June 20, 2025
Teton NP - Squirrel Meadow Camp
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It was hard to leave the Climbers Ranch - it had felt so like a home in just 4 nights. We'd both started to wonder how it would feel to get back on the route, and dread it being difficult. We even talked about a short day, up to Coulter Bay, to ease re-entry. We need not have worried, we were back in the groove by the end of the driveway!
We left in sunshine, and were quickly caught by some mountain weather. We loved the tailwind, and only got 20 minutes of rain, on the highway just before Coulter Bay.
Enjoy Karo's photos:
We met our first Tour Divide rider - Shaun - as we stopped to put on rain leggings, and from then it was a steady flow of riders heading to Mexico. Mostly we wooped and cheered each other's progress, but some had the thousand yard stare on day 8 of their ride. These guys will likely take 20 or 30 days to complete - leaders are on track for a sub-13 day finish - riding largely alone, sleeping where they dismount, and eating gas station food-like products. Their route is very similar to ours, with some super-ugly hard bits (eg Koko Claims) thrown in to remind them its a race!
We stopped at Flagg Ranch for a restaurant lunch, then headed off on Grassy Lake Rd. This is a narrow, very pretty road, winding through lakes and forest. We were aiming for a campsite near the Idaho border.
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Alongside the road were some mid sized bushes, dug up, with an excavation at their roots. At first I thought someone had driven off the road, but there were no wheel tracks. There were several other dug up bushes of the same type, and finally I realised, this was fresh bear activity! Without our bear appreciation tour and fresh knowledge, we may have camped here!
Squirrel Meadow Cabin is an old USFS Guard Station that can be booked by the public. We arrived to find there were people already in it, but away. So, like Goldilocks, we set up camp near the cabin, cooked dinner, and went to bed. The mosquitos were huge and voracious.
30 minutes after retreating from the mosquitos, the resident family returned. They were surprised, but very happy for us to stay. They chopped wood, lit the campfire and made S'mores, but we only heard the wood chopping activity!
We learned they have been coming here for 20 years and they love the no internet feature. Their kids (13, 10, 8) have to entertain themselves in old fashioned ways.
Today's ride: 103 km (64 miles)
Total: 2,946 km (1,829 miles)
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