(Temporary Backup) Day 40-Leaving Yellowstone, Entering Grand Teton, and Leaving Grand Teton All in One Day!

Brrrr, was it cold this morning! My Garmin said it was 38 degrees! I definitely started out in my puffy jacket!

We had Continental Divide crossing number three right away. 

It was a minor climb. 

As we worked our way to the South Entrance/Exit, we went by Lewis Lake. 

It was nice, but the mosquitoes were already out, so we didn’t dilly dally. 

The terrain was slowly changing to a more dry climate, and we climbed some above this canyon. 

Riding on the precipice of death. 

Then it was a long downhill (about 5 miles) to the South Exit. 

Preparing to exit. 

It was awesome, Yellowstone! Maybe some day I can come back and see more!

One last look back…

Between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, we rode the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway. Rockefeller was instrumental in the creation of Grand Teton National Park. He bought tons of land, and donated it to create the park. 

Stick Forest on the Parkway (Tetons in the distance).

Once we passed Flagg Ranch, I was on familiar territory as this is part of the Great Divide. However, the weather today was much much better than that October day in 2016. We could actually see the Tetons today!!!

Jackson Lake and the mountains. 

We stopped at the convenience store for Colter Bay, and had some lunch. Since we weren’t staying in Colter Bay, we didn’t go down to it (gratuitous hill climb back up…no thank you). 

We did stop at Jackson Lake Lodge where we spent about an hour or so, uploading blog posts, looking at the mountains, and generally relaxing before pushing on for the final 14 or so miles. 


Pano from Jackson Lake Lodge

We turned away from the Tetons, heading toward Togwotee Pass. Here was one final look. 

Still part of Jackson Lake. 

We think this was a pelican on the lake. 

And this heron. 

Right away the terrain became more dry. Caught this coyote trotting through the field. 

We officially left Grand Teton. 

It was just a few more miles to Hatchet Campground. This puts us in a good position for the climb over Togwotee Pass tomorrow. This is the closest campground. It’s also got lots of flies and mosquitoes. Bring on the DEET!