2014XC: Day 13, June 24 – Wyoming, Grand Teton (Colter Bay)

We started our day out renting a small motorboat and going out on the lake. The lake was calm and serene, and the reflection of the Tetons on the lake was postcard worthy even though it was a bit hazy. I wonder if the snow on the tops of the mountains doesn’t naturally keep a haze around it. We didn’t bring poles to fish, we just wanted to hang out on a boat and be on the lake. We drove around for about 2 hours. The boys took turns driving. If you know Christian, you know that he was the one who drove the craziest. We all had a nice time and were thankful to Steve for making this happen.

Back to the lakeside for a little swim.

When we began planning this trip, Steve stumbled across a website put together by a family who had taken a cross-country trip every year since 1999. We read through some of the trips and recommendations of where to go and what to see, and one of them was the “Jenny Lake hike”. Since arriving in Grand Teton, we’d heard of a few bear sightings and there were warnings posted everywhere. Even the day we arrived at the campground there was a sighting not far from there. We didn’t know how populated the trail would be, so we broke down and bought the special “bear spray” for $49.95. On the way to the trail I’m reading the packet info that came with the spray and I’m about ready to back out of it – scary!!! We get to the trail-head and there were like a billion people there, so we really didn’t need the spray after all – better to have it and not need it though. The hike was about 1.5 miles and relatively easy, going along part of the lake and then ascending up about 1000ft past Hidden Falls up to Inspiration Point to finish at 7,100 ft. No bears, but we did see an American Pica (looked like a huge hamster), some chipmunks at the Falls, and a Badger at the top of the trail. There was a point in the trail that went along a rock cliff, and I realized there that I have a little fear of heights – I couldn’t bear to let go of the rock wall long enough to get a picture – but it was a really beautiful trail and well worth it anyway. We weren’t as high up the mountain as we felt we were, but the views of the lake and the surrounding area and the scattered snow patches were stunning.

Leaving Grand Tetons tomorrow…