July 31, Wednesday

When the dew and condensation are really heavy we tip our tents upside down and move them into the sun. So today there were 4 tents upside down. I wonder what people think of this.
Regardless of the bear threat, we did not get eaten last night. Climbing Togwotee pass, Jamie remembered much of it, though we did it east to west last time.
There were 2 motorcyclists who told us of the fate of the the 2 motorcyclists who attempted to go up Fleecer Ridge on their loaded dirt bikes. Apparently the one who assured us he would make it up didn't and the quiet overweight one did.
There were also two cyclists doing a combination of the Trans Am/ roll your own on the pass coming up from Florida. They had been on the road for 7 months.
Even though Roger isn't feeling well, he still managed to climb two passes, one of which was gravel, but he admitted the downhill was much more pleasant than the uphill. Togwotee pass gave us 8-9 miles of downhill before we turned off to Union Pass, hoping we could stay at the beginning of it at cyclists only camping. Jamie had called the number, but there was no answer and the voicemail was full (never a good sign). Arriving there, there was no water and no sign of welcome. Going back out to the road, Roger flagged a pickup and asked if there was really a restaurant / camping 5 miles up and got an affirmative, so up we went.
The trek was slow, but the grade was doable and offered beautiful views. Near the ranch where the road leveled out it began to rain lightly and the wind began to pick up. John had sent someone out to rescue us, but we already nearby.
As we rode into the Crooked Creek Ranch and pulled our bikes under the porch roof it started to pour.  John had gotten us a bunk house for $50 and we ate dinner at the lodge. I had a flat when we finally came back out.
This is a beautiful place to stay and needs to be better identified on the AC maps. If we hadn't been assured it was there, we probably would not have tried it. The map currently only identifies it as a place with services,  not by name or with directions. Leah, the manager, gave me directions to give to AC.
Stats: Start odometer 1389 End 1434 Total 45 Max 46.8 Avg 9.1 Time 4:47