Day Thirty Seven, Glacier National Park, MT: Check In

Haven’t been able to update recently because of basically no internet. Even now, I’m only connected by cell phone, so I have to keep it brief.

So we left off on Wednesday night. I spent Thursday night in Montana west of Yellowstone in a National Forest, after driving through part of Yellowstone during the day. I spent Friday night at a campground outside the Northeast corner of Yellowstone. I spent Friday and Saturday morning doing the rest of Yellowstone. On Saturday I drove up to Glacier National Park and camped out in the Indian Reservation at an old abandoned campground.

Today, Sunday, I arranged to go on a backcountry trip in the Northeast corner of Glacier. The trip is a 35 mile, 3 night, 4 day, hike. The neat part is that it starts in Montana at the Chief Montain Trailhead and ends in Canada at the Waterton Townsite Trailhead, where I plan to hitchhike my way back to the border and my car. I leave on Monday morning, and should be back in contact Thursday night.

But I thought I’d get in touch. I am just sending this post through a cell phone internet connection, but other than that I have not been online since Wednesday, so I haven’t seen any comments. But thanks for continuing to follow along!

Day Thirty Three, Grand Teton National Park, WY: “A 2,000lb Bull Will Ruin Your Car”

I’m back to real-time writing. And again, I find myself sitting next to a campfire on the wonderful Shadow Mountain in the Teton National Forest. My site on Shadow Mountain overlooks the Tetons to the west, across a beautiful plain of multicolored  wildflowers. The site is, being in a forest, generally secluded. Once the sun set behind the Tetons, what few mosquitoes there were disappeared. Furthermore, there is enough of a cell signal for me to briefly connect to the internet and send in this post. In short, this site is a dream.

Unsurprisingly, at least to myself, it took me about two days under a roof in Jackson before I yearned to return to a tent. This is not meant as a sleight against my host or his habitations; rather, a tip of the hat to the freedom, solitude, and space that comes with a secluded camp. The reward of reaching the end of any hike is substantial, often in the form of a beautiful lake ringed by soaring, snow covered mountains. After a four day return to semi-urban life, I found that I missed those experiences. And I was glad to get back on the road to Grand Teton and Yellowstone. (For those of you who may not be familiar with the geography of the area, Grand Teton is about 20 miles directly to the north of Jackson. Yellowstone sits atop of Grand Teton.)

I did go on a short hike today, of perhaps 2.5 miles total, from the new visitors center at the Lawrence S. Rockefeller Preserve – a recent gift to the National Park from its namesake – to Phelp’s Lake. To call the center a visitors center seems a little inappropriate; it is a small building of wide spaces and reminds me more of an old-style sanitarium for nature lovers than a visitor center. Visitor centers are typically very crowded and meant for masses of travelers; the LSR is too new to appear on any map and is infrequently visited.

As usual, I met some great people. Hardly a day has gone by in the weeks since I’ve left Denver – and therefore wondered through the parks and towns on my own – that I have failed to meet someone with whom I exchanged numbers or email addresses. This has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of the trip; meeting people from regions of the country other than my own, gaining their perception on issues and events, and hearing their stories, and it provides an ever-changing context within which I enjoy my own timeline. In this case, I met a CPA from New York City and a couple from Boston on the trail. (I hope to have pictures of this hike, including some Moose I ran into on the road out of the center, up tomorrow.)

Simply because this is far and away the most enjoyable campsite I have encountered, I plan on spending the next night here. Because the road down the mountain is long, that will mean spending the next day here as well. I also plan on waking up early to get some shots of the sun rising across from the Tetons. I’m looking forward to it. (This post’s title comes off a roadway sign alerting motorists of the wildlife crossing that is, essentially, every mile of road in the park.)

Day Twenty Nine through Thirty Two, Jackson, WY: “Dude, we’ve just lost a day.”

The updates have been scarce lately for two reasons. First, I was already running a backlog of hundreds of pictures from Grand Teton that I had to sort through so I could do the last two posts. Second, I needed a vacation from my vacation.

I have spent the last several days – Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday – in Jackson, a small town of about 9,000 just south of Grand Teton National Park. I simply needed to settle down for a bit, clean up the car, mail some things, pick up some small groceries, and just relax under a roof.

On Saturday night, I went to the Snake River Brewery to try one of their beers. To make a long story short, the stories I was telling at the bar soon meant people were buying me beers faster than I could drink them. I met a forest ranger from the nearby National Forest at the bar, and he offered to put me up for the night. Doug was a great guy and it was a nice gesture.

The next day – Sunday – was my birthday, and I did enjoy hearing from all those who I talked to. I spent Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night at a guy’s house who I met on couchsurfing.com, Dan, who was a great host. After having spent the previous eight nights outside, it felt great to get under a roof. I spent Sunday night just relaxing. 

The title of the post refers to something Dan said after we spent most of the day on Monday watching the TV show Arrested Development. And that was Monday; I didn’t get much done at all.

I spent Tuesday getting ready for the next week or two; groceries, water, etc. I finished assembling a do-it-yourself solar panel charger, which has an output in the form of a car cigarette adapter, allowing me to charge almost any of my electronic devices – including my laptop – from a lightweight and paperback-book sized solar charger. Very convenient. Finally, Dan and his two roommates and I had a nice “family dinner,” complete with fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It was a nice feeling to eat real food with other people again.

Now it’s Wednesday, and I’m leaving soon for Yellowstone. I may stop another day in Grand Teton; I’m not sure yet. Either way, I am hoping to get back to the more regular update schedule. As long as I can hook onto a cell phone signal for a few minutes a day in the park, I will be able to send out the updates.

Thanks for following along. 

Day Twenty Eight, Grand Teton National Park, WY: Amphitheater Lake

On Friday, I woke up at 6.00am to start the hike up to Surprise Lake and Amphitheatre Lake in Grand Teton. Mike and I had decided to do the hike together, as it would take at least 5 hours. The hike starts at about 6,700 feet and continues up through about 13 switchbacks.

Again, I think it is better to include pictures than tell the story. The joy of the uninterrupted scenery is only amplified by the almost absolute lack of any other hikers on the trail. Because the Surprise Lake trail is one of the more strenuous day hikes in Grand Teton, it is far less popular than most of the other trails.

Directly before you reach Surprise Lake, the trail becomes a little bit less defined and kind of dead-ends in a small pool which is fueled by snow melt, (see that below).

After 5 miles and an elevation gain of 3,000 feet, the trail stops at Surprise Lake. Made of snow runoff from the mountains above, the result is a small, calm lake with crystal clear waters, surrounded by snow-covered mountains.

 Surprise Lake

 Amphitheater Lake

 Runoff from Amphitheater Lake, into Surprise Lake

After the hike, Mike and I grabbed some food and again camped out in the National Forest outside of Grand Teton.

See many more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith

Day Twenty Seven, Grand Teton National Park, WY: Open Space

On Thursday morning, I woke up early in the Shoshone National Forest, having camped out the same site outside Lander that I spent the previous night in.

I spent the day continuing the drive to Grand Teton and Yellowstone. On paper, the trip was only about two hours long. But because I pulled over so often to take pictures and hit a major construction project, it took me about four. I enjoyed the drive in any case; I said before, unlike Kansas, Wyoming has some awesome geological formations that make for a tremendous driving environment. It was very tough to choose which pictures to include.

After I arrived at Grand Teton National Park, I took a nice walk along the outside of Colter Bay, which includes one of the several Marinas along  Jackson Lake.

I spent the night in Bridger-Teton National Forest. Unlike most forests, this one does not have many dispersed camp sites, so I was forced to stay in a more developed campground. However, it was at this camp that I met Mike, a dietician from Minnesota a couple years older than me. Mike had just got back from a week-long backcountry trip through Yellowstone.

I had planned to do the Surprise Lake/Amphitheatre Lake Hike the next day, and I asked Mike if he’d like to come along – it’s always more fun hiking with someone else, especially on longer hikes. Mike was up for it.

Check out some more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith

Day Twenty Seven and Twenty Eight, Grand Teton National Park, WY: Check In

I don’t have the time to write a complete post right now, but I thought I would just give a brief synopsis of the last few days for now, and fill in the details with pictures tomorrow…

Thursday, Day Twenty Seven:
I drove out to Grand Teton National Park. It’s a great drive and I have a ton of pictures from it that I still have to look through. After arriving at the park, I went on a short hike around Colter Bay. I camped out again in a National Forest. However, this forest has no dispersed campsites, and instead has gaggle of about 7 sites right next to each other, campground-style. I met a guy named Mike, a few years older than me, who had just gotten back from a week-long backcountry trip in Yellowstone.

Friday, Day Twenty Eight:
It’s now been four weeks since I began this trip. Mike and I start the Surprise Lake/Amphitheater Lake Hike in Grand Teton around 8.00am. The hike is a 10 mile hike that gains 3,000 feet in elevation and ends at Surprise Lake; another 0.3 miles brings you to Amphitheater Lake. After this hike, it was back to the same National Forest campsite. I have about 300 pictures from the hike and the one below is a good representation of what the rest look like.

The mosquitoes at that site were unreal. Even with mosquito coils burning and a terribly smoky fire, the air was filled with swarms and swarms of buzzing bites. This was the fourth night in a row that I have dealt with uninhabitable mosquitoes and I decide that there is absolutely no way I am dealing with it again tomorrow.

 Surprise Lake, ~9,900 feet

Saturday, Day Twenty Nine:
Today Mike and I went down to Jackson, a city of 9,000 just south of the park. We had lunch at Mountain High Pizza Pie before Mike drove back home to Minnesota. It was great to meet someone of a similar mind and have someone to talk to after having spent the last week alone. I then started looking for a place to spend the night. I went to a Sports Authority and asked around; I found that the Pacific Creek Trail that I was on is one of the worst mosquito sites around. But I was given a few other good sites to try tonight.

I have some requests in to CouchSurf with some people around Jackson, and hopefully some will come through tonight or tomorrow. I’ve slept outside now for eight nights in a row, and tonight will make nine. So I would really enjoy sleeping indoors – a place where I don’t have to pitch the tent, keep the food in bear safe containers, be constantly mobbed by bugs, etc.

I’m going to try to do a proper post tomorrow, with many more pictures and details from the hike.

Thanks again to everyone for following along and making comments, either through the site or by getting a hold of me. It’s a great feeling to know that people back home are interested in what I do, and humbling to know that they enjoy what I write.

Day Twenty Five, about 12 miles outside Lander, WY: Hike and Drive

On Tuesday, I did a short and easy hike in RMNP, as I was planning to get on the road to Yellowstone at a decent time. I chose the East Inlet Trail, which walks along the East Inlet Creek. I only hiked the first 2.5 miles of the trail and back, which is generally flat and easy going. The first leg of the trail goes through Adam’s Falls, which is a fantastic sight.

Again, there is not much to talk about but there are a lot of cool pictures. Be sure to check the Picasa Album for more pictures; there are a ton of great pictures that I couldn’t fit into the post.

I left for Yellowstone at about 1.30pm. Having been told the park was about 500 miles away from Grand Lake, I allowed two days for it, but had planned no specific course. The route to Yellowstone from RMNP is only on the interstate for a few miles, the rest of the time through winding state roads that, very, very occasionally, run through small, (pop. 500, tops) towns. After the hike, I avoided getting something to eat in Grand Lake because of the high cost, and in an episode of ill planning had thought I would just grab something from McDonalds further down the road. Having not seen a McDonalds for several days should have set off some bells; it did not.

This northern part of Colorado is barely inhabited, and this sparse inhabitation makes for a great driving experience. CO-125 winds on for 53 miles through soft mountains and dense forest. The curves of the road hug the ridges of the hills, and there are hardly any cars around – a driver’s dream. The one frustrating moment occurred when I hit construction; you would think this would not be a big deal on a road where you might see one car every 10 miles. I had just pulled up to a flagman when he let the car in front of me go. He told me that I had just missed the pilot car, and he would have to drive down the length of construction and make the next trip back before I could go. 10-15 minutes was his guess, (but it was kind of cool to drive right by a road being actively repaved.)

It wasn’t until I had gone 70 miles from Grand Lake that I found a town with a restaurant and a gas station. Walden, CO, is a nice town of 734 people. When I stopped at the Moose Creek Cafe, I was well rewarded with a delicious 1/3lb Bacon Cheeseburger. The next customer was a man with cowboy spurs. A few minutes later came a large black lab named Ace. Apparently the dogs walk through the town freely, as the waitress told me Ace didn’t normally come up onto the porch, but so-and-so’s Beagle would.

I drove another 232 miles through Wyoming, into Lander. Surprisingly, (to me) Wyoming has a lot of interesting geology and the drive is thus quite scenic. I had never given much thought to Wyoming outside of its gross lack of population. There are, again, a lot of pictures on the Picasa album to check out.

When I arrived in Lander around 8pm, it was the first town of more than 5,000 that I had been in for five days. I stopped at a gas station and got directions from someone there to the nearest forest access road. The trip up through the forest was interesting. Lander itself is at about 5,400 feet, (probably the lowest I’ve been since Kansas, 13 days ago) but my campsite was at 8,500 feet. The road through the forest is a back and forth gravel switchback directly up a large mountain. It was quite surprising to look at this mountain when driving in, and then find myself on top of it in short order. My campsite was on a nice lake, and I got there just as the sun was setting.

This was my fifth straight night camping. I am getting very good at lighting fires quickly, but I sure wish I could find a shower around here…

(A lot) more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/reidksmith