It was a gorgeous day today. In the low 70s, not a cloud in the blue sky. I rode from Flagg Ranch through Grand Teton National Park, where I took a scenic road around Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake. The Tetons were apparently named in the 1820s by French fur trappers. The translation is fairly apparent. It makes perfect sense to me, as frontier fur-trapping was surely a lonely business.
They are picture-perfect mountains, jaggedly rising straight out of the flat plain that is Jackson Hole. The big lakes at their feet allow for some magnificent contrasts. The road was wide and smooth. Except for getting buzzed by a few RVs, drivers blissfully listening to The Best of Lawrence Welk, it was a pleasure. There is a bike path that starts about 20 miles north of Jackson and heads straight into town.
Miles away from town I saw a wisp of white smoke rising into the otherwise cloudless sky. I thought there was a house fire in town, or perhaps a car fire. Over the next hour-and-a-half it took me to pedal into town, the plume grew tenfold and turned a telltale shade of amber. It was a forest fire, and growing rapidly. It appeared to be directly behind the Snow King ski area which is right in town. It turns out that it was a couple of ridges behind the ski area, but still very close to town. I heard on the radio that some mandatory evacuations were in effect. Later on, as I cruised down the road to my KOA accommodation, the highway was lined with cars and people gawking and taking photos. There were three air tankers and a helicopter doing endless slow loops to and from the fire.
There were lots of bicyclists riding into town all day. Later I heard that it was a race from Logan, UT to Jackson, WY. 206 miles and 7000 feet of climbing. That is unfathomable. Some people were still coming in after dark. They didn't look like they were having fun. At all.
While in Jackson, I stopped a few places and got into several conversations. An interesting one was at the bike shop, where I discussed recumbent bicycles at some length with a guy who looked like a hairy Bjorn Borg. He had also ridden across southern Wyoming, and recommended a road. Later he recounted the story, saying that the wind was so bad he had to walk his bike for fear of being blown into the traffic lane. Great recommendation, dude. Winds are forecast to pick up tomorrow and Monday, so I may take a break here in Jackson. Tomorrow I think I am going to ride back to Jackson (10 miles uphill, unfortunately), and rent a mountain bike to take up to the Snow King ski area. I'll bet there will be a lot of people up there watching the fire.
Hero neighbor Mike sent me a down mummy sleeping bag and bivy. I feel so confident in staying warm that I put the hammock up again tonight.
*updated yesterday's pics also
Tetons from the north
Pretty good road
Strange caterpillar
As I got closer to town, this is what I saw
Downtown Jackson
Spectators lined the road to watch
