"Over all the mountain peaks there is quiet." Von Goethe Jackson, Wyoming to Montpelier, Idaho 117 miles. 3910 feet climbing. Reporting on how cold the mornings are is getting kind of repetitious, but this morning we started out in 34 degrees Fahrenheit. The valley around Jackson was shrouded in fog. The fog and cold had ice forming on my glasses as we rode out of town. We took a bike trail for about the first five miles south. It twisted and turned and dipped through the fog alongside the main highway. It was strange; very quiet, very fast and very eerie. Back on the main road we followed the Snake River through an interesting canyon. It was narrow and picturesque, with mixed evergreen/deciduous forest (with the deciduous trees already turning colour), good road quality, and gentle grades. I rode with my usual four companions. In fact, we're comfortable enough with each other such that when other riders hooked on to our small group (or looked like they would) we would stop, or speed up, or some other maneuver to maintain the group at five. The first sag wasn't until 36 miles, as we left the Snake River Canyon and the fog behind. The sun made an appearance, but it still wasn't warm and I kept my tights, gloves and jacket on. The valley opened up, becoming again broad, flat and dry. It's mostly cattle country. Some irrigation provides some green. We passed through Afton, where there's the world's largest elkhorn arch over the main street. After all, where else but America would someone build an elkhorn arch. I have the pictures to prove it. Speaking of dead elk, it seems everyone here hunts. Men walk around in camouflage gear. There are more gun shops than convenience stores. In downtown Jackson, even the pharmacy has big game heads on the wall. Finally the gentle grades gave way to something more serious, a 1000 foot climb to the Salt River Pass at 7600 feet elevation. We had lunch on top of the pass (once we started breathing normally again), with gorgeous scenery, but with a black cloud sitting overhead. But our group missed the rain. Someone behind us reported getting hailed on. The descent on the other side was disappointing because a wind was howling up the pass. We'd been promised a south-west wind for the day but this was its first significant appearance. Whoever was leading had to push hard even though it was a 7% down grade. Then across another dry valley and back into Idaho, and then back up another 1000 feet over the Geneva Summit at 6900 feet. And finally another wind abetted descent into Montpelier and the finish. While patronizing a local laundromat we asked a local for the recommended eating spots. It seemed there was only one: Butch Cassidy's. Butch and Sundance evidently robbed a bank here and escaped up the pass we'd just come down. There was a plaque (and a restaurant) commemorating the event. Making heroes out of villains. We ate there anyway. Don Friedlander ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED], (613) 230-1064 Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
