Day 14

 June 30 (Grant Teton National Park, WY)

It was so cold last night! We did not prepare ourselves for the varying weather in store for us, and nowhere did we feel it more than the Tetons at night. It was 38 degrees, and Cassandra and I wore hoodies for head warmth! We ate breakfast over the fire (delicious pancakes and bacon, and nothing was seriously burnt!), then split up for the day. 

Cassandra and the kids explored Colter Bay Village on their bikes, spending time with the Grant Teton artists in residence;

...and Brad and I went for a hike about 25 minute drive from our campsite. We intended to hike around String Lake, but took a wrong turn somewhere and wound up travelling along adjacent Jenny Lake, ending at Hidden Falls. We had a great hike, chatting about school, life, family, children, nature, art: practically everything. It is always so refreshing to hang out with Brad - we vibe very well.

I'm grateful for his friendship and excited to continue hiking and camping all over the place with him and Candice (I'm thinking somewhere in Shenandoah must be on deck…). The Hidden Falls were powerful, yet it sprayed us gently.  The portion we hiked along Jenny Lake is absolutely beautiful, although sections along the waterfront seemed that they'd been recently burned - the open trail with dense regrown underbrush was a strange contrast between the pine-shaded forest trails. It was an absolutely glorious morning.

 

We arrived to our campsite late in the afternoon, and reconvened with Cassandra and the crew. She bought fleeces for the children and a wool hat for me (she'd already bought a sweater in Custer and had doubled-up to keep warm). Before Brad left, he took a portrait of us with his old-style portrait camera (I can't remember the name of it). It was fun to stand proud in front of our summer-home (and new adventure-enabling friend) in such a beautiful, special place, and I'm happy our journeys crossed. His next stop east was Custer State Park, with the intention to visit Sylvan Lake! What great synergy!

After Brad left, we hung around the campsite, rode bikes...

...(to an unfortunately-dry-and-therefore-closed marina)...

...and finished organizing the site.

We encountered lots of bikers on this trip (both at campgrounds and, as we moved west, increasingly on the road), including a large group camping at the Tetons who is riding cross-country to Oregon, just a couple hours north from Myrtle Creek (our west-coast destination). It would take them another 20 days or so to get to their final destination. Their trip sounds pretty cool and I'm sure is incredibly challenging at times - travelling with a dozen or so strangers on two wheels. It's impressive seeing them ride along the road, inspires Cassandra and I to plan a bike trip along the C & O Canal someday soon. We came across four guys from an Escape Adventures group who are from different corners of the greater Baltimore area (all older men who didn't know each other), which was unexpected, since we hadn't come across anyone from Maryland or so much as seen a Maryland state license plate since we left Ohio (and we won't see another until the end of July in the Rocky Mountains). One of them asked about gear I was wearing, and when I shared it from was Loyola Blakefield, he smiled and shared he went to Calvert Hall and his brother went to Loyola! While doing laundry (tomorrow), I met another Maryland-native from this group whose son went to Loyola and is about my age now. It was pretty far out. I didn't expect to come across regional neighbors in the Tetons, of all places! From the amount of bikers and the beautiful landscapes all around us, this is clearly a great and popular place for riding.

It was so calm and quiet here at night - no frogs and chirping insects letting loose overnight. Unfortunately, there are lots of mosquitoes here. They are everywhere, incessant, and big (which at least makes them easier to spot and slap…). Fortunately, it is cool enough to comfortably (necessarily!) wear long clothes to protect from them.

Before retiring for the evening, we consolidated our supplies into a single cooler as we get toward the end of our initial round of supplies. We plan to run with one cooler until we get to Myrtle Creek and do a major resupply.

It feels so exciting and gratifying to finally be settling in here.