The Great Divide (NOBO)

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #18 June 14, 2022 Slater, CO to Rawlins, WY - 71 Miles Start 6:55 AM Finish 3:17 PM Total Duration 8:22 Moving Time 7:14 Stopped Time 1:08 Ascent 5,715 Feet Descent 5,508 Feet Tour Total 1,282 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/93356236 I slept great in a cabin at Riverbend Camping in Slater. It was cold last night and I had closed all of the windows. It rained throughout the night and I stayed warm and dry in my silk liner and down bag on a lower bunk bed. There were cows behind the cabin that moo-ed throughout the night. I woke up with the light and packed up. Before I left I got some water from Rick who poured from a pitcher he had in the refrigerator. There had been a sign at the bathroom sink saying not to drink the water. He told me to keep an eye out for cougars, bears, and wolves, and said there would be nothing between here and Rawlins, which was my destination. I turned right on State Highway 70 which was asphalt. Rick had said that that...

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...

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #20 June 16, 2022 Cow Camp Spring, WY to Atlantic City, WY- 57 Miles Start 6:37 AM Finish 2:46 PM Total Duration 8:09 Moving Time 6:42 Stopped Time 1:27 Ascent 3,397 Feet Descent 2,728 Feet Tour Total 1,417 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/93561697 If bike packing is like sailing, where one voyages from harbor to harbor, then last night I slept on the open seas. I slumbered well in the grass next to the dried creek bed, alongside County Road 2317 that ran through the cow pasture in the Great Divide Basin, a few miles from Cow Camp Spring. It was getting chilly when I went to bed, and I was comfy in my silk liner and sleeping bag. I probably should have put on my long underwear because it got chilly in the middle of the night. My liter of water was frozen in the morning. Packing up my tent was difficult because my hands were cold. I’m less nimble with gloves. Last night was so quiet. I heard crickets, one plane go over, some coyote, and a strange...

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #21 June 17, 2022 South Pass City, WY to Pinedale, WY to - 79 Miles Start 6:43 AM Finish 2:44 PM Total Duration 8:01 Moving Time 6:29 Stopped Time 1:32 Ascent 3,339 Feet Descent 3,875 Feet Tour Total 1,504 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/93688735 Last evening before leaving Miner’s Grubstake I filled all my water bottles. Atlantic City had a population of 37. The local bike hostel wanted $65 to spend the night in a cabin. I had spent $25 at the hostel in Salida and $15 for the cabin in Slater. I decided to ride eight miles out of town to an informal campground. My additional mileage was at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/93688665 and I hoped that uncle Herbie, my stats guy, was keeping up.  South Park City was another ghost/mining town located in a valley. It was now a museum. There were no services and I continued on through. I set up camp at ‘Informal Campground 13’, essentially a cow pasture near some nice rock outcrops. I later realized...