If you love to hike, and I do, this is paradise. This morning I joined a Ranger led hike to Taggart Lake at the base of the Tetons. I love Ranger led hikes as you always learn something new. That's important at my age as I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more today than I learned yesterday. I'm trying to keep a balance. The Tetons were formed by earthquake and the fault line runs along the base of the mountains. These beautiful lakes were formed at the base of the glacial valleys as the ice/rock dug out morraines to be filled by water coming off the glaciers. Taggart Creek runs from the lake to the Snake River. You can see why the rivers are running like crazy this year. The Ranger said they had close to 700" of snow this year in the Tetons. As you hike to the lake you pass through sage brush flats, lodgepole forests, and mountain meadows. Usually when you see Lodgepole pine they are tall like telephone poles with branching at the top. The forest we walked through is only 23 years old as fire burned 1,000 acres in 1985. The Lodgepoles have branches from the bottom to the top, although, in some areas the lower branches are starting to die as they crowd out the sunlight.
It's gorgeous and full of wildflowers this year. It is hard not to take photos of the Tetons when you're here - they totally dominate the surroundings. Couldn't you just sit on this rock for hours? There are so many wonderful hikes here. What a great day!
2 comments:
Just beautiful, Jane! Oh how I would have loved to be hiking that scenery with you. Enjoy.
Note to Marla....
We'll be here next year. Bring a sleeping bag and fly to Jackson. Let's take a hike!
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