33: A Return Home
I spent much of today riding with Elk Mountain prominent on the eastern horizon. It’s a landmark of special significance for my family, where my dad hunted for the elk that was the culinary cornerstone of my adolescence—hunting there variously over the years with his hunting buddies, me, my mom. Tomorrow I’ll pass Hog Park Reservoir, where my parents frequently took me camping as a child. Needless to say, this area is rich with significance for me. It’s odd to return to a place of my childhood in this format.
I spotted my first turkey vulture of the trip today.
I entered a stand of trees today around 4 pm—for the first time since leaving the Wind River Range. The increased prevalence of aspen trees is immediately noticeable. I’m *very* excited to spend the next few weeks riding among aspen trees, with their soft white bark and leaves that rustle in the wind with the sound of water.
The first 40 or so miles out of Rawlins went quickly, consisting mostly of fast, smooth dirt roads. The road surface deteriorated as the road itself climbed out of the Muddy Creek Basin. I hit single track at 4:30, or, rather, a path more akin to a well-trodden game trail than anything expressing human intention in its creation. This travel was slow, but pleasant—for all that the route seems to be an appropriated game trail, most of the downed trees have been cut out, and it’s lovely to be pedaling singletrack in a forest.
Finished “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” today. I don’t know that I’ve enjoyed another biography more!
