The Teton Experience

On Sunday, our first full day in the Tetons, we started the morning off right with a whitewater trip. The trip was through Barker-Ewing out of Jackson Hole. They actually called us around 8:15am that morning because we were the only two people reserved for our 8-man raft. So, we decided to join a 14-man raft instead so that we didn’t have to reschedule for later in the day.

We left the Barker-Ewing office around 9:30am, and it took a good 30 minutes to get to the boat launch site. Once we were down there though, it didn’t take long at all to launch. The Snake River started out pretty low-key to give us all a chance to get comfortable and practice our paddling technique. On our raft was a couple of families and children from near Palm Desert, CA and a couple of girls from the Jackson area. The guy at the front of the raft on my side was an ex-marine, so he paddled like way fast. It was really tough to lock-in on his rhythm. So, at times we were a mess.

Our guide’s name was Walker, and he did a great job throughout the trip of being informative and socializing with everyone on the raft. At the halfway point of the 8 mile journey, we finally reached the more serious rapids. The first and biggest rapid was called the Big Kahuna. This was also the rapid where the photo-op took place. A couple of photography companies stake themselves out on a rock and take shots of everyone coming through the area. So, I tried really hard to keep a smile on my face the whole time as water was hitting me full-on. Who am I kidding though?? It wasn’t THAT hard to smile. It was so much fun!

The next rapid after Big Kahuna was Lunch Counter with a short break before Rope. These rapids were fairly similar to one another and both occurred at bends in the river. The next two rapids included Champagne and almost immediately by Little Cottonwood. Champagne was really cool because right amidst the rapid the depth of the water suddenly changes to about 80 feet deep. The sudden change causes millions of bubbles to rise to the surface of the water both sounding and looking like a giant flute of champagne. The final rapid was called Sheep Gulch. Sheep Gulch was the longest of all the rapids and lasted a good 200 – 300 yards.

So, the whitewater trip was a success, but we were also excited to get on with the rest of the day and see those Grand Tetons up close and personal! Our bus got back to the Barker-Ewing office around 1:15, and in lieu of time Justin and I decided to pick up McDonald’s for lunch. Then, we ran back to our hotel, showered and entered into the park around 2:15. The first stop we made was at the Taggart and Bradley Lake trailhead. By 3pm, we got started. This was definitely the longest trail we had set out to defeat thus far. It started out easy enough, with lots of flat landscape. It was also beautifully sunny and about 85 degrees, so we started to roast pretty fast. About a half mile into the hike, we began to descend up into some glacial moraines. It became pretty strenuous pretty fast because the trail was so exposed to the sun. So, the brief episodes of shade from the aspens, spruce and lodgepole pines were quite welcome.

After about 1.8 miles, we reached Taggart Lake. The lake absolutely shone in the sunlight, and the backdrop of the Tetons and the clear blue sky were breathtaking. We also took a few moments to get our feet wet in the very cold water as a means to cool off. Then it was full steam ahead for another 1.6 miles to Bradley Lake. This portion of the hike was even more strenuous than the first jaunt. The two lakes were separated by a moraine, so we had to climb in order to reach the second stop. Once we reached Bradley Lake, it was time to take another big breather. Justin also took the opportunity to get some more great shots of the Tetons head-on. The trip back to the parking area was 2.1 miles from this spot, and we were exhausted so it couldn’t have come too soon. We finally reached our car at 6pm. So, I think we still completed the trail in less time than some of my trail guides suggested.

After the trail, we wanted to see a few more spots before heading back to the hotel and before dinner reservations. So, we hopped on Grand Teton Way northward to the Signal Mountain Overlook. There is a trail that you can take to the summit, but there is also a road that leads there. We were tired, so we were lazy and drove to the summit. When we got up there, there was quite a buzz because there were a couple of spottings of black bears. Sure enough, Justin and I were able to see one of them. Yay, our first bear sighting. Unfortunately, it was about 200 yards away though, so there was no chance of getting a decent picture. Hopefully, that bear will not be our last on this trip.

After Signal Mountain, we continued north to the Jackson Junction to take Highway 191 back south. We got back to our hotel around 7:45, and had barely 30 minutes to get ready and leave for our dinner reservations at Rendezvous Bistro. We were able to push the reservations back to 8:30 from 7:30 due to the lengthy hike we had taken earlier in the afternoon. For dinner, Justin and I had quail and Israeli cous cous as appetizers. For the main course, Justin had a chili-rubbed pork chop and this amazing corn mixture on the side. We asked the waiter how it was prepared, and we are absolutely going to try to duplicate it when we get home. I had halibut with saffron-infused fingerling potatoes. Very yummy. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that Justin had me try an oyster shooter. It had teqila, lime, cilantro and of course, the oyster. Let’s just say that I didn’t fare too well. First of all, I’m not very good at taking shots. Secondly, I like to chew my food before swallowing. So, I took the shot, then attempted to chew while all of that liquid and oyster was sitting in my mouth. I just couldn’t bear it any longer, so out went half the shot back into the glass. Oh well, I tried.

After dinner, we drove to Jackson Square with its elk antler archways. We walked in and then immediately out of the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar with saddle style bar stools. And then, we continued around a few other blocks of the square. It was nearly 11pm on a Sunday night, so nothing else was open. We finally got back to the hotel around 11:30 and crashed shortly thereafter.

On Monday morning, we woke up around 7:30am and checked out of the hotel by 9am. The first stop of the morning was to the Jenny Lake area of the park. This is one of the most popular spots, so we wanted to get in and out early to beat the crowds. On the way there however, we saw another moose. This time, it was a young male so he had antlers. It was also an up close and personal view as well because he was on the side of the road about 10 feet from the car. It was just awesome, and the funniest thing is that he was totally in his own world as car after car passed him by. When we got down to the lake, we decided to take a shuttle boat across the lake and back. It was $9.50 per person, but totally worth it because it saves 2 miles of hiking around the lake each way. As we floated across the lake, we could tell it was going to be another clear, warm day even though the morning chill could still be felt in the breeze.

Once reaching the other side of the lake, we began our hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. This hike was definitely going to be much shorter than the ones we had been doing at 2 miles round trip. After the first ½ mile, we reached Hidden Falls. At 200 feet, it was spectacular. Justin took several pictures, and I took some video with my camera. Sometimes a still shot just doesn’t do it justice. Then, we continued on to Inspiration Point. Even though this trail was very short, the climb up to Inspiration Point was moderately strenuous and definitely a bit treacherous. You literally hike on a completely rock covered path on the edge of a mountain. In some places, it’s only about 5 – 6 feet wide. Then, you add in trying to pass people going the other way, and it’s a little scary. But the view at the top? Totally worth it! It was just amazing to look down on the lake and to look across the entire valley below. It was definitely one of those moments of appreciation that is making this vacation so worthwhile.

It was well after noon by the time we returned to our car. And as I expected, the parking lot had hundreds of cars there by the time we were leaving. At this point, we decided to go down to Jackson to eat some lunch, do a little shopping and look at our whitewater photos. We ate outside at this cute little restaurant called Sweetwater. I had the Cowboy Sandwich, that included sliced roast beef, cheese, bacon and mushrooms…many of my favorites on one sandwich! Justin went Greek and had a gyro. After lunch, we went to a few stores. Justin found and purchased another filter for his camera. We both found some t-shirts that we liked and bought those. Then, we went to Floatographs to check out our whitewater trip. There were a few decent ones to choose from, so we order an 8X10, and it’s being mailed to our house. Our final stop on the square was to a generally crowded souvenir shop so that I could buy a magnet to add to my collection. After the madness at the square, we ran down to Albertson’s (grocery store) to re-stock on drinks and food and to fill up on gas.

We continued back north on 191 to save some time because it was about 3:30 by the time we got out of Jackson. I had another possible hike on the itinerary, but there was definitely not enough time, so we headed straight for Flagg Ranch Village. We made just a few brief stops along the way to take some pictures of the landscape, but nothing significant. We reached Flagg Ranch around 5:30, checked in and relaxed for a bit before dinner at 7pm. The restaurant for Flagg Ranch was in the main lodge, so it was literally 2 minutes from our cabin. Justin had salmon and I had linguine alfredo. It was nothing spectacular, but it did the job.

Right after dinner, we decided to head south back into Grand Teton NP so that Justin could try to get some good sunset pictures. It’s something he’s been asking to do this whole trip so far. Justin took pictures until is was nearly dark, and then we went back to Flagg Ranch for the final time. We looked for wildlife along the way, but it was just so dark out, we couldn’t see anything. When we got back to the cabin, we decided to do some laundry to get some of those rain-dirtied clothes clean, finally. There’s a pretty good chance that the temperatures in Yellowstone will be a bit cooler, so it would be good to have more clothing options if necessary. After the laundry is done and folded, we plan on going to bed and trying to get out of here between 6 – 7am tomorrow morning. Yellowstone, here we come!