July 21 - Day 26

Jackson (via Signal Mountain) to Togwotee Mountain Lodge, 23.8 miles, Av Speed 7.8 mph

Great waking up in Jackson knowing you can just step outside for an amazing hot latte! Not expected however, was the rain we saw when opening the motel door.  There was a storm front coming across the mountains with thunder and lightning.  As it turned out, it was a very nasty lightening storm that killed one climber and injured 16 others in the Grand Teton National Park: http://www.pinedaleonline.com/#tetonlightning .  I think we made the right decision to wait this one out !

After a quick scoot around town to make the most of our half day off, we tried to figure how to get back to Signal Lodge to pick up our gear. A stagecoach was one possibility but instead, we found a modern day “SUV stagecoach” and a driver named Moses who came down from the mountain and delivered us safely back to Signal Mountain. On the drive back, we think we spy the Beauty Queens cycling in the rain towards Jackson, no doubt for a pedicure.

Once back at Signal, the guys at the lodge are really helpful and let us use the lounge to repack and hang out while the storm passes. Our gear has been cuddling up to their photocopier while we were gone.

Eventually we set off for Togwotee around 2pm after the lightning stops. Later, the rain eases off and then stops completely. We decide to take the paved highway for this section as our map says the dirt road is impassable when wet and we have just had an inch of rain! This makes the climb up to 8,600 ft (a new record) much easier and we arrive at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge just in time before the next storm came through! Of course, we have to check out the bar…… because this is the last opportunity until Pinedale.