Nesting and Waiting...

The off season is officially upon us.  It's the time of year when the town clears out: the summer residents are moving south for the winter, the ski bums haven't quite gotten here yet and the gapers (tourists) have stopped flooding town square.  The off season is a time to slow down and shift gears.  Summer was amazing! It was a world wind of sun, water, mountains and tons of activities... The winter will be jammed packed full of skiing and snowshoeing.  But October and November's weather forces you to put the breaks on.  Today, for instance we woke up to wind howling, snow flurries and chilly weather.  The idea of going on a hike was less than appealing.  So for the first time in a long while, I am staying in and doing NOTHING.  

The catch is, I'm very bad at doing nothing. So instead, I have been organizing, doing laundry and in general "nesting." I almost have the house dialed in and comfortable.  Josh's mom is in town and she's been making lasagna all day for us to freeze! The boys have been keeping the fire ablaze all day, it's just been a delightful day! I love the off season! 

Waterfalls Canyon Trip

Every day is a new adventure here in the Hole.  This weekend was no exception.  

Josh had a long weekend off work, so he headed to the lake to put around on the Wailer.  I had to work Wednesday until 8, so I told him I would meet him up there early Thursday morning. Wednesday night around 9 or 10, he calls (from the boat) to tell me to plan on backpacking, we're going to do Waterfalls Canyon, which sits between Eagle Rest Peak and Ranger Peak, just to the North of Mt. Moran.  "Okay!" I said cheerily and started repacking my pack for lightweight travel rather than luxury lake-side "boat camping."  

Thursday morning I get up early and head for the park.  Josh and Sherba were out fishing with another friend who works at Signal Mountain Lodge, so I told them to take their time, I was going to lie out.  I sat by the lake at Spalding Bay for about an hour or so, reading, catching a tan and just relaxing.  The boys came to get me, Sherba went home and Josh and I headed out to meet up with Pete and Abby, friends of Josh's, for our hike.  With "Team PBR" all accounted for, we crossed the lake to the base of the mountain to begin our hike.  (if you would like to follow along, click here in a new window and look for Mt. Moran- across from Colter Bay Village, head North a touch and locate Wilderness Falls... from there direct line towards Colter Bay was out route)

Here's a picture of our hike from about mid-way up.  The white stuff (snow) dead center of the picture is about where our camp site was.

Upon first glance, the worst part of the hike was going to be the change in elevation.  Jackson Lake sits at about 6500 feet, Columbine Cascade, where we camped is at 8,000 feet and Wilderness Falls is at 9,400.  Upon arriving at our "dock" we were swarmed with mosquitoes, so we high tailed it up the mountain and record speed.  Once we got out of the mosquito territory, we entered bushwhacking territory.  Eventually, though, we found some semi-flat ground and set up camp.  

We made dinner, drank a couple of PBRs and went to sleep.  The next morning, we woke up bright and early, packed up base camp and went for a day hike up to see Wilderness Falls. 

There was some climbing involved... 

Abby and I kept up with the boys for as long as we could, but we got to the top of Columbine Cascade and noticed that there was some class 4 scrambling that I was comfortable with going up, but knew I would not be so comfortable with on the down climb, so we decided to wait for them about a mile before Wilderness Falls.  I was bummed that I could not see it in person, but I sent Josh with my camera.   The entire time he was gone I was not sure if I was more nervous that he would fall, or drop my camera ;).

The boys came back, cameras in tow and we headed back down to base camp.  Downhill scrambling is super fun! You just get down low and crab crawl the whole way down.  My arms are SORE!! 

We did have a great view for the down-scramble though...

Once at base camp, we loaded up full packs and headed out, thinking this time we would go high and try and miss some of the brush and forest that we hit on the way in.  We found a game trail and cruised for the first mile or so and then hit some seriously THICK growth.  I was not sure if I was stepping on ground or bushes, all the while holding onto poor saplings and bushes trying to keep from tumbling down the side of the mountain.  I will spare you the details of my minor mid-(non)trail breakdown and skip to the end... we made it! Down through the thick, through the thin, through the burn area, through the SWARMS of mosquitoes and to the BOAT!!!

We coined the term "Reverse Normandy," stormed the boat and took off at full throttle (about 8 miles an hour) headed for Leek's Marina- we desperately deserved pizza and beer after that one! 

by the way, although I HIGHLY recommend Chacos for hiking on trails in the summer time, I do not recommend hiking in Chacos when you are off trail...

Well there you have it, my Epic adventure up Waterfalls Canyon.  And as a side note, today Josh and I ran into an old friend of his, who claimed that he attempted the same hike and turned back.  SO, I am feeling VERY accomplished and proud of my physical and mental ability to climb mountains!  

PEACE!!

Tricia

I don't worry, 'cause I'm sittin' on top of the world...

Last year if you asked me what I felt about summer, the response would be something along the lines of "it's the worst season, it's hot and I hate life." Well today was the first day that the temperature has reached 80. I don't have A/C at my house and it's not even a little bit warm in the house, however, I haven't really even been at home.  I haven't watched a second of television. I haven't been bored. I've been dirt baggin' it in the woods.  I do not hate life, or summer... in fact, I'm kinda in love with both.  

I've been sitting by campfires, climbing trees, chillin' with friends, making new friends, playing fetch with Elu, riding on boats, sleeping under the stars and LIVING

Summer continues...

After work on Saturday, Josh, Jeff and Brandi called me to get my ass down to Alpine and on the boat and bring my camping stuff! It seems that Josh had somehow convinced some man that he was responsible enough to test drive this guys boat for sale.  So, I loaded up Elu and headed for the boat ramp. Elu greatly enjoyed her first time on a boat... 

And Josh pretty much loved driving a boat... 

The scenery was beautiful.

Brandi decided to drive to the campsite while the rest of us went on an adventure! Luckily for us, cell phones worked on the river and we were able to meet up with the car, and drive into town for staples like beer and Jagermeister (and I was able to get my car so I would be on time for work the next day).  The weather held out on us, and we ended up with a relatively clear night. Very few hang-ups...

Except:

Elu and Kipper (Brandi's dog) got sprayed by a skunk

Josh caught himself on fire (just his pant leg)

The dogs found Elk legs, hooves still attached

Overall, it was a nice Saturday evening, and Elu was pooped!!

SUMMER!!!!!!!

I love summer! I forgot how nice it feels to have warm sunshine on your face, and how much better beer tastes when you drink it during the day.  Thursday and Friday were my days off this week and BOY did I have a BLAST!!

Thursday, Josh and I decided to make it a point to do NOTHING. And nothing we did! We went into town to run the few errands that needed running and eat breakfast, then we picked up a half case of beer and went to his house.  He lives on Paintbrush Trail, about a mile UP the mountain.  His back porch has a killer view of the Grand (Teton). We figured sitting around doing nothing would be a lot easier if he had comfy chairs.  It was in the upper 60's, so naturally we wanted to sit outside.  Here's how we managed that: 

so we listened to music and drank a few cold beers in the sunshine! (I worked on my tan as well).

Friday my boss, Jessa, and some friends of hers were rafting the Snake.  I was invited to fill an extra spot.  We took off from town around noon and finally got to rowing around 1pm.  Oh how I love rafting!! There were 17 of us in three boats.  The water was a tad chilly, but we had a blast regardless! 

After a full day of water and sun, I was ready for bed at 9pm last night! Got eight hours of sleep before the 6am shift this morning! 

I love this town! 

I love sunshine!

I love summer!

I heart my friends!