Weekend Warriors

We have enjoyed unbelievably nice weather since our arrival in early September - breaking records daily, so we need to soak it up and enjoy. We can't let a beautiful day go by without checking out another adventure. Plus we want to be sure that we are perfect tour guides/hosts when you all come to visit us.
Saturday morning took us out to Teton National Forest for a 4-mile hike to Phelps Lake. On our way out to the trailhead, we came across a "Moose Jam," you know when a bunch of cars pull off to the side of the road to watch a family of moose graze in the Snake River. It is truly amazing that we were about 25 feet from these beautiful, large creatures! We sent pics from our cell phones to some friends back home, and they continued to accuse us of getting the pictures from Animal Planet. HELLO - we live in Jackson Hole Wyoming if you forgot...this IS REAL!

After stopping with all of the other tourists to get pictures of the moose (gotta have good BLOG Pics!) we headed out on our hike. Phelps lake was a beautiful lake, and the weather was gorgeous. There were amazing lake and Canyon views, and even a beautiful sandy beach (never would have thought I'd see that in Wyoming). We would probably save this hike for earlier in the summer when the wildflowers were still in bloom next year. Still a great day/experience and awesome prelude to going home to settle down & watch the Gators vs. Alabama.


Our First "peek" at the lake on our hike!



 


Want to hike the canyons in the summer!

 "It's Great to Be A Florida Gator!"

It's always great to be a Florida Gator - but some days are harder than others! The Gators got destroyed by Bama 31-6...ugh! NOT the way to end a wonderful day...let's hope for a better showing against LSU next weekend. Derek went to the game to meet up with one of his best friends from High School. According to him the party before/after was much better than the game!

Sunday:

We headed into town for brunch at a popular restaurant called The Bunnery ("Get Your Buns in Here") to fuel up before our big hike. I wanted to go farther into the park so we could see Jackson Lake and the Teton reflection and Barry wanted a longer/more strenuous hike, so we settled on Colter Bay near the north end of the park. We were once again amazed as we rounded the corner at the southern point of Jackson Lake, one of the most photographed areas in Grand Teton National Park. Thought that I would include a picture for you - I still gasp every time I round the bend - it is breathtaking! (There was a bit of a haze due to the 10 wildfires currently burning in Yellowstone National Park and 7 burning in Bridger-Teton National Forest).

Mount Moran reflecting into Jackson Hole Lake, Teton National Forest, WY



 Now on to our hike (to work off our fabulous brunch) - an 11+ mile hike to Hermitage Point. This hike was absolutely spectacular, from beginning to end the views were beyond what I could capture with a camera. Hopefully  when you visit you will be game for this one (or for the faint of heart the first 1/2 mile is a smooth path with spectacular views of Mount Moran and Sleeping Indian - the 1-mile loop is a great hike and a "must do" for all).

This is the view of Mount Moran at the beginning of the hike.
Definitely worth at least going the 1-mile loop!

 Barry & I continued our hike at a good clip, since we had a long way to go (and for some reason I think that Barry thinks that the fastest one there "wins." I still STOP and look/enjoy, better safe than first!). We came to Heron Pond and were trying to figure out if some birds we saw were actually Heron (later we found they were not even close to a Heron), and then followed the path to the right. Suddenly the trail looked different than any trail we had traveled before. I even stopped to snap a pic for the blog, since it was so different.



The "Trail"

As we were climbing up, over and around the many obstacles some snippets of our conversation went as follows:
M - "Are you sure this is the right way, there are a lot of trees down across the trail"
B - "This is just not as popular of a trail"
M - "I am going to take a picture of this trail, it is like a maze. At least it would have made sense if this is where I fell"
M - "They need to get some boy scouts out here to do some work"
B - "The path has gotten so much narrower than when we started the hike"
M - "I sure am glad that I wore long pants, this path is so narrow and I am getting whacked by the brush"
M - "The Tetons used to be on our right, now they are on our left - I think we are going the wrong way"
B - "I think that if we keep going it will turn" (bubble of Michele's thoughts - WHAT? The Tetons will turn around?)
B - "They need better signs here"
B - (Gets out phone to see which direction we are heading) "I have no service"
M - "Let's look at the trail map"

Both - "Oops the pond was supposed to be on our right - we turned the wrong way on the trail...right where that tree was covering the trail!"



Sooo, we got an extra 1.2 miles added to or hike, right at the beginning of the day...Barry wanted exercise! And we learned a few things:

• Hiking Lesson #1 - the trails in the National Forests are nicely maintained and DO NOT have trees down across them.
• Hiking Lesson #2 - A tree across a trail means the trail is closed.
• Hiking Lesson #3 - When you come across people wearing Texas shirts, who look just as lost as you, and they try to tell you which way to go - head the opposite direction (not sure if those folks ever made it out of there!)

The rest of the hike was full of natural beauty and no more wrong turns! I must say that the last mile was the longest mile, and we were both very glad to see the parking lot (and the bathroom)! I am thinking that the boyscouts need to add a few things to the longer trails: chairs/benches for resting your feet, bathrooms (I'd even take an outhouse) and how about a picnic table! Here are some pictures from our 11-mile loop (don't worry it will only be 9.8 when we take you, we won't make that wrong turn again). When we got out to the point the views were so amazing - a great place for a picnic! We came across an artist perched on the bluff painting the Tetons...oh the life!


Barry on the RIGHT PATH to Hermitage Point!

 

The view at Hermitage Point.
I want to know what is on that island! 

 

It was time to head back to town. On the way back home we came across a small herd of Elk and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

I don't know, but for some reason as I look at what our daily life in Jackson Hole has been to date, I still feel like I am on vacation! Hope that this feeling never ends :)