Wind River--July--Girls Trip

Taking a backpack trip to the Winds in July is a gamble. Mosquitoes are in full force and bad weather is likely going happen. We had all extremes during this 3 day girls trip. The three friends I brought had never seen the impressive Cirque of Towers. So our plan was to hike into the Cirque of Towers on day two. Bad weather came in late our first night...and it continued the rest of the trip. Day two, we hiked in the rain to the Cirque, stopping just before The long incline up Jackass Pass (yep, you heard it right!). There was no Cirque. No mountains. No view. The low thick clouds were completely obstructing the magnificent granite peaks. Bummer! Luckily, back at camp we were able to gather enough dry wood to have a rager of a campfire which helped dry out the girls wet gear &  keep the Mosquitos away. It was a great trip even though the weather was not ideal. I know at least 3 out of the 4 girls had an excellent time! ;)

Alaska Basin

Alaska Basin is a 8.5 mile hike in from the Teton Canyon Trailhead. This is the basin where I was stationed for 6 weeks when I worked for the Forest Service. I would go in for 5 to 7 days and then hike out & stay in my Forest Service cabin for two days, re supply and hike back in. Let me add that the cabin I was in was IN the National Forest and I had no internet, no T.V., or phone. There WAS a pay phone on site but it was ancient. A PAY PHONE! However, the dinasaur pay phone did actually work. Aren't those things obsolete these days? Anyway... Alaska Basin is a highly traveled area since the Teton Crest Trail goes directly through the basin and there are a few trails that go in and out of the Grand Teton National Park. What an amazing job I had! Anyway, the basin is huge and sooooo beautiful. There are endless lakes and places to explore. I love hiking in there and spending a few nights there every summer. I'm hoping to get in at least one more trip before the snow flies. But here are a few pics from my lil adventure early July with my friend Deanna.

Big Sky, Montana

    Summer has been very busy so I've dropped the ball on posting my adventures. I'm going to play a little catch up with the next few posts starting with our late June trip to Big Sky, Montana. I've never been to Big Sky before and I was blown away! It's all very, uh, high end and there is A LOT of money there. Big giant homes with a series of ski lifts that connect to the main ski resorts. I've never seen anything like it. Then again, I haven't traveled to too many other ski towns. But what a production this must be in the winter! The entire town is landscaped and manicured like a blue ribbon show pony. The stores, restaraunts & shops are all seemingly upscale. But I didnt go to Big Sky to shop (I'd rather stick hot pokers in my eyeballs than go shopping). It's an area I've never explored. I barely scratched the surface with the three days I spent there. The climate is pretty much the same as where I live (Teton Valley) so I knew there would still be plenty of snow up high on our hikes. This rang true. We were able to stay on top of the settled snow while hiking. It got a little wet after a while but we're were able to hike to our first destination--the main lake in Beehive Basin. Although we couldn't visually see the lake and it's outflow which turns into the creek--We could HEAR it flowing beneath our feet while we hiked on top of the snow covered water. It's a little unnerving as you would imagine. Plus we had all three of our dogs with us. Leashed. They did expetionally well! It was not an easy hike!  We made sure to stay on the side areas of where the lake was supposed to be & we ate our lunch on a nice flat rock. The ominous looking storm clouds circled us the entire day & somehow never rained on us. It rained all around us though which made for a hasty hike back! 

We discovered that Big Sky has access to amazing hiking & backpacking trails but no campgrounds in the entire town. Since we were day hiking for a few days we just wanted a "home base" to go out of everyday. Luckily, we found a great little campground about 5 miles South of Big Sky called, Red Cliff Campground. We had a large spot right on the River and no neighbors which was nice because our dogs like to beg for food and sometimes climb into other peoples tents to sleep. Weirdo dogs. As if I don't spoil them and give them a warm place to sleep. Sheesh. 

The second day we did a short, and very popular hike to a waterfall. It was pleasant and the waterfall was HUGE! This hike was practically paved the entire way. I have a hard time even calling it a "hike." More like walking the dogs around the block. We opted for a short day since more bad weather was in the forecast that afternoon. Having three muddy wet dogs want to climb into your sleeping bag with you is not my idea of a good time. 

It was a great little trip. I'm hoping to make it out there this winter to see the entire place in full production mode! 

Moose Creek

Just a nice day hike up Moose Creek.

These flowers are called, "glacier lillies."

They are an edible and sweet tasting flower, like a honeysuckle!

My friend Karen made flower crowns for us to wear!

Granite Falls & Picnic

Dry Ridge to the Crows Nest

This ridge trail starts high giving instant views of canyons on both sides and stunning mountain views in all directions.

Summer hiking = SNOW

This hike was on Memorial Day. We hit the snow line at just two miles into the trail which isn't surprising since we had a 500+ inch winter. We kept going after we reached the snow. The settled snow doesn't require snow shoes to walk on top of but it does make it a slippery walk. We didn't go much further after a guy on a snowboard wizzed by us! The temps are well into the 70's and 80's so the snow is melting fast and the creeks and rivers are swollen. I'll be backpacking again in no time! 

 

City Of Rocks National Reserve

Wikipedia: The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and state park lying 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the south central Idaho border with Utah. It is widely known for its excellent rock climbing and rock formations.

The rock spires in the City of Rocks and adjacent Castle Rocks State Park are largely composed of granitic rock of Oligocene Almo pluton and Archean Green creek complex.

The City of Rocks is a popular rock climbing area, with numerous traditional and bolt-protected routes. In the 1980s, it was home to some of the most difficult routes in the USA, mostly developed by Idaho climber Tony Yaniro. Climbers in the region refer to the area as simply 'The City. 

California Trail wagon trains of the 1840s and 1850s left the Raft River valley and traveled through the area and over Granite Pass into Nevada. Names or initials of emigrants written in axle grease are still visible on Register Rock. Ruts from wagon wheels also can be seen in some of the rocks.