On to Pinedale, WY.!
This morning brought on a quick pack-up and departure from the warming hut, as we bid Kai farewell and good luck on his journey through Grizz country!
The “descent” into Pinedale was perhaps one of the worst of the trip so far. We dreamed of a smooth and easy 40 mile downhill that would take us to Pinedale and a hearty resupply. NOT!!
The road down from Union Pass was garbage. Embedded rocks and washboards greeted and rode with us for almost an hour!! No rest for the weary!
We finally made our way to a decent road and were on our way. We stopped briefly to speak and to take pictures and noted a car stopping to speak to us. Turns out this gentlemen, Mr. Rob Tolly, was quite the source on roads and trails in the area, as well as a very engaging person to speak with.
After our brief visit we were back on our way, now running short on water. We stopped at a fire station outside of Pinedale, sure there had to be water there. NOPE, but we did meet and speak with two folks from Salida CO on their northbound trek. Eventually it was found that Erin and Shonda and Ray and I had mutual friends in Brian and Michelle Jensen, also from Salida. Small world.
Anyway, more friends made our journey continued, though dry, towards Pinedale.
It was a hot day and we were officially out of water when we were rolling past Cora, WY and the only chance of a potential water source, the US post office! We stopped in and were greeted by a lovely young lady (I believe her name was Alyssa…hopefully that’s correct). Though she couldn’t let me photograph her (PO rules, who knew?), she was awesome and had brought water from her home, specifically for TD riders who desperately needed it! A life saver!! We thanked her and were on our way to finally make it to Pinedale!
After rolling to a car-wash to spray down our bikes and remove encrusted mud (something we started doing in Helena, MT and continuing when we could), we secured lodging and made our way to the Wind River Brewing Company in downtown Pinedale, WY!! Yummy!!
As we were sitting on the second floor deck enjoying dinner and an adult beverage, we noticed Hanna Bingham, whom we had met at the Squirrel Creek Elk Lodge, going into an outdoor store next door. We didn’t have a chance to say hello, but it is amazing how folks re-appear in our journey!
After dinner we went to a small bike shop that does a great job of catering to TD riders in Pinedale. Geared Up bike shop was the fare of the day.
Though a small shop, we picked up a few items and I inquired about a problem that had arisen with a water bottle cage. During the descent to Lava Mountain Lodge, one of the cage bolts on my fork-mounted water bottle cage had sheared off. The cage was now being held on by one bolt, Gorilla Tape, and a Zip tie (We were ready for such maladies!!). The shop was able to easy-out the bolt, re-thread the insert, and viola, I was back in business!! Thanks guys!!
While in the shop, two other individuals walked in…not together. After chatting for a while we soon found out that they were both from New Mexico!! Jim and John were both North Bound (NOBO)! Small world. Strangely, Jim (if I recall correctly) had been following our exploits on this website!
After this visit, we went to the outdoor shop we had previously seen Hannah go into. This was a chance for Ray to replace a small drinking cup he had lost previously on one of the rougher sections of the trip! While we were in the shop we noticed a couple who had also been at the Wind River Brewing Company. They had noticed our Zia Symbols on our bags, kits, etc. As it turns out, they were also from NM! Santa Fe! This was Matt and Amy. A REALLY SMALL WORLD!
We soon started our walk back to our motel when, who should appear? Darren and Rob!! We talked at length about our plans for riding to Atlantic City the next day, but were never able to connect later in the evening.
The Pinedale stop, while a day late, turned out to be one of the more relaxing stops thus far. A small town that made us feel right at home!
Tomorrow the plan is to head to Atlantic City, WY in preparation for a difficult, long, and dry ride across the Great Basin of Wyoming. But we’ll cross that bridge (actually no bridges are required, its 80 miles of dry and largely barren terrain!)
We’re South Bound and Down
Shane and Ray
