Day 37 – Dubois, WY to Jackson, WY

95 miles

The extra clothes didn’t really help at an elevation of 7000ft, it was still an icy morning to get up to. Today was the big climb, I had been preparing for a ridiculous gradient but it never came. I reached the continental divide with relative ease, not boasting or anything but I found Iowa a lot more painful. I had 15 miles of downhill and I was flying but sadly I had to stop for roadworks about 5 miles down and catch a lift because of safety reasons, every cyclist had to do it. After the lift, I flew down to the junction where you head into Teton National Park and decided to have lunch at Jackson Lake. Unfortunately, I got a flat tyre just as I entered and spent some time fixing it. I didn’t make lunch till about 3.30pm but my word was it worth the wait. I got a sandwich and sat on the patio looking out onto the Lake and the Teton Mountains. It was quite a spectacular thing to see. It felt almost like a computer screen saver, almost too majestical to be real.

I had 30 miles to get to the town of Jackson, what I didn’t know was that it was peak season, and it was quite a flashy, stylish town, a good place to be seen. When you see all the motels booked up and the only remaining places are over $200, you really fear the worst. I had been camping for 4 nights straight and I hate to admit it but I hadn’t showered either! I was desperate and with no luck, I began to cycle to the next town when I saw a motel, I went in to ask and it was cheap by comparison to other places around, and there was a room, jackpot! Tom who I met in Lander was also staying there and we agreed to grab breakfast tomorrow because I was going straight to bed.