GDMBR: crossing the Great Basin in windy Wyoming

Crossing the Great Basin in Wyoming

After crossing the state line into Wyoming the scenery changes dramatically. From the white peaked 14.000-ers we find ourselves on wide open, grassy land with cows and pronghorns. The first we’ve seen more than mosquitoes, but the pronghorns are new to us, but there are plenty of these animals running away from us. Not strange, since they are the fastest land mammal after the cheetah …or is it because we start to smell?!?

With leaving Colorado behind us, we also left the thunder storms and a desert like landscape lies ahead of us in the form of the Great Basin. The two and a half day crossing requires careful planning, since water sources are scarce. And after our dehydration experience we decide to cary quite a lot of water, in case we won’t make it to the sources available.

Cycling the Great Basin in Wyoming



Under a blue sky we leave Rawlins and climb to yet another Continental Divide crossing. A rollercoaster landscape announces itself with one straight stripe of asphalt cutting it in half. On the downhill into the basin we get to meet the fierce winds of Wyoming for the first time. Coming out of the West, thus right in the face! But, as mentioned more than a year ago.., after Patagonia I’ll never complain about the wind again! Windy Wyoming is just a gentle breeze and by the way, I can always hide behind Elmar. 😉

We say goodbye to the asphalt and hit the dirt again, but the road turns and with tailwinds we ride the remaining kilometers to our first water source at the A&M Reservoir. Lucky for us, the reservoir is filled with clear water and Elmar can filter us a cool refill, since we’ve used quite a lot of it during the warm 90-something kilometer ride.

Camping at A&M Reservoir



We study the ACA map carefully and find our next goal to be the Diagnus Well, 93 kilometers from here. We’ve met other cyclists who told us that all the creeks are dried up, so there’s nothing until the well. We’ve received detailed tips on how to find the well, since some cyclists have failed to find it. They are now skeletons lying next to their bicycles somewhere… 😉
The altitude profile shows a nice and smooth ride, no big climbs.. it couldn’t be more wrong! It’s a tough rollercoaster ride; 100 meters up, 100 meters down and so on.., and so on… The track deteriorates incredibly and we jump up and down on the corrugated dirt. To make matters worse, the wind has reached stormy proportions and coming from the side it keeps blowing us all over. But still.., I’m not complaining! Just a breeze, nothing more than a breeze..
With the sun setting and dark rainclouds in the distance we manage to reach the well where water is flowing!

From the well it’s just a short ride into Atlantic City; which sounds a lot (and I mean ‘a lot’) bigger than it is! We ride straight to the tipi and feed ourselves the best stuffed burger ever at the Miner’s Grubstake. It’s a famous Divide riders stop and soon two bikepackers (Jeff and John) join us at the bar, where Laurel (the owner) has many adventurous tales to tell. There’s not a lot here, but it’s the kind of place where you just want to stay and relax and so we did. An hour later Cathy and her husband roll in and we have a fun afternoon swapping stories and tips with each other.
Two day rides later we can finally scrub the dirt and sweat of our bodies in a motel in Pinedale. Time for a local brew!

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10 comments

RoadRunner July 27, 2015 - 03:09
Hello Ellen and Elmar, Love your stories. They only compete with the photos – they look professional… We are back home from the Continental Divide Trail and our only adventure left is your blog. Enjoy, RoadRunner
Pa July 27, 2015 - 03:12
Wat een enorm land wat uitgestrekt en wat vreselijk kaal. Geen boom te bekennen. Mooie foto's en een mooi verhaal.
Pa en Ma July 27, 2015 - 06:25
Hoi Kinders Wat een mooi verhaal weer, het weer zat niet erg mee hé. Maar zoals we begrijpen de burgers des te meer hi hi. Waren ze beter dan in the Old Firehouse in South Fork daar smaakte ze ook erg goed. Jullie fot,s zien er weer prachtig uit ga zo door. En nog veel fietsplezier. Liefs uit Ridderkerk.
cock en ria mierop July 27, 2015 - 06:54
Wat genieten we van jullie verhalen en foto's . Geweldig. Veel liefs. Cock en ria
Frea July 27, 2015 - 07:09
Ellen wat maak je toch geweldig mooie foto's. Ik blijf het ongelooflijk vinden wat jullie allemaal meemaken. Respect!
Peter de Visser July 27, 2015 - 13:23
Met veel respect lees ik weer jullie blog. Zo'n 14 jaar geleden passeerde ik de South Pass and herinner me weer hoe dat gebied er uit zag. Overnachtend bij een police officer en Mormonen in Sweetwater en Farson worstelde ik me door dat overigens schitterende landschap (over asfalt...) En dan te zien dat jullie dit over onverharde wegen doen. Wat een bikkels! Intussen hebben wij Boston bereikt en maken ons klaar om terug te vliegen.
Wim Verhoef July 27, 2015 - 17:09
Hoi kanjers, Gelukkig hebben jullie de waterput wel gevonden. Wat een mooie wolkenpartijen heb je weer vastgelegd Ellen. Jammer dat de pronghorns zo'n scherpe neus hebben. Op naar de volgende spannende ervaringen. Groetje's Wim
Bicycle Junkies August 5, 2015 - 19:10
Hi Cisco & Roadrunner, Thanks for the compliments! Any new hiking plans?
Bicycle Junkies August 5, 2015 - 19:11
Thanks Frea!
Bicycle Junkies August 5, 2015 - 19:13
Peter en Annelies, jullie kunnen ook heel erg trots zijn op jullie reis hoor! Gefeliciteerd met het behalen van Boston! In Nederland gaan we zeker een kop koffie doen met z'n 4-en, mooie verhalen uitwisselen. ;)
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