2015-07-08 Day 10: Sweet(water), Rawlins to Jeffrey City, WY

A good day of riding. We rode along the route of the Oregon Trail pioneers today. After leaving St. Louis, the wagon trains would follow the Missouri, the Platte, the North Platte, and then the Sweetwater rivers. The Sweetwater was particularly important because its head waters are just 2 miles from South Pass, the pass that provided the easiest crossing of the Continental Divide. At South Pass the slope of the land rises only 8 feet per mile. Hence it became the favorite route to reach the developing areas of both Oregon and California. Our route today followed the river along the section including Split Rock, a landmark that gave the pioneers an idea of the number of days they had left on the trail.

The picture is of the Sweetwater River. Split Rock can be seen over my right shoulder in the distance. To see a larger version of any picture in this Blog, just click on the picture.

Today, we ran into 3 of the Transamerican riders that we met 8 days ago in Guffey, CO. All of us are apparently pacing about the same. So for the second time, 5 of us are in the same place at the same time - 2 from Spokane, Wa, 1 from South Carolina, and Jon and I. Tonight one of these riders is staying with us at the Community Church in Jeffrey City. the church is never locked and provides showers, a full kitchen, and a floor (more importantly a roof) to sleep under.

The ride felt good today. I can say it now because it has been a week and I am feeling fine. But that morning of Day 3 on the climb over the first pass, I had a few minutes of doubt about whether I could physically get this ride done. Days 3 through 5 were rough but I have gotten stronger every day since. Both last summer and this summer, it has taken about a week for my body to respond to what I am asking it to do.