Days 7-10: Ten Sleep

After a very good night's rest, Glenn took a chilly outdoor shower at the Lodge while Cassie made us a delicious breakfast based on the dessert she had planned for Glenn's birthday - berry compote with granola and cool whip! The fruit fueled us for the drive down to Ten Sleep, a small town where we'd spend the next few days.

We treated ourselves to food truck dinner that first night, Cassie took her own (much warmer) shower, and we set up camp at the Ten Sleep Brewing Co., since they had some tasty beers and useful amenities (like WiFi for the meetings Glenn would have during the days). Our week was fairly restful: Glenn got to do work while Cassie hammocked, read her book, and enjoyed some much-needed relaxation. We also got to watch the vice presidential debate - which was less relaxing, but also important.

We even got to do a bit of sport climbing around the work days, and Cassie especially appreciated the chance to clip bolts and do some leading. The rock here is mostly limestone, with little pockets for your fingers (although the walls also occasionally have cracks more reminiscent of the trad routes we'd been doing elsewhere along the trip). Between the bolts and the steeper nature of the walls, we felt more confident taking the opportunity to climb some of the most technically challenging routes we'd seen on the trip, with grades up to 5.11b! One favorite was even next to a waterfall, which kept the climb air-conditioned cool (but a bit slick from the moisture).

Throughout the week we also met a few friendly couples on their own road trips. One was a pair of Canadians exploring American climbing areas during their transition from Toronto to BC, another was a retired couple from Australia who traveled to climb all over the world, and the third was a young couple from Boston kicking off nine months on the road in a sprinter van (with their cat, Lloyd!). It was cool to meet folks of all different ages and backgrounds taking time to adventure together, and we all agreed that Ten Sleep was a gorgeous place to do just that.