Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #19 Rawlins, WY to Cow Camp Spring, WY

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #19

June 15, 2022

Rawlins, WY to Cow Camp Spring - 78 Miles

Start 6:20 AM Finish 6:55 PM

Total Duration 12:35

Moving Time 9:49

Stopped Time 2:26

Ascent 3,241 Feet

Descent 3,093 Feet

Tour Total 1,360 Miles

Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/93561862

I slept OK at Jim Chapman Lions Pavilion in Washington Park in Rawlins. I had spent the night here in 2018 with Scott and Eileen. Sprinklers had come on in the middle of the night and Scott had gotten drenched. There were no sprinklers last night but the roar of nearby Interstate 80 was deafening. The freight train horns were comforting. My tent flaps were blowing in the wind, and I was concerned that it was an animal trying to get to my food. I had plenty of dreams and this was how I knew that I slept. It didn’t get as cold as I thought it would, but it was brisk this morning. I left in my down sweater, jacket, balaclava, leg-warmers, silk sock liners, wool socks, waterproof socks, and long finger gloves and glove liners.

I was now on ACA Great Divide map number three, which would take me to Colter Bay Village north of the Grand Teton range. I rode through the center of Rawlins and admired the handsome old buildings. I passed Abuelita’s and then City Market as I took a left on US Highway 287 north. I had gone to City Market yesterday after dinner to purchase a can of Van Camps Beanee Weenees, a can of Dole crushed pineapples, a jar of Simple Truth cashew butter, and a pack of Mission street taco flout tortillas. This morning I purchased a Starbucks Frappuccino, a Simply Orange orange juice, a banana, and a chocolate doughnut.

The wind was already strong out of the west. Leaving Rawlins I was on US 287 and State Highway 79. I passed a flashing sign that read that all entrances of Yellowstone park were closed. I had heard about this in the news. There had been extensive flooding. There was also a lot of snow and cold weather up in Montana and Canada. I was now on the Chief Washakie trail, which I remembered from my 2018 TransAm tour. The first segment of today’s ride would retrace my TransAm ride out of Rawlins. In 2018 I had continued on to Jeffery City, and then to Lander.

The sky was crystal clear and I was riding through a large flat known as the Great Divide Basin. There were clumps of sage and grass, and snow fences running for miles to the west side of the highway. The wind only enabled me to pedal seven miles an hour. I could make it work, as long as the breeze was coming towards my front left shoulder, my left side, or my rear left hip.

I crossed back over the Continental Divide, and was again on the Pacific side. By 9:16 AM I had gone eighteen miles. I took a left on County Road 63, aka Mineral X Road, towards the Rio Tinto Sweetwater Uranium Project. I was entering a Raptor Concentration area and it was nesting season for Hawks, Eagles, and Falcons. The pavement was old craggily asphalt. Prairie dogs darted alongside the road, as it elbowed straight into the wind.

Why aren’t there any wind farms in Wyoming? The state has a population of only 400,000, and yet it has two senators and one house seat in congress. The state is run by gas and coal interests as well as cattle grazing. Most of the houses I saw in Rawlins were tiny and dilapidated. Instead of polluting and contributing to global warming, the people should stand up and demand wind energy, which would provide clean good paying jobs.

The wind again was out of the southwest. My first leg had a northwest heading, and I could deal with it. The road then cut west, and the wind became more difficult. The next leg had a southwest heading and I was going straight into it. I could only go four to six miles and hour. At one point I saw a large old corrugated pipe ahead on the side of the road. I ducked in for a break, where I refolded my map and enjoyed some taco shells and cashew butter. The wind was so strong that it would blow things out of my hands. Everything had to be secured. At 1:53 PM I had gone forty three miles and took a right on Sooner Road also known as County Road 3215. The heading on this stretch was northeast and I now had a tailwind. With the wind at my back, I was getting hot so I pulled over to remove my down sweater, balaclava, long finger gloves, and glove liners.

I saw a pronghorn run across the road, and then I saw two more. I could see the snow-capped Wind River Range a hundred miles to the west. By 3:30 PM I had traveled fifty seven miles. I reached County Road 22. This had been my original destination for the day, and there was an informal campground a mile off route. Virginia City, my destination for tomorrow, was still seventy miles ahead, and I decided to put in another twenty miles for the day. I stopped to take a break and relish Hungarian cured meat that my house sitter had brought me, along with a few taco shells. A motorist (one of the only ones I saw all day) stopped to see if I was OK. I had Internet and checked the wind forecast. It was currently twenty-two miles an hour out of the southwest as I had deducted. The wind was supposed to be calmer tomorrow and out of the south.

Twice now I’ve startled groups of cattle, who then ran into the sage and kicked up a delightful aroma. All that was missing was warm pasta and olive oil. By 5:40 PM I had ridden fifty-eight miles. I came to County Highway 23. I was again headed north where I would have a tailwind. I again had to remove my down sweater. There were so many pronghorn today. They’re so fast and bouncy! I approached 7516’ Borring Butte and it was satisfying to finally have some interesting geography to admire and ride around. I crossed the Continental Divide again and I believe I was now on the Atlantic side.

It was 6:20 PM and I had ridden seventy-four miles. I came to an intersection and continued onto County Road 2317. I was down to a liter of water. I was looking for places to wild camp and found a nice dip in the road where it met a creek bed. There was green grass and a surprising lack of cow patties. The cows watched as I set up my camp. I had a wonderful dinner of Beanee Weenees and crushed pineapples with taco shells and cashew butter. I sat roadside on a comfortable seat of grass as I edited this report.