After a bit of nourishment from the local bakery in West Yellowstone,
we moved to the Tetons National Park. Here’s the West Entry into Yellowstone that we drove through along with everyone else in West Yellowstone. The trick is to enter early to avoid the traffic.
We have a reservation at the Flagg Ranch, just south of Yellowstone for 7/23 - 7/30 and for Yellowstone Fishing Bridge Campground 7/30 - 8/6. We were excited to get our bonus day in Yellowstone and we’ll return but now it’s time to explore the Tetons. On our way to Flagg Ranch, we came around a corner to see this.
We knew there was some construction and expected some delays but, in this case, it was an accident on the road. Around a curve, on a narrow road and at the top of the pass. Worst place to have an accident. There were 3 police cars with their lights rotating, 2 ambulances and 2 banged up cars which will not be driven again. Since the ambulances were still there, I think that the injuries were not too bad. This is the second accident we have seen and we’ve been in Yellowstone Park only 3 days.
When we got to our campground, we found out that we are in a dead zone for Verizon, we didn’t know that we would be ‘off the grid’ both for phone usage and for internet until we got here. The employees tell us that we can drive 15 miles down the road to find a spot where Verizon works. That’s where they call their parents and friends. Unfortunately, we use evenings for internet work like paying bills, publishing my blog, making reservations for the future, research on campgrounds, etc. So, we found ourselves on our first day here, heading over to Jackson Lake Lodge, an affiliate of Flagg Ranch, to use their wi-fi in their lobby.
It was a beautiful lobby with a patio looking out over the Tetons. Could anything be prettier?
Inside it was more Craftsman in style. However, it was not set up for computer usage with tables and desks so we made due with comfy chairs and a round table. About an hour later, we were done, had drunk our second cup of coffee and were ready to do some exploring.
We drove to Colter Bay where there are some trails near Jackson Lake. The trail was ok but we were walking through a marvelous lodgepole forest,
past Heron Pond covered with lily pads
and always the mountains in view, here over the marina in the Bay. Look at that glacier.
Unfortunately, aside from the views, the trail was terribly dusty and not too exciting. When we got back to the Visitor Center to use the bathroom, I took the opportunity to wash my legs off. Oh, my, absolutely black with dirt. And, that was that for the day. Some days are just like that. But the next day’s hike more than made up for today’s.
Our second day was ever so much more exciting and our hike was great. We drove around to some spots renown for their wildlife. Did we find any? Nope. But the scenery was beautiful. Then we drove down to Jenny Lake to get the great views of the Tetons across the lake and to climb to Inspiration Point and the Hidden Falls. We thought we’d do this hike today and plan on doing the Cascade Canyon hike, a continuation of the Inspiration Point hike another day. We walked around Jenny Lake to begin with and this part of the hike was pretty level with a few ups and downs, but I expected to get more views of the lake than we actually did. Oh, well. When we got to the other side of the lake, to begin our hike up to the two points, it got grueling. Steep and rocky. Pretty aggressive and, since everyone and his brother had come to Jenny Lake today, we found ourselves passing those coming down on a narrow, sharply-rocked ledge. Fun. At the top, we’re huffing and puffing. But the views are great. The greens of the pine delineate the deep blue of the lake and the blue of the sky.
Now, the choice at this point is: return the way we had come: hike back down and around the lake or hike further up the Cascade Canyon trail to the ‘Junction’, a Y in the trail which would be a great stopping point. However, by this point it is 12:30, we hadn’t planned a long hike and - well, did we really want to go that far? How about just going a little ways to check out the trail so we will know more about it when we return to take it.
The trick with hiking is to turn around half way to ‘tired.’ That way, when you get back to your starting point, you’ll just be tired, not feet-won’t-work, I-just-want-to-lie-down exhausted. But, who can tell when you are half way to tired? By the time you realize this, you’re all the way to tired and you still have to get back. So, we hiked on.
This part of the trail is surprisingly easy. The hard part is getting to Inspiration Point, which is a steep uphill, the hike up the canyon is much easier, much more scenic and not nearly as crowded - though it has more people on it than we usually see. We kept looking at our watches, asking each other if we really wanted to continue and, of course, we did. 1.) We now had set the Junction as our goal and we don’t like to turn back before we’ve reached our goal. 2.) the trail was really pretty cool. Towards the bottom we walked beside a rushing stream with waterfalls every now and then. Higher up, the water was pooled and several entwined meandering streams. Sometimes we walked in full sun but much of the time we were walking in the shade of trees. The trail had such a gradual slant that it was hardly noticeable - it was an easy trail to walk. And, always we could look up and see the sides of the canyon we were hiking through, the craggy peaks of the Tetons.
How come everyone we meet on the trail is heading in the opposite direction? Silly question - because they started at a more appropriate time. They’re looking at us thinking: ‘I’m so glad that I’m going down and not up like those two.’ and ‘What are they thinking - starting up so late?’
Are you half way to tired yet? Who knows?
And, we kept hiking onward and upward.
Finally we crossed the creek on a bridge, I looked on the map and, sure enough, we were plenty close to the Junction, our goal. The last 1/4 mile was as steeply pitched as the first 1/4, up to Inspiration Point. But, there it was, ahead of us. Ah, sweet victory.
We savored our attaining our goal but for only a few seconds - now it’s time to get back.
And, I am doubly interested in getting back - I have a strange urgency - I would love to see a door that said ‘WOMEN’ in big bold letters on it. So we start back. Again, we enjoyed the trail as we hiked back. We got to see the everything in reverse which is cool since you miss a 1/2 of the view when you’re heading up. You only see the way up. Now, we got to see the way down, whole different view. And, just as gorgeous. Can anything be more beautiful than this ridge line?
Or this gurgling stream?
Or this meandering creek?
We even met some people heading up and were glad that we were heading down. At 5:00 what were they thinking? Why are they heading up now? When we got back to Inspiration Point, we joined the throngs of people heading down the steep rocky trail. At the bottom, we turned to finish our hike along the Jenny trail. I think it took forever. Where’s that ‘WOMEN’ sign? I looked for the Visitor Center around every bend in the trail and over every crest.
Finally, I saw it, my pace quickened and I was there. Whew. I feel so much better. Now I get to start on my legs - just as dirty as yesterday’s hike. I emerged, a new woman (ha, ha), met Gary and we walked to the small store there and bought some sodas. We sat down to relax and drink. Oops, bad move - don’t sit so long that you get stiff. Both of us had gone way past tired and almost to I’m-not-moving-any-more, what-do-you-mean-we-still-have-to-walk-to-the-car exhausted. And, we’re miles from our RV.
We stumbled out to the car, put our stuff in it, sat down and took off. It was a long drive back but - around a curve in the road, we saw this:
Back at the RV, we tried to stand up straight but we were pretty stiff from sitting in the car. Dinner at 8:30, showers and to bed.
However, as tired as we are, both of us thought it was a marvelous hike. We are so glad that we did it. The hike itself was challenging, the views were stunning, the people we met on the trail were all friendly and having a great time and it was just a superb hike.
15.7 2432’
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