From Ocean Lake to Dubois was 70 miles. I was feeling good after the 70 miles before and felt I could make it, but the weather had other plans. I had not had good reception the last few days, I was running out of water, and my phone and tablet were almost dead. I used the solar when the sun poked out from the clouds, but it rarely did.
With no service, I was unsure when the next water break would be. I passed a couple reservoirs before deciding I should get water. Highway 26 followed the Wind River all through the reservation. At one of the crossings, I went down and filled the bottles with the Sawyer filter. Not 10 miles down the road and there was a rest area with a water fountain. No electric outlets though.
From the rest area it was 10 miles to Crowheart and 30 more to Dubois. Those 10 miles to Crowheart were tough. I was averaging 7 mph and the wind averaging 30 mph stronger gusts. It was a straight head wind. At one point I pushed the bike a hill that normally I could have easily gone up. The wind was so strong at times that I was in my lowest gear struggling to go downhill. When I got to Crowheart I decided to wait out the wind. I asked the store owner there when the wind usually stops and he said, “I’ve been here for 70 years and it hasn’t stopped yet.” He told me I could hang out at the fire station across the street. It had a covered area with picnic tables out of the wind. At this point, it was only 2 PM. The wind did not stop until the next morning.
I set up my camp, which was my sleeping pad wrapped up in the tarp. No need for the tent that night. Later in the evening I heard some cars pull up and people talking. I stuck my head around the corner and it was a couple with two horses and a chiropractor, a horse chiropractor. Dr. Tiger worked on people during the day and would work on animals every week or so. He said, “I’m chiropractic whore, if it has a spine then I will touch it, and probably have”. He lives in Jackson and it was tempting to ask for a lift. By the end of the night, he worked on 15 horses and one dog.
Jesse,
Thanks for sharing your adventure. I have worked with your Dad for many years and it is quite evident the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. I have read every post and always look forward to the next.
Safe travels.
Shannon Driggers
Springdale
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