Day 30: Basin, MT to Ten Sleep, MT

Updated: Jul 12, 2023

July 6, 2023

42 miles

1,333 miles so far

Today’s route was similar to our ride yesterday in that it included many gradual climbs and descents with a net elevation gain of about 600 feet through the high desert. We passed through a town called Manderson within the first ten miles. Our host the night before had warned us that the town supports itself through fines and has four police officers for its population of 114 residents, so we had better not drop any wrappers!

The weather was perfect - sunny with a high of about 80 degrees. As there was nowhere to stop for lunch, we had a roadside lunch and made good time. No diners or pie shops today! We got into Ten Sleep well before the 3 pm check-in at The Carter Inn, so we stopped at Dirty Sally’s for an ice cream cone.

Ten Sleep, a small town of 251 people, is located in the western foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, and has a canyon that is world-renowned for rock climbing. In fact, this weekend the town is hosting a climbing festival.

Ten Sleep was originally named Sackett, after the Colonel who mapped the area. Trappers later named it Ten Sleep after the Indian method of determining distance. The area was ten sleeps from Yellowstone and ten sleeps from Ft. Laramie.

We checked in to our home for the next two nights, The Carter Inn, and we’re welcomed by our hosts and the hotel owners, Kenny and Christa. We decided to take a rest day in Ten Sleep before the big climb over Powder River Pass on Saturday.

We then enjoyed dinner and a drink at Sleepy Coyote Cafe and Bar. As we were enjoying our drinks and conversation with a nice couple who spends the summers here and winter in Arizona, the powers went out briefly twice. Thankfully, we were tucked in for the night early before a violent storm blew through. It reminded us of some of our post hurricane cleanups, as we listened to chainsaws cleaning up fallen branches the next morning.

Our route