Day 326
Togwotee Pass
So if you sleep at the bottom of a pass then the start of the ride means only one thing, up! We had to cross the Togwotee Pass to reach the Grand Tetons, and as we were now in ‘Bear Country’ we were somewhat nervous. Bear spray to hand, we set off. Within minutes Tom called out, STOP! A massive moose ran out in front of us. It was simply magnificent but I am glad it was no nearer.
The forecast was for a cool day with a high chance of snow. There was certainly deep snow all around and we were worried about spending two nights at a tent-only basic campsite. We debated what to do but as the day progressed the sun came out and we decided to stick with the plan. Once over the pass we had a 17-mile descent, fantastic but oh so cold. The views were mind blowing though! At the bottom of the pass, we popped into a ranger station to warm up. The cheerful ranger casually mentioned that we would shortly be seeing Grizzly Bear, a mum and her two cubs were half a mile ahead! Sure enough within minutes we saw parked cars, a sure sign of an animal sighting. Another ranger flagged us down, gave us advice about keeping safe, basically do not get too close, as if! The Grizzles were great, mum munching away on grass and the two cubs rolling around and generally putting on a great show for us fans. It was a fantastic sight and also very reassuring. Feeling much more confident we headed towards the Grand Tetons.
The threatened snow stayed away, the sun shone and we arrived at one of the most stunning National Parks in the world. The road was quiet, it was a perfect day to ride. We stopped at an abandoned Mormon village, apparently the most photographed barn in the world stands there so clearly, we had to go! Then we headed onwards to our campsite. Herds of elk roamed on the plains but we had no more bear or moose sightings.
Our camp site, Jenny Lake, was situated besides said lake. The camp host greeted us, checked we were bear aware, no food or anything that smells in the tent. Don’t sleep in the clothes you cook in etc. We had changed our packing routine and were all set, we sure didn’t want to attract any bears!
