mention is that, unlike Yellowstone, the Tetons is thankfully lacking in RVs, with shoulders on the road as wide as LeBron James and as smooth as LL Cool J. 

And more kind people. Just as I was around a mile or two outside of Dubois, and almost finished for the day, a lady pulled over in a pick up truck and got out to chat, and to give me a punnet of organic blueberries. Nan was also a cyclist and had ridden the Southern Tier route on her own a few years ago, and so was very enthusiastic about my trip, and also aware of things like the struggle for fresh fruit! Really, I am amazed and heartened by the generosity of the people I am meeting on this trip.

Rest day tomorrow in Dubois and I am looking forward to it!

Me x