Climbing Middle Teton

On my day off last week I climbed up the Middle Teton, the third highest peak in the Teton Range (12,804 ft). We took the Ellingwood Couloir route up the south side of the peak. At 5:00 AM we started out on the trail from the American Alpine Club Climber's Ranch in Moose. The sky was lit up with the most spectacular sunrise - bright pinks and purples. Two elk grazed in the open meadow, fleeing as we made our way up the trail. The forest was alive with the singing of many morning songbirds and only the tops of the highest peaks were golden with the morning's first rays of sunlight.
We hiked up through Garnet Canyon, reaching the Meadows, which was still covered in snow.

Me starting up the snowfield at the Meadows with Garnet Canyon in the background. 

Looking up at part of the Middle Teton from the Meadows. 

Once we got past the Meadows, the snow became steeper, so we strapped on our crampons and exchanged trekking poles for our ice axe. 

Kick-stepping our way up, we slowly but surely made it to the top of the saddle and had an amazing view looking down on Icefloe Lake, the Teton's highest elevation alpine lake. 

Looking down on Icefloe Lake (still frozen over) from the top of the saddle.

From this point we turned sharply to the right to start directly up the side of the peak. After scrambling up some loose rock, the terrain turned to 4th Class and it was back to traveling on snow - the steepest and hardest section of the climb. 

Scrambling up the loose rocky section of the route. 

Back on the snow, making our way up the couloir.

At around 2:00 PM we finally reached the summit! 

USGS summit marker!

View from the top of Middle Teton looking into Idaho.

Sitting on the summit with an amazing view of the Grand to the right.

From the summit we had amazing views of the Grand, which is directly next to Middle Teton (and 1,000 ft taller). We ate lunch and started back down, heel kicking down the steep couloir and then glissading down the rest of the snow fields, which was a blast (although my butt was numb by the time we made it to the base of the last snow field)! 

Descending the snow couloir - ice axe in one hand and a trekking pole in the other. 

Once we made it back to the canyon, the last of the hike out seemed long since we were tired. We made it off the trail and back to the climbers ranch parking lot at 7:00 PM - a 14 hour day, exhausted but definitely worth it. 

Hiking Snow King

 A few days ago on my day off I hiked up Snow King Mt., a ski mountain with a great bird's eye view of the town. I biked from Coyote Canyon to the trailhead (about 6 miles) and hiked up Josie's Ridge Trail (about 2 miles), which circled around the side of the mountain and followed the ridge-line up to the summit. I hiked back down the opposite side of the mountain and stopped at the bouldering park to climb before biking back to Coyote Canyon. Some other interns and I were saying we should start the mountain triathlon: biking, hiking, and climbing.

The view from Josie's Ridge Trail on Snow King Mountain.

Looking down on the town of Jackson near the top of Snow King Mountain.

The other night we also hiked up Vogul's Butte behind campus to watch the sunset and do some stargazing. It is amazing how many stars you can see here at night - you can even see the milky way. We saw at least four shooting stars that one night.

Sunset on the Tetons from Vogul's Butte. 

Life in Jackson

Biking down the bike path and seeing the massive Teton mountains alongside you never gets old. They are so rugged and beautiful they don't even look real.

My playground for the summer.

During our two weeks of training we went on a few hikes and went canoeing on String Lake in Teton NP. All the other interns and instructors are real friendly and fun. Tuesday evening in town there is bluegrass night, where local bands play and everyone dances and drinks beer. I learned how to two-step (which is easy for the girl because the guy you dance with always leads) and even danced with a real cow boy!

Teton Science School interns and employees during a training hike. (I'm the first girl on the left in the second row.)

Hiking during training up Coyote Rock. 

Learning/playing a game that is good for kids out in the field.

The first weekend here I went rock climbing at Hoback Shield with some other interns, which had some great limestone sport climbs and just the other day I did some climbing at Rodeo Wall with another instructor. Rodeo Wall is another great limestone sport climbing wall right off the highway. I was also able to do some hiking with a group of interns on our day off and after work I usually bike into town to do some bouldering on the outdoor bouldering wall. There's so much to do in Jackson!

Outdoor bouldering park in town.

Hiking near Jenny Lake in TNP. 

Made it to Jackson...

The next morning we packed up the car and hit the road once more. The entire time we drove through South Dakota we saw signs for "Wall Drug" - 5 cent coffee, free ice water, and more - so naturally we had to stop and see what this was all about. Apparently Wall Drug started out in 1931 as a small pharmacy with poor business until the owner's wife had the idea to advertise free ice water to parched travelers making their way to Mount Rushmore. There is still a pharmacy, however, it has now expanded to include other stores, museums, and other western cowboy themed attractions.

Erin, Adam, and myself at the fake Mount Rushmore while visiting Wall Drug.

Me helping the old cowboy with his mule.

After an entertaining afternoon at Wall Drug, we continued driving through Wyoming. Once the sun went down a storm rolled in and we had to pull over to stop for the night because of heavy hail and lightening. We rose with the sun and drove our last day through Wyoming. We stopped in Dubois, the last town before you pass through the mountains into Jackson, and found a laundry-mat to wash up and take much needed showers. We treated ourselves to lunch at a local organic store, where I got the most delicious veggie wrap. As we drove through the mountain pass it was as if we were traveling back in time. More and more snow built up on trees and the road around us as we gained more and more elevation. It looked like winter by the time we hit around 8,000 feet. It even started snowing! We made it back down to the valley and finally made it to our ultimate destination: Jackson Hole, Wyoming! After walking around town, we drove to the Gros Ventre campground, where we would be staying the next few nights until I moved into my housing for work.

Our first full day in Jackson we drove into Teton National Park and went for a hike up Death Canyon. We had an amazing view looking down on Phelps lake and even came across a moose!

Looking down on Phelps Lake from the Death Canyon trail. 

A moose we came across.

As we gained elevation on the trail the snow became deeper and later in the afternoon it started snowing. Once the snow became too deep we had to turn around. 

Me on the trail through Death Canyon. 

The next day we woke up to blue skies and a great view of the Teton Range.

The Tetons!

We went for a gorgeous hike around Phelps Lake and saw a lot of wildlife - mule deer, ground squirrels, geese, and more.

Ground squirrel stranding up on it's hind legs.

The trail to Phelps Lake.

A female mule deer on the trail. 

We also stopped by Mormon row, a line of old homestead buildings where mormon farmers settled in the 1980's.

Mormon row with the Tetons in the background.

There were ground squirrels scurrying around everywhere!

The remains of Mormon Row with the Tetons in the background. 

A herd of bison grazing near an old homestead.

Our last sunset before moving into my new home.

Badlands NP

The next morning we started out on a hike up Notch Trail.

The trail went winding through the canyons and ended with a beautiful view looking down on the rest of the Badlands. The formations were sprinkled with hidden caves and crevices, which were definitely worth exploring.

Erin and I exploring one of the caves along the trail.

Early blooming wildflowers lit up the trail - pink, yellow, and purple.

Yellow cactus flower along the trail.

Rain accompanied us the next day on our hike. The trail climbed steeply up a ridge and spit us out in a prairie, where we then traversed around the outside of the rock formations. We found out the hard way that these rock formations turn into sticky clay when wet, and we were covered in mud by the time we made it back to the car.

Me hiking through the prairies alongside the Badlands. (Photo courtesy of Adam) 

Our boots were so muddy that we had to tie them to the roof for a couple days.

After our hike, we drove down into the valley at the edge of Badlands National Park, where we camped for the night. As we ate dinner a couple bison grazed in the field right along side of us. We spotted a good number of different wildlife while in the Badlands - a few bison herds, an entire prairie dog town, and even a bighorn sheep!

A beautiful bighorn sheep crossing the prairie in Badlands NP, South Dakota.

Prairie Dog

Grazing bison.

The Beginning

About 40 hours and 2,400 miles later I made it to Jackson Hole, Wyoming! We left Connecticut on the morning of Tuesday, May 22nd and drove all day through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and into Indiana, where we spent the night. An abundance of adrenaline, good music, and homemade kale chips made the first day of driving a breeze.

After a rough night of sleep, we woke up early and was back on the road driving through the rest of Indiana and into Illinois. Navigating the bustling city streets of Chicago was hands down one of the most stressful parts of the whole drive.

Sweat collected on our faces as we struggled to change lanes and find our way back to the highway after missing our exit, however, the city eventually spit us back out and we made our way into Wisconsin. My legs felt like jello from sitting for so long as I finally stepped out of the car in Naceda, Wisconsin, where we stopped to rock climb for the rest of the afternoon. It was my first time climbing on sandstone and I have to say it did not go as well as I had hoped, but that it to be expected I guess when you climb for the first time on new rock. We did not have a guide book either, which made it difficult to find some of the routes and determine their difficulty, however, we managed to jump on a fun route going up a spire, which gave a great bird's eye view of the surrounding area.

The view looking down from the top of the spire.

We also set up a top rope and gave some tougher climbs a go.

Adam climbing on one of the main faces.

Me giving it a try.

After we grew tired of swatting away the frenzy of mosquitoes that seemed to be feasting on our legs, we journeyed over to La Valle, where a family friend of Adam's were kind enough to let us stay the night at their gorgeous lake house. It was a beautifully built wooden home with large windows that flooded the rooms with natural light and framed their backyard view of the lake. They cooked us a delicious dinner on the grill and we indulged in strawberry-rhubarb pie for dessert, which hit the spot after a long day of driving and climbing. After we finished eating, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset while we explored all the fingers of the lake and looked at the impressive houses built along it's shore. Nothing was as exciting or felt as good as getting to take a hot shower though! That night I went to bed feeling fresh and with a full stomach - it was arguably one of the bed nights of sleep I got the entire road trip! 

We woke up early and Kim and her husband brought us out on their lake to go tubing before we had to hit the road again. 

We drove through Minnesota and into South Dakota, feeling refreshed from the home-cooked meal and cool lake water. As the sun was setting the flat prairies of South Dakota turned into the beautiful formations of the Badlands.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota