Great BASIN

Day 38—Thursday, September 8—South Pass City to dispersed camping near A&M Reservoir

88 miles

Road through the Great Basin

Kelli Cavanaugh wished for me that the wind would always be at my back. (Kelli is Eric’s future mother-in-law: they are both lucky in this regard!). For a good part of yesterday, the winds from the west were definitely pushing me along as we headed east.  

Alas, the road, following the contours of the Great Basin, is serpentine. So I also felt the strength of this wind from the side with gusts changing the course of the bike—or worse—as a stiff headwind. With a tail wind, climbing gentle grades allows me to scream up these hills at about 12-13 mph; with a head wind, even going downhill maxed my speed at 6-7mph. Huge impact and very much a factor: by the end of the day, I was blown out and weary from the wind. It dies down after the sun sets but I’m asleep by then. Reading a map or lighting a stove for a hot dinner was impossible.

Trying to get an early start

South Pass City

Carissa Mine

Atlantic City supported the commercial needs of miners

Old stone building used as a garden enclosure in Atlantic City

Old school house

Miner's Grubstake—breakfast!

We got a good start and TJ treated me to breakfast in Atlantic City before we launched an ambitious ride, aiming for 85 miles. The Great Basin is a vast high desert with lots of life and subtle beauty. The terrain was mostly up and down. I traveled this stretch alone which heightened the solitude and smallness of me and my craft as I made my way through an amazing landscape that some might characterize as wasteland. It brought back memories of riding through the desolate desert and plains of the ‘85 trip and the presence of something or some being that is tangible in the simplicity and desolation.

Descending into Great Basin

Oasis

Diagnosis well

Expanse

Road passes through several oilfields

Pronghorn…this guy was calm and let me get kinda close

I must have seen over 50 pronghorn at various times during the day but could never get quite close enough for a good photo. Typical of this trip, I managed to make a wrong turn and so was separated from TJ for the evening. I was running out of water and the light was fading before I flagged down a pick up and asked for water. Art gave me what he could spare and that allowed me to immediately pull over into the sage and set up a camp as the sun set.

Art—water angel—with 100 miles yet to drive to Riverton, stopped to fill up my bottles

Losing the light…

…until the moonlight ascending on me and the pronghorns

Windy night, with the nearly full moon rising in the east. I did not put the rain fly on my tent despite the possibility of showers from cumulus clouds away to the west and north. After dropping off to sleep I felt a few drops and leapt up to attach the fly which was pretty comical in high winds and only the light of the moon. By the time I got the fly attached, the shower passed. It was an otherwise uneventful night.

I had to watch out for succulents (spiny cactus) when I got up during the night and when rolling my bike thru the sage…who needs a flat?