The campsite last night was wonderful, quietly tucked away in the forest, looking up I could only see the tips of tall, thin pines with purple peaks of the mountains in the distance. The air was cold and crisp at 5:00am, I might've wanted to crawl back in my warm sleeping bag but, I was too excited to cross the Togwotee Pass and ride into the Tetons.
To be honest, I was kind of surprised when I got to the peak of the pass, it was only 7 miles from where I woke up. I guess I did the hard part yesterday. Seeing that I was 9,500 feet above sea level was amazing, and then going a little further and seeing I was crossing the Continental Divide; I think I'm really in the West now, I flowed downhill in the direction of all rivers now.
17 miles of downhill is more than I could've asked for. I went down screaming like a little kid with pure joy that only comes from riding your bike down a steep hill. Before I was even halfway down, the road twisted and the view opened up to reveal the massive Tetons.
I though they were clouds coming over the distant horizon but soon realized they were the giant mountains I was heading towards. They barely looked real, like some kind of painted backdrop you see on a stage play but, as you get closer and closer, you are inside the painted world at the feet of the towering mountains.
There's nothing quite like being reminded how small you are, that and the morning light will never get old.
