:: shift7 ::

:: north/south adventure ::

wyoming: day 08, fri 5 sep
west yellowstone - jackson lake

stats:
91.9 @ 16.0 = 5:44:27, max 41.6, trip total: 623

eats:
strawberry yogurt shake, harvest powerbar, tropical yogurt shake, frosted animal crackers, cheese & peanut butter & crackers, harvest power bar, onion rings, salad, lasagne

sleep:
colter bay camping on jackson lake, $5 + $3.25 for a shower

thoughts:
it rained today. ain't it something how the way things go. considering this is a relatively dry climate it's odd it would rain the two times i've been here- hmm. but if the similarities hold true, then there's a good chance that most of the trip will be dry- as it has been so far. may the weather gods stay with us.

it was an event just to get into yellowstone without getting our pass revoked (apparently i had to be in the car since the pass was in my name- not my dads name!). they really tried to piss us off. it was useless- we laughed in their face after a couple of "yes sir's". so we had to load all the bikes on the van as we passed through the gates (10 feet!) so they wouldn't charge us $10 each. can you believe it? we had bikes stacked on the roof, on top of the bikes that were already on the bike rack, people piled in the van with all our gear and food coolers etc. it was funny. usually we take everything out before we go anywhere together (at camp). anyway, it was early and there was plenty more we had to do and wanted to accomplish- so off we were.

i was nursing a tender ankle. i think one of the tendons was sore and only getting worse which had me on high alert and really concerned about what might develop. i have a history with this thing and it isn't good. but the day was nice- the temperature cool but not cold. the clouds were giving us shade that helped keep us from burning and peeling any more than we already were.

as we all headed in together there were plenty of sites- animals all over the place, hot springs, geysers, old faithful, waterfalls, rivers, mountains, new growth (over old burned areas), and on and on. it was all amazing and it all required stopping here and there so the day began to stretch.

by lunch (at old faithful) i was so frustrated with my ankle and that i had to pay attention to it- that i needed to act on it. there was a clinic here - a small community. this was probably my only chance to get medical help for a couple of days. maybe even until salt lake city. ok, so i went. only to find out it would be about $150 for a diagnosis. is it worth it? i know what hurts. i know they'll tell me to rest it- who wouldn't. but the price of confirmation, for as tough as it was to swallow, would give me some peace of mind. you're probably thinking that i have health insurance- and i even had the card on me- yeah, they really didn't care. cash or credit.

so i got in there and they ask me the basics, take my temperature, blood pressure, look me over and then the doctor asks me what's wrong. i told him that i've been doing some biking this past week and my ankle, tendons etc hurt. my dad looked over at me with a look that said, "are you seriously going with that story? some biking?!" i looked back at him with a look that said, "yeah. i'm your son remember." nothing else was said. we asked about how to treat it and what was best and so on.

then came the prescribed treatment: 'rest as needed, ice as needed, medicate as needed' - i got this in writing with the bill.

sorry but that begs the question- what does "as needed" exactly mean. can i bike some? the reply was even more vague: "you'll know if you need to ease off of it. but do what feels good."

right. sure. i got it. give me the meds and lets go. here's the history part-- what was going on in my mind (beyond all the other stuff that goes on in there) was when i self treated my sore ankle (achilles tendon that time) on the west coast trip in california the outcome was not favorable. in that case, i rode until my tendon almost snapped and had to use crutches for a month with little movement for another two months. i didn't really need anything until i got to the point were i couldn't walk. well, luckily i have that experience to slow me down- and even stop at the clinic before its too late.

funny thing is i biked the rest of the day (even though i kept thinking i was going to stop), making sure to take it easy and now it feels better.

so i also asked how to stretch it out without hurting it. "pull up with your toes against something" - kinda like pedaling and pulling up on it-- but wait, isn't that how i hurt it to begin with? yes, but the key is to do it gently. probably more than you wanted to know. but this is why it created such havoc inside my head. that was just one item rolling around in there that made for a long mental day. i just don't want to be sidelined- the thought of that scares me.

ok- so on to the sites... and the rain. after lunch, which for some reason i forgot to eat, or just wasn't hungry, it was time to start up a couple passes. two continental divides and some other good up and downs- all under the rain. it was nice though- i was biking, listening to tunes, and enjoying the gray on gray views which truthfully are amazing in person and hardly show up on camera. sorry- it just doesn't show up. the gray outline of mountains, with darker gray clouds and white puffs of steam coming from the geysers- very cool.

we also saw plenty of wildlife. moose, bison, deer, birds (scott knows what they are), campers, people from wyoming, fellow bikers- the whole gamut. it was kinda like walking through the zoo- but the people were the ones out of place.

the rain did taper off in the afternoon and the sunshine was breaking through. it was still cool as it was all day. it was grand. and it was lonely. and it was another full day. another full load of sensations and memories.

then the last 20 miles (outside of yellowstone) was riding along jackson lake and the teton mountains. these mountains rock! so does the lake. we kept saying "wow" and "damn that's cool" - real descriptive and intelligent conversation. but when you see it, you see it. we could have taken more photos but it was agreed that you just need to come back and see it again if you really want to see it. scott and i pulled into camp in amazement.

[no phone service- no roam, no nothing- sorry]