Sweetwater Guard Station to Coulter Bay Village - Day 2
Coulter Bay Village: 6,887'
Mileage: 201
Day 2 (Saturday)
Today's route would cover more of the Emigrant Trail and the Continental Divide Trail as we worked our way north to Coulter Bay Village, WY.
We left the Sweetwater Guard Station along the Wind River Range to Pinedale, WY for gas and lunch. We rode the through the Buckskin Crossing of The Big Sandy River which linked South Pass to the Upper Green River. This route was used by legendary mountain men, trappers & guides like Jim Bridger, Jed Smith, William Sublette and Kit Carson. This crossing was also used in laying out the first federally funded road - the "Lander Cutoff".
We went into Pinedale, WY for gas and lunch. I was only getting 30 MPG and should be getting 40-45 MPG. This makes a big difference when you are planning daily routes based upon a 65 mile difference in range.
Mileage: 201
Day 2 (Saturday)
Today's route would cover more of the Emigrant Trail and the Continental Divide Trail as we worked our way north to Coulter Bay Village, WY.
We left the Sweetwater Guard Station along the Wind River Range to Pinedale, WY for gas and lunch. We rode the through the Buckskin Crossing of The Big Sandy River which linked South Pass to the Upper Green River. This route was used by legendary mountain men, trappers & guides like Jim Bridger, Jed Smith, William Sublette and Kit Carson. This crossing was also used in laying out the first federally funded road - the "Lander Cutoff".
We went into Pinedale, WY for gas and lunch. I was only getting 30 MPG and should be getting 40-45 MPG. This makes a big difference when you are planning daily routes based upon a 65 mile difference in range.
We crossed over Union Pass at 9,212'. This area was the heart of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade. This is also where Three Rivers Mountain and Land of Many Rivers to early Native Americans is at. Here is were three of North America's seven major watersheds interlock. This is considered a Triple Divide which is an area on the earth's surface where three drainage basins meet. This would have been a phenomenon for early trappers, mountain men and settlers and probably very confusing. Here water would eventually flow to three different ends - Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California.
After descending Union Pass we headed into the Grand Teton National Park where we had a cabin reserved at Coulter Bay Village. We were basically at the base of the Tetons on Jackson Lake. We checked into our cabin, got cleaned up and headed for a steak dinner followed by white chocolate cheesecake with huckleberry topping!