The Grandest of Tetons.

I've been in three new states in the past week and I'm up to twenty eight on this trip bringing me to a grand total of thirty four. Pure coincidence and talking to a good friend of mine at just the right time gave me a place to stay in Missoula, Montana. I was really excited to go to Missoula and I'm sure with that comment you're probably thinking... what? Let me explain. A different friend had been talking about how much he wanted to go there, how much of an outdoor town it is and all these great things, even though he has yet to visit, since before I decided to take this trip. Unfortunately for me, it's fire season here. That Montana "big sky", it really is enormous and hard to fathom unless you've driven through the state and seen its vast expanse for yourself. I was bummed to find it only clear and blue for a short while. On my way to Missoula, driving along Sealy Lake, I saw a helicopter with a bright orange basket fly over me, scoop up gallons and gallons of water and return to the smoke pouring out of the forest to my left. My jaw dropped as I exclaimed out loud, I had never seen anything like that and immediately pulled over to watch a bit longer. What was really cool to me, is not a good thing for anyone else. Smoke loomed over the bowl that is Missoula, it sits down low surrounded by mountains that I eventually got a small glimpse of, which is not great for air quality. I coughed my way through three nights and two days there. Missoula is a very pretty town with everything big you'd need and the feeling of community built right in, the best thing about a small town in my opinion. I met Cheryl and Adam after only having heard of them for years and knew instantly they were some of the coolest people I've had the pleasure of getting to know. We reminisced over red wine and told funny stories of our mutual connection, sorry Nick, while trying to figure out what to do in all the smoke. We visited Rooster Loo Farms, where Cheryl runs and owns the most glorious place I have been in with its rows and rows of fresh vegetables ripe for the picking and chickens that love to be loved. We also visited Garnett Ghost Town. About forty five minutes away and out of the smoke just slightly, one of the most well preserved mining towns in Montana housed 1,000 people in 1898 and by 1905 had dwindled down to 150. A later revival in the 1930s created an odd mixture of old and older in the form of items left behind. If you haven't noticed by now, anything decrepit and creepy has my name written all over it. Lucky for me, Cheryl is the same way. We had a field day discovering small nic nacs and memories of the past, rusty and dusty, and carefully stepping through the old saloon, hotel and brothel absorbing all of their stories before heading back to Missoula. Spending time with Cheryl and Adam, their dogs Lou and Foxy Brown, and their cat Ginger, a.k.a. "The Lady of the Dryer," was a breath of fresh air and reminded me of home. I hope to see them again very soon.

Leaving sooner than I would have liked but knowing progress was in order, I drove a long way from Missoula to Boise, Idaho to stay with another friends' family. Although, yes, the drive took a bit longer than I would have liked, I knew I wanted to tackle it. I had marked it off as a drive I wanted to do early on and I'm glad I did. Driving through a few national forests, small one street towns, and yellow open fields, the huge rolling hills in all their colorful glory lined my drive and made it all the more enjoyable. After passing through Stanley and discovering one of the greatest vanilla milkshakes I've had yet, I finally made it to Boise, Idaho. I met everyone and was welcomed with open arms and I can confidently say was happily over fed. The language barrier may have been a bit of a struggle but food is universal. Both Missoula and Boise have festivals in common over the summer with something new happening every weekend. Between the Saturday farmer's market and the Fiesta later that day, I had seen Boise in full swing. It wasn't much, but I liked it. I especially enjoyed Freak Alley, an alley dedicated to street art of the best kind and constantly changing. A very big thank you to the Toscano's for having me and Dulce for arranging it!

If you're keeping count and know geography of the U.S. at all, you'll realize that I missed Nevada. I'm going to go ahead and blame the heat since when at first I tried, Death Valley National Park was 108 degrees on a good day and the thought of tackling that kind of heat again was something Thatcher and I were not about to address. So, on my way to Grand Teton National Park I realized at one point I was only an hour from the state line. Deciding it was better than nothing, I detoured briefly into Nevada to a town called Jackpot. I grabbed some lunch, walked around a tad, put a quarter in a slot machine, and I am sad to say did not hit the jackpot. Nevada - check. Well, sort of.

Moving on.

Grand Teton National Park is one of the few parks so far where I got there not knowing what to expect. I sort of liked it that way. Not that I plan too much to begin with, but I usually at least read up a little bit, look at pictures, and get an idea for how many days I may want to spend at a park. Not this time. I'm so glad I did that. I arrived and was greeted by a gorgeous wall of amazing mountains. It's hard to even describe how grand they were, hopefully my pictures do them justice.

I don't pay for camping most of the time but it happens. I definitely don't when a National Forest and free camping is right around the corner but after taking one look at the Tetons I knew I wanted to do more exploring than usual. Grabbing a three day permit for the backcountry, I headed on an easy hike that afternoon around Taggart and Bradley lakes, found small butterflies, grand reflections, yellow leaf covered trails, and giant boulders with marble designs, then made my way to the only campsite I wouldn't have to backpack into. Dinner along the lake and a full night's rest - I was ready for another day of exploring. Day two was an early start and I caught the beaming red sun coming up over my campsite at Jackson Lake as I headed out for a long day hike. I knew I wanted to see a sunrise at Grand Teton, lucky for me, I saw three. Each was different and each was beautiful. I've always loved sunsets a bit more but there's something special about a great sunrise, honestly, even an average one. I love that it's something not everyone sees since most people don't want to get up early enough, myself sometimes included. I headed for Jenny Lake and pulled over on my way to admire the view. The pointed peaks of the Tetons face east and orange morning light covered them, the snow spots above me glistening in the sun's warmth. The side by side mountains faded off in the morning haze I hoped would fade as I set off on my hike up to Cascade Canyon. It's amazing, from far away the Tetons seem crammed together and like there wouldn't be room for much in between. To my delight, they opened up into a wide, green, rocky valley, a long cascade really running right through it and an easy hike alongside of that. Thinking I wouldn't be so lucky to see wildlife while at the park, I practically walked into a moose. Not paying attention and chit-chatting with a new hiking buddy, a man was stopped just in front of us and quietly motioned over to my right, warning us we may want to stop. I looked to my right to see the dopiest animal I think I've ever seen. Have you ever seen a moose? They're not the most attractive animals. They're huge, way bigger than you'd ever imagine, and if you can take a moment and try to remember Bullwinkle's voice in your head, it's spot on. Chomping away at the leaves it worked so hard to find and only looking over at us once, the three of us stood maybe twenty feet away still on the trail and took a handful of photos, hoping she wouldn't hear us call her ugly and change her mind about the leaves.

Not having a great backcountry bag, I did what I could and got myself ready for camping at Phelps Lake on the south end of the park. I chose three very different locations for camping, I figured that was the best way to see everything I wanted. The hike in was an easy two miles, the first was a very gradual uphill and the second was all downhill, something I took note of for my way back the next morning. The lake was gorgeous and the water rippled silently while reflecting the fluffy clouds and pink sky during sunset. One of only three sites available and set back about fifty feet from the lake's edge and up a little bit, I came to realize I was the only one there. This wasn't that big a deal, I thought, just before loud rustling came from the woods in the wrong direction of the trail. I was relieved to find it was another couple who somehow missed the trail and I was glad I wasn't completely alone. Sleeping soundly and comfortably, I woke up to see the sunrise from my tent, not wanting to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag just yet, and slowly packed up my things. Silent and beautiful and walking along the lakeside trail maybe fifty feet down from me was, what I now know, a brown black bear. I originally thought it was a grizzly and I froze. I'm pretty adventurous but not when it comes to wildlife, I'm very hit or miss in that department. Being by myself in a meadow with a bear was not ideal and I knew it. He didn't care about me, he took one, too long for comfort, look as I took the safety off my spray and started slowly walking backwards to the other campsite and kept on going. Waiting another half hour for the bear to hopefully move on, I skipped breakfast, calmed my nerves, and made as much noise as humanly possible on my way up and out back to Bertha. That one mile uphill, heavy backpack strapped tightly and sweatshirt still on, was the sweatiest and fastest hike I have ever accomplished. I just wanted to be out of there already.

First bear of the day seen. I'd finish the day meeting a new friend, Ben, who ended up camping with me at Surprise Lake for the night where a mama black bear and two cubs were foraging for berries equally as close as the one from that morning. We practically shouted to each other while we spoke which, by the way, is weirdly counterintuitive but effective. I met an awesome couple while struggling the five miles up to the campsite that offered to host me in Wisconsin and it was with them that I saw my fifth bear of the day. Seriously, five bears in one day? I'm good, thanks. I will say, the mom and the babies grew on me a bit. If they weren't so dangerous I would have tried to hug them, they looked deceptively cuddly.

My last and favorite hike was at sunrise on the third day. A brother and sister camping at the site next to mine were heading up to Disappointment Peak at sunrise, not too far from where we were camping, and I was eager to join in on that. I didn't hike all the way up there with that heavy bag for nothing. We walked the easy trail up the side of Amphitheater Lake and paused before the rock scramble to look back at the cloudy sunrise, the bright colors threatening to burst through at any moment. The class 4 rock scramble and hike to the peak was more rock climbing than hiking and I am proud to say my fear of heights never fully kicked in. Thank you, thank you. Stopping here and there to check the ever-changing view, the lakes below reflecting the sun and the clouds and practically glowing, Delta Lake more brilliantly turquoise than any other lake in sight with pink rocks covering the walls around it, I remember at one point looking back and seeing Surprise Lake incredibly still. The reflections were beyond perfect and those at Amphitheater right next to it the exact opposite. A few minutes later I looked back again and their roles had switched - it was breathtaking and fascinating. The world looked so small below and the sun shone down in wide smokey rays through the dark morning clouds off in the distance. Finishing out the last bit of rock climbing, we sat on Disappointment Peak wondering why on earth they would call it that. The warm sunlight slowly crept up the Tetons surrounding us. It was like we were in the center of everything I had been staring at longingly for two days. Their jagged peaks highlighted in the morning light, I couldn't believe how truly grand and magnificent they were, particularly up close.

I can't wait for Yellowstone but I also can't stand crowds. My timing sucks so I avoided it for Labor Day Weekend and actually came back to Missoula to see Cheryl and Adam for a few days. Four hours is an easy drive for comfort, an escape from bears, and excellent company. I've been feeling a little antsy to keep moving and get home lately. Almost eight months is a long time to be on the road but I am determined to finish what I started and I'm excited to see more. Time to get back to hiking and continue on my adventure!

- G.

The Photo:
The Tetons from Disappointment Peak.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
8/31/17.