When Ally and I did our bike ride to String Lake 3 days ago
we stopped at the Jenny Lake ranger station.
I wanted to check to see if there were any areas of the park we should
avoid due to bear activity. I knew that
the sows were out with their new cubs and surprising them is not something
you want to do. The ranger kindly told
me of two areas we might want to stay clear of for a bit. When our hiking friend, Shannon, picked us up
this morning for today’s adventure she said we were going to hike the Grand
View trail, a 6 mile roundtrip from Jackson Lake Lodge. You guessed it. That was one of the two trails the ranger had
mentioned. Shannon has worked and hiked
in the park for many years so I figured with three of us we were safe. I must not have had enough coffee to fully
wake up this morning so naturally I forgot my bear spray and our hiking
poles. It’s amazing how our minds toy
with us. We started off and when I
realized I had forgotten my spray and sticks I was really nervous about having
Ally with us. I figure no bear really
wants to eat me…way too tough, but Ally???
How would I explain that one to her parents? When I have my spray and sticks I feel
totally at ease. I’ll be able to fend off the angriest bear. Do you really think that’s going to make a
difference if we encounter an annoyed bear?
The experts (who probably have stock in the spray company) say it will,
so I keep telling myself we’ll be just fine.
I won’t forget my spray again.
We’ve left the Jackson Lake Lodge area and are on our way to
those hills in the distance. We’ll see
how Ally does with a bit of elevation climb today.
The early part of our hike takes us through the sages, the
meadows, and pines. The shades of green
are beautiful in the morning light. Of
course, I keep thinking the dead tree stumps are bears grazing in the meadows. Shannon and Ally are laughing at nervous
Grandma. Shannon has bear spray and
she’s in front. I’m just hanging back to
photograph the action.
As we climb higher, the Tetons come in to view.
My hiking buddies, Ally and Shannon.
There’s a bit of a climb to the top. Ally’s pushing a bit out of her comfort
zone. She’s determined to keep up and is
doing a great job. Those photo ops we
take are important rest breaks.
We love hiking with Shannon.
She knows the area well and we learn as we hike. It’s like having our own personal guide. As
we look to the west we are overlooking Jackson Lake, where we kayaked last year,
at the base of the Tetons.
If we turn and look to the east we see Two Ocean Lake. The night we went bear hunting we drove to
Two Ocean on a gravel road (did I say, “I love my Subaru) and ended at the
opposite end of the lake in this view.
That was a stormy, cold, and windy evening. The lake had white caps. There was a single kayaker getting ready to
take off on the lake. We all thought he
was nuts. By the time he made it to the
water it had to be dark. The lake looks
like a magnificent kayaking lake but I think we’ll do it on some nice, warm,
still morning.
We’ll be “dining out, our style” at this spot. It’s Shannon’s favorite place in the
park. The hike and the views have been
so magnificent that I’ve forgotten about the bears.
I think Ally is beginning to understand how special these
places are…
… and how lucky we are to be able to enjoy them.
We hike in layers: clothes
on; clothes off. If you sit for a while
you get cool. If you climb a hill you
get hot.
We like this photo of Shannon at her favorite place. Now we’re off to hike just a short distance
to Grand View Point.
Here it is and it’s not quite as “grand” as Shannon’s
favorite place. The trees must have
grown and blocked the view since this point was named. This may be Grand View Point but Shannon’s
place we’ve named “Grandest View Point”.
It’s time to head for home. ..downhill most of the way.
If I were a bear I’d like to hang out here too.
Whoa, careful!
Back through the meadow.
On through the sage.
We’ve arrived back at the corral at Jackson Lake. Ally loves horses and would love to go for a
trail ride. We’ve been hesitant to do
this as she had a severe allergic reaction to horses many years ago. Hmmm, here’s the corral and there’s an
emergency clinic here as well. I think
we’ll come visit the horses tomorrow to see if she still has a problem after
being on allergy shots for a couple of years.
To top off a great day of hiking we’ve stopped at the grill
at the lodge for a little snack. There
are beautiful restaurants here but this is one of our favorite spots. We like sitting at the counter and the onion
rings are the best I’ve ever had. So
what’s wrong with a little vegetable and dairy? We shared a tasty hot fudge
sundae. It came down to dueling spoons
for that last bite. Ally won!
The next day we did go back to the corral. Ally took an antihistamine before we left and
I brought along the Epi pen I carry when Ally is with us. I explained to the staff that we wanted to do
an allergy test in a safe location. If
she passed we’d be signing up for a trail ride.
They were fabulous. They brought
out a horse for Ally to hang out with for an hour to see if she would have a
reaction.
She and the horse enjoyed every minute of the time she was
able to be there. Sure enough, after a
half-hour she started to sneeze and then her throat felt itchy. The test worked but it’s one she failed. She knows it will be a while longer before
she might be able to be near horses again.
We stopped in at the clinic but they said they would just observe her
for an hour so we decided to head for home.
We kept the epi pen ready as we drove back to camp. After another round of antihistamine and a
shower to remove any traces of horse and she was back to normal.
She never napped after the heavy doses of
antihistamine. I think she was
determined to stay awake as Shannon was stopping by for our first S’more
night. Our wonderful next door
neighbors, Debbie and Len, had given us a sack full of great Trader Joe’s
goodies for our trip the night before we left home.
We all agreed they were the best S’mores we’d ever had. It was the Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Grahams that
did the trick. Outstanding! The closest Trader Joe’s is near Las Vegas. How, oh how, are we going to make our S’mores
without those crackers? They will never
be the same!
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