Teton Creek to Jenny's Lake in Three Days

 few years ago as we were driving around as a family we stopped at the Teton Creek trailhead and my Dad mentioned that you could hike that trail clear to Jenny's Lake. At that moment I knew that was a trip I wanted to make and so earlier this week my Dad and I loaded up our gear and set out on a three trip up Teton Canyon into Alaska Basin, over Hurricane pass and down through Cascade Canyon to Jenny's Lake.

Day 1: My Dad and I reached the trail head of Teton canyon at about noon, doned our packs which each weighing about 40lbs and set off up the trail. The trail was a fairly gentle climb, with one or two steeper stretches that didn't last too long.We traveled about 6 miles before setting up camp at the base of Alaska Basin. We ate dinner, did a little bit of exploring in the rocks around camp and got our food prpoerly hing for the night. We were in bed by about 8:30pm.

Day 2: We took our time getting up and going and didn't get camp broke and on the trail until after 10am. Neither of us slept very well despite bing tired and so we layed in bed for a while hoping to get just a few more minutes of sleep. The only sign of bears in this area that is supposedly very active with bears was some old scat that we noticed at the edge of our first campsite after we got set up, oh well. Once we got going we finished hiking into the main part of Alaska Basin and then quickly contined on the trail up to Sunset lake and the base of Hurricane Pass. We stopped and ate lunch at Sunset lake. It is a beatuiful lake and a very popluar place, there was alot of people also stopped there to eat lunch and take a break. We contemplated stopping there and setting up camp and then continuing on up Hurricane pass the next day but chose to contine on up the pass and try and find a campsite on top of hurricane pass. Hurricane pass was a steep climb and it was good to get it over with. Once we reached the top I understood why it was called Hurricane pass and the wind never seems to stop blowing up there. We hiked to the border of the Jedadiah Smith/ Targee wilderness and the Grand Teton National Park Boundary where we were treated to a great view of the Tetons! Here we had another choice to make as you have to have a permit to camp in the National Park(which was something we didn't have), hike back down to Sunset lake (yeah not going to happen), or try to find a sheltered place on top of Hurricane pass (difficult to find). We chose to look for a spot on top of the pass and after hiking about a mile off the trail we found a small patch of trees where the deer had cleared out a spot to sleep when they are up there. It was just the right size for our tent and sheltered us from the worst of the wind. We had planned for no water on the pass and had stocked up at the base but we were able to find a small spring and so was able to pump water for breakfast rather than using our supplies and hoping we had enough to see us to the next spring or stream. We had a great view of the Tetons, Alaska Basin and the upper part of the Teton Canyon from our camp site. We were in bed by 7pm.

Day 3: We were up at 7am and on the trail by 8:30, as we knew we had alot of ground, about 11 miles, to cover that day. At the top of Hurricane pass we were at an elevation of 10,372 ft and had covered about 10 miles already. The day started off pretty cold and it was noon before I warmed up enough to take off my jacket. As we dropped down into Cascade Canyon we were greeted by a spectacular view of the Tetons, high mountain meadows and Schoolhouse glacier and Lake. As we worked our way down this beautiful canyon we had continuous views of the Tetons, the many cascading streams for which the canyon gets its name and many other beautiful mountain views. The trail was almost completely downhill the entire way out. Both my Dad's and my feet started hurting ont he way out as the three days of travel began to fully kick in. The last few miles were almost the hardest as we got more tired and sore and knew the end was drawing near. That first glimps of Jenny's lake was a very welcome sight as it signled the end of our journey. We met my Mom at Hidden Falls and from there hiked the remaining distance to the Boat Launch ( boy was I glad I didn't have to hike the 2.5 miles around the lake to get back to the car!)

 

On the way home we stopped at Wendy's in Jackson and ate, I thought I was going to fall asleep on my cheesburger. After picking up the truck at the the trail head where we had left it on tuesday when we started up the trail we drove on to Green Canyon Hotsprings to soak and soothe our sore muscles before going home, showering and going to bed.
Today my lower legs are sore and have me hobbling like and old lady every time I sit down for very long. Despite the sore muslces it was totally worth the time adn effort to get to stand so close to the Tetons and to see the beautiful high mountian country.

Life in 1805

Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in a different time era? I know I have and last week I got to go and get just a taste of what life would have been like.  Every year at the Sacajewea Center in Salmon Idaho they hold a ten day living experience. This was my third year going and it was once again a great experience. Life in 1805 was definatly not easy, a good portion of the day was occupied with gettting and preparing food. We luckily had a good supply that we had brought with us, and I must admit we ate very well. We ate lots of wild game such as elk, antilope, deer, fish and I think we even got to have a  littel bit of buffalo meat once of twice. We ate lots of whole grains and fresh fruit and veges. My other mother Dede, that got me interested in primitive living skills had brought a book of recipes for wild foods. I found a recipe for stinging nettle noodles which we decided to try, they turned out super yummy and went well in the chicken soup we made. 

 

 

We slept in grass and stick huts called wickiups. I only had rain come through once during the night but once I fixed the spots I missed durign the first re-thatching I stayed much drier. Our camp mascot, a little kitten I named Pipsquek (Pip) even came and spent one night with me in the wickiup.

For bathing we had the river and boy was it cold! I didn't realize I had become such a pansy. It used to be that I could just jump right iin, but mnow I have to work up to it and move slowly into deeper water. Despite the coolness of the water I do have to admit that it was worth it to get clean!

I did a couple different projects while I was there. The first order of business was setting up and re-thatching the two wickiups we were using, next was re-roofing the kitchen area to make it more waterproof. We also re-did part of the cooking area to make it more functional and to fix things that has cracked and broke. Aside from those projects and time spent cooking we were free to work on personal projects. I did alot with clay this year as I forgot to pack the felt blanket I made last year that I was going to finish this year. I made a couple of fat lamps, a cooking pot and three blow sticks. My blow stick unfotunatly didn't make it home in one piece and I need to see if there is any way to fix it before Rabbitstick where we are going to hopefully fire our clay projetcs, they weren't dry in time to fire before we left.  I also made some dream catchers, and some adorable felt figurines!

 

While I was there I read a book called 'Daughters of the Earth' that was about Native American women before the 'white man really came and changed everything. It was really interesting to learn about their lives and the rules that governed their societies. I learned so many new things and my respect and perspective about them has really changed and grown. They lived VERY hard lives and I really respect them for what they did.  They were amazing!
This past week has once again made me realize just how lucky we are to have all the convinences that we do. I think I could have done it if I lived in those times, but boy am I glad I live in these times, as hard as they seem sometimes. It is a comfort to me though to know that if I ever find myself in a situation where I have to live primitavly I know that I could do so and not only scrap but but live and live well. I could survive in a primitive world. I do admit though that to truly live comfortably I have many more things to learn about the natural world around me, so I will keep seeking out knowledge, little by little until I have learned all I can.

  

International Street Dance Festival

It's that time of year again when dance teams, and this year an orchestra come to Idaho to show us about their native countries traditional dances! There were less teams this year but the ones that came are fun!

 

Mexico- they are always fun to watch! They did a dance later in the evening where the ladies balanced candles on their heads, I couldn't do that standing still,much less dancing!

Mongolia- this is the first time that they have sent over a team! I loved their costumes!

Thailand- this is also a new team that has never come before, or at least not in  a while. They are so graceful!

USA- this team is here for the second year in a row,they are from LA, CA. They are really good at getting the crowd dancing with them and love to invite children to come dance. It's pretty funny to watch the little kids becasaue some of them really seem to think they are cool stuff and like trying to dance like the pros!

China- a high school orchestra from Shanghi came this year to participate, these kids were really good!

Egypt- this was their first time here to participate in the festival, their music was really cool and the girls really new how to move their hips!