When we arrived at Jackson Hole Airport, it JUST stopped raining, which had been happening for about 3 weeks. A distant rainbow greeted us as we walked down the flight of stairs.
My goodness, we were WHOOPING with excitement. Excitement levels were through the roof. We sat around in the airport; our parents drove over and we had to switch cars (none of us 4 - me, Bryan, Robby or Thomas - were over 25. So prices would've been way higher). Once we got all the stuff in, we were so excited.
I couldn't wait to pack and strap everything to my backpack. Man, the feeling of having all the gear you need right there on your back is wonderful. That night we went to Ripley's Believe it or Not in the town, but were kind of too tired to do anything else.
The next morning, we departed. It was really foggy at first, and we couldn't see the Tetons. We were on our way to Yellowstone. There, we saw Ol' Faithful erupt twice. The second time we had hiked up to a beautiful viewpoint (and hiked a little higher). We made lots of scenic stops. I don't remember the exact details, but there was one amazing point, definitely one of my highlights of the trip.
We stopped by the petrified tree, but that didn't look very interesting to us. Instead, we saw what looked like a little trail going up the side of a very steep hill. So we went on it. Turns out, it wasn't an official trail. But my god, that climb was awesome. I was going on all fours, and we were using walking sticks for traction. I was grabbing limbs and thin trees and roots and pulling myself up, and there were these curved trees (we might call them treenises) jutting out of the hillside that you could just lean back and rest on.
The climbing, though strenuous, was extremely fun. Going beast mode is awesome. Well, we got above the line of trees and dirt, and found ourselves on the hilltop, which was covered in bushes and grass. But we kept hauling our tired selves till we got to the very peak, where we found a stone with some leg bones by it. Not to mention, an extremely beautiful view. You best believe we were screaming with excitement!
Well, after two nights of motels (they were both very impressive, we didn't think they would be that nice. It was a Motel 8 and a Super Motel 6. Also, on the second motel night, Man Vs. Wild with Will Ferrell came on, which was awesome), we finally camped. It was at a campsite at the Grand Canyon [of Yellowstone]. It was so nice to know we'd be sleeping in a tent. We met a really nice park ranger who was actually from Ohio.
That night we cooked up a big dinner of bacon, beans and pasta. We sat out by the fire and gazed at the stars (unfortunately, during the whole trip, there was no milky way). It was so awesome and comfortable.
Well, the next night we went down to the Tetons again and FINALLY did some much needed Backpacking. We had to choose a totally new trail. We decided we'd stay in Phelps lake for 2 nights and then stay in Granite Canyon, but because of fatigue and time restraints, we only did the first two nights.
Us approaching Phelps Lake, our back-country camping site. This was the end of the uphill and the start of the downhill. What a wonderful mid-way treat.
It was SUCH a beautiful hike in. Beautiful poplar trees and pines, open fields in the distance, running streams, etc. It actually hailed briefly beforehand. We hiked in at the same time as an old couple. I think they beat us by a lot, ha! It was fun getting our packs all set (we had to have bear canisters, which doubled as seats. Honestly, they tell screw it shut before sitting on the lid). Well, we got there finally and set up and ate. I remember that night, we were all lying out, waiting for that damned milky way to come up, but it never did. Rob and I waited a bit longer after Bryan and Thomas went to bed. We watched the moon set.
We recorded us doing stuff for a long while that night, starting with Rob and I wading in the lake. Check it out. WW.68
Well, the next day we had to hike back to the car to resupply. We get there, and... NO... Bryan realizes he forgot the keys. Talk about the most horrible feeling haha. Well, he hiked back with Rob (Rob stopped halfway) and Thomas and I talked. At least he had no pack! I was feeling kind of down at that point, but I think it was actually because I got the impression that everyone else was feeling down too.
But then when we all got back together and ate up, we went and saw a man that a passing park ranger had told us about before we departed to the car.
Meet Black George, the mountain man!
He gave us root beer floats and told us SO many stories. He even had a story from Columbus, where kids bought a barber pole, and people thought they stole it, so they showed the receipt. Well, they started pretending to cut it down at every barber shop and then showed the receipt and got off, so the cops said, "alright guys, there are some kids pulling some pranks, so if you see two kids sawing down a barber pole, don't bother." Well, after that, everyone went around sawing off barber poles without getting caught! Hacha!
Later we went back to our campsite, full with those floats, and happy as ever.
Then we met a cool couple and the guy had actually lived in Jackson Hole, so he came camping every weekend. Sounds amazing. Robby was like, Andrew, we've gotta just ask them to hang out and not care about what they think, and you're the one who needs to do it most. So we asked, and we chatted over dinner. We had Ramen, and they had already eaten so they were having a Hershey Bar for dessert. Delicioso. Later we went over to Jumping Rock, a big rock by the lake, but the clouds were out and it started storming.
The next morning, we were eating some hot cider and oat bars for breakfast. We noticed in the distance the couple jumping off the rock (and we could hear them go WOO!... splash!), so Robby and I were like, "alright, we have GOT to do that." Robby was considering doing it the night before. But he was like, nah, I had better wait till its daytime and I can see the bottom (though the guy who's lived here assured us it was safe).
And so, we got our swimsuits on and nervously hiked on over. Got to the top of Jumping Rock and stared down. I looked. Man. It seemed like I would just have to go for it without thinking. So I did. WOOOOSHH, the 2 second fall felt like a whole minute, and I finally crashed against the water! SPLASH! I came up and swam to the rocky shore and climbed back up. I kind of hurt my balls on that first one, haha. Rob and I each dove 3 times, but of course my first time didn't get recorded because it was unexpected and impulsive.
Here's my second jump: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1118929180241
My god it was thrilling and fun. Some passer-by's saw us too, including two MILF's, and a group of old ladies (one of which said "if I was your mother, I'd tell you to get down!" to which I thought, thank goodness we're out here alone!). We talked to the couple a bit more before those two groups came by, too, and I thankfully got a picture on my camera of us (the night before all we had was Thomas's crappy camera, cause the battery I got was low already somehow).
Well, afterwards, we decided to take to the road, because it would've been to hard to hike back and try and get a spot at Jenny Lake in one morning (though we ended up not getting that site on the planned morning anyway, so...) We visited Black George again, enjoyed floats and more wonderful stories, like this one:
Well the next night we stayed at Coulter Bay campsite and played cards and stuff. Then we stay two nights I think in Jenny Lake. We took a canoe out on Jenny Lake, too, and had a blast. We paddled across it to a little cascade. So awesome, so beautiful. We also visited Teton Village (regrettably, we didn't go para sailing, but apparently it would've been fine with the parents. D'OH!) We had delicious waffles though.
Arriving at Leigh Lake on a quick hike near the end of the trip.
Well, there's a lot more to tell about the trip, so maybe some time I'll type up the Adventure Archives and post it.
Until then, peace out.
-Andrew
P.S.: We took about 2,000 pictures. For a little over 40 of them, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29255250@N03/sets/72157622411980524/
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