40 miles, 4:30/6:30

Today we start on pavement from Warm River fairly early. We come across the last few stragglers in the Warm River Marathon, and I cheer a couple of them on. They’re on mile 18 and they are the ones who will be putting in a five to six hour day, I’m guessing. Dave comments on how it just shows how inefficient running is as a way to get around. These poor people are struggling up this hill at a crawl, and we glide by on bikes loaded down with gear and leave them easily behind. I tell him that’s not the point. I also tell him I hope he doesn’t go on like that if or when I start running half marathons again. He says of course he won’t. We’ll see.

Today we ride between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks on a gravel parkway maintained by the National Parks Service. There are lots of trees and streams and the road is pretty good in places. The streams eventually come together to form the Snake River, and it looks clean and clear and sounds refreshing. There are eight primitive camping areas within eight miles before Flagg Ranch, and it’s getting late on a Saturday evening and I’m nervous about finding a free one. The first three are taken, then we find one. It’s only got one camp site, so we’ve got the place to ourselves. There is a creek flowing behind it and lots of trees so it’s shady and quiet. It even has a bear box so Dave doesn’t have to hang our food. I have to say, I usually prefer the free sites to the paid sites. The free ones are usually quieter and we’re almost always alone, especially if we find our own spot on NF land. And we always make sure we’re camping by some beautiful creek, river or lake. I love the lake sites! Much better swimming.