Robert Stuart Trail 1812 — 1813

Day 22: September 2nd, 2007 Afton — Pinedale

Highway 89, WY

Today is no one in the office when I finished loading my truck loaded and wanted to depart. Therefore I walk into the unlocked office and put my key on the office desk. Then I depart. Because the food at Cheese Factory was pretty good, I also give it today another try for breakfast. It is still pretty early and the restaurant is almost empty. But even now the service is very slow. Also I am directly sitting in the air condition draft and it is pretty cold and uncomfortable. Therefore I am really happy when I am ready to pay and am able to leave for the gas station.

Backroad, WY

Backroad, WY

Just before ten I am ready to roll. First, I take Highway 89 South to the forest road exit, which should take me back to Stuart’s traces. Unfortunately, this was the wrong exit, because the backroads have changed to my map. After a little bit of offroading I realize that the road does not take me to where I want to go and I ended up on another forest road. Therefore I turn around.

FR10072, WY

FR10072, Smiths Fork, WY

FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

88 S10 Blazer, FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

Sheep, FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

FR10072, WY

One exit back on Highway 89 I arrive at the correct road which greets me once again with an extreme uncomfortable washboard road. You can also tell that it is Labor Day Weekend, because there is a lot of traffic and people are really speeding. This gives you no chance to enjoy nature. Originally, I planned a brief hike in the area of Mount Wagner. But there are some real dark clouds around and it already starts to drizzle. Therefore I just do a brief and relaxed lunch break here.

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, WY

FR10138, Greys River, WY

FR10138, WY

Then I continue along Greys River. This part is really pretty, but also stony. So I am not able to drive really fast. In the meantime, the sun is back and so it starts to be a nice day again after this dark beginning.

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

Partridge, FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

FR10125, WY

Due to being late, I skip the second hike, too. Therefore I continue directly to the exit for McDougal Gap. This is the only exit out of this valley in eastern direction. It is a small natural gap between the mountain range which runs over a very low pass, the just mentioned McDougal Gap. Also here, the landscape has a lot to offer with nice views of this giant plane behind the mountain range. This always fascinates me: Suddenly, you are on a high plain which reaches as far as you can see!

Cottonwood Ryegrass Rd, WY

Cottonwood Ryegrass Rd, WY

On small backroads I continue to Pinedale where I arrive at my destination of today, the Pinedale Lodge. I already made reservations and I am really happy to have done this: The motel is completely booked! Around half past six I check in and to my pleasant surprise they even have an elevator!

I unload my truck and check first my video taping of today. I also use the time to eventually send a text message back home. The dinner recommendation for tonight is the Stockman’s Restaurant. Because today is the infamous weekend, I decide to leave a little bit later than usual. But even then I must wait for almost a quarter of an hour to get a free table. Also the service is a bit slow. In return, the restaurant is pretty exclusive and expensive. But the food is fantastic. Around a quarter to ten I pay and drive back to my motel.

Just nearby I see again a Los Cabos. It seems like this is also a restaurant chain. Maybe I will have dinner there, when I am back in town in a couple of days. Back in my motel room, I check the rest of my video taping and enter the next GPS coordinates. Because the people in the room above me are still trampling around, I would have not been able to sleep earlier anyways. Finally I go to bed but with no success. Also hammering against the walls does not help. Eventually things are getting quiet around 1am. I think, I will not return to this tourist location again…