Proper incentive - Day 33: Moran to Lander

I exited the teepee to see that no one had put the horses away from last night. They were happily munching on the lawn and leftover party trash. I decided I should help clean up, so I collected trash, made a lost-and-found pile of valuable-looking things, and delivered dirty dishes to places that seemed sensible. I went back to the chair I had first sat down in, again preparing to eat granola and milk. Instead, the same girl I met yesterday - up surprisingly early, considering the hangover she must have had - put in an order for me in the kitchen, so I ate eggs, sausage, and pancakes while defending them from a local cat.

Maybe a week ago, Jon had picked up a Monster energy drink that fell out of a vending machine. He didn't want it, so he handed it to me and I'd carried it until I could find a good reason to use it. Since I would cross Togwotee Pass today, the second highest point on the Trans-Am route and >2,500 feet above Moran, I dumped half of it into each of my bottles and diluted it with water to make it more tolerable. Properly fueled, I left to attack the pass.

I had hoped that the bear situation at the pass would have cleared up by now, but there were still flashing signs imploring that I should stay in my vehicle. Several cyclists were crossing that pass every day, so I figured bear spray would be a sufficient replacement for a vehicle. Most of the road wasn't immediately bordered by forest, either, so I expected to see a bear before it could get close. Thankfully, all I saw when climbing the pass were several local cyclists and some biting flies that didn't care about my bug spray at all.

After two good meals and a Monster, I made the pass without much problem and embarked on a glorious downhill, now scanning the road ahead for imperfections in the pavement instead of grizzlies. I made it to Dubois without trouble and met three old, retired guys from New York on Harleys who called themselves The Three ROMEOs, which stood for Retired Old Men Eating Out. They told me about 60 mph winds and other stories.

I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go that day, as the only campsites listed on my map were either disappointingly close or unreasonably far. After eating in Dubois and evaluating my progress, I decided on Unreasonably Far, which was Lander, WY. My primary motivation was that Lander allows free camping in the city park. Road conditions and variable winds made things a little tougher than I imagined, but after a couple stops at Crowheart and Fort Washakie in the Shoshone Wind River Reservation, and inspired by the idea of "free", I got a second wind and made Lander about the time it got dark.

I stopped at an ice cream shop that was still open and checked my mileage for the day, which came in at 123 miles in total. This marked my first 100+ mile day, known as a "century" in the cycling community. I celebrated my progress with a German chocolate sundae and opened my map to find the park. Before I could read anything, a woman asked if I needed help finding the park - understandably, everyone stops there. She told me she works at a local bakery and invited me to stop by the next morning, saying that I could set up shop there as long as I wanted. I hope she doesn't regret that decision, because as of this writing I've dominated this table for about 6 hours, blogging, charging stuff, and taking care of miscellaneous online tasks that I've neglected.

Anyway, the Lander city park is quite nice. I kept my light off to avoid waking any other campers, and was rewarded for my consideration by stepping in a pile left by a dog that must have been very large and well-fed. I pledged to take care of that tomorrow, put my shoes far from my bivy bag, and went to sleep.

Oh, right, pictures. Here's the cat that wanted my breakfast:



A self-descriptive sign at Togwotee Pass:



The view from a lookout a little ways down the pass:



The view outside of Dubois, where some Badlands-ish scenery begins (lots of road in the picture, unfortunately):