I woke up extra early to get a head start towards Pinedale. Another shelter guest had arrived later the evening before, so I packed up as quickly as possible to not to disturb them. I also wanted to hit the trails before the ATV yahoos from yesterday were going to return. I figured they would not be early bird types on a Sunday morning.
I left my unopened can of Spam in the cupboard for a needy snowmobiler in the winter.
It was glorious riding for the first 15 miles until I hit the notorious rock section. I can imagine it would not have been fun to have ridden that the afternoon before when it was raining. I passed the supposed campground, which was just basically a small field, and saw my bike mates who shunned the shelter the day before. I waved at them with some glee as I rode on to Pinedale. It was a rough and rocky descent as predicted. Good that most of the rain from last night didn’t make it more slippery.
The convoy of pickup trucks pulling a trailer with their prized ATV’s arrived just as the dirt road ended and turned into pavement. Good timing! It was a relatively uneventful ride into Pinedale and I immediately went to the Outdoors store to get a new sleeping pad. The staff was super helpful and recommended one that would be best for what I was doing. I got a few other sundry items, including a new water bladder to replace the one I lost. I also handed my bear spray canister to them since grizzly bears are really no longer a threat this far south. A north bound rider or CDT hiker could pick it up for free from the surplus hiker/biker box. I asked for a recommendation for lunch and he pointed to the brewery next door. Perfect! 👍
A deer in the stream down below
My new New Zealand friends, Hamish and his daughter Jess, arrived shortly afterwards and we ate lunch together. They were such interesting people in terms of what they have done, that I could have listened to them for hours. They were planning to cycle on from Pinedale and find a place to camp. I needed a shower and laundry facility pretty bad and found myself a cheap motel in Pinedale.
Hamish and Jess
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