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Archives for July 2014

White Water Rafting the Snake River

July 31, 2014 By Tyler 2 Comments

The title of this post may be “White Water Rafting the Snake River”, but the subtitle is definitely “Or, That Time I Almost Lost Jessica!”

Right now most of you are probably concerned that Jessica fell out of the boat, was swept under a rapid, choked dramatically on water, or was attacked by crazed trout. These were my concerns too! But the greatest dangers always come from where you least expect them! It turns out that the true danger came from our guide who greatly admired Jessica from the moment she stepped off our bus.

It started right when we arrived. Our guide introduced himself ONLY to Jessica and then insured that she was sitting directly in front of him on the boat. Evidence mounted further when he volunteered me to balance precariously at the front of the boat for a dangerous rapid.

In the end, through sheer force of will, I was able to hang onto the boat and to Jessica. And, despite our guide’s attempts to win her heart and stop mine, we all had a blast rafting down the river.

Obviously my DSLR was not going to join us on the trip. Instead, I brought my GoPro, which I clicked on through most of the rapids. As with anything, the video doesn’t quite do it justice. Or maybe, the rapids looked a lot bigger when the threat of falling off and getting soaked was real.

The water was pretty high at this point of the year. Surprisingly though, this did not actually make the river much rougher. The higher flow rate meant that the water’s surface rose above some of the rocks that created the rapids. So despite the high runoff, we weren’t facing terrifying rapids.

Great Heights

July 30, 2014 By Jessica 1 Comment

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So, I realize that in my last post I led you all to believe I would be revealing a SUPER REALLY COOL activity we did in Wyoming. Don’t hate me, but I’m going to ask that you bear with me one more day for that news while I share something a little different instead.

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I had forgotten (but thankfully Tyler reminded me) that after our hike to Phelps Lake, our group decided to take the Bridger Gondola in Teton Village up to The Deck, an outdoor restaurant that serves drinks and yummy snacks in the late afternoon/early evening. Not surprisingly, it is quite a popular spot due to the spectacular views (the restaurants sits at 9,000 ft.) and the delicious fare.

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Our group shared two heaping piles of Sagebrush Fries while we each sipped at our drink of choice. I am not a big drinker, but every time I go to The Deck I have to have their Huckleberry How Pow. It is sweet and tangy, barely tasting of alcohol – a deadly combination, but one I always enjoy! If you’re ever in Jackson Hole, taking a trip up the gondola is a MUST. It is also free if you eat at The Deck or The Coulier, the indoor and more sophisticated restaurant located at the end of the ride.

P.S. If I looked unhappy in the picture above, it was not because I didn’t like sitting next to Josie. She is quite fun. I simply am not a fan of heights and was in the midst of mentally preparing myself for the ascent.

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Phelps Lake

July 23, 2014 By Jessica 1 Comment

The day after hiking to Jenny Lake, we all decided to go to Phelps Lake – another beautiful lake located in Grand Teton National Park. The hike to Phelps Lake is typically about four miles, starting with an ascent of 500 ft. in elevation before descending a slightly larger distance to the lake’s edge. Most hikers then continue around the lake’s perimeter and stop at the “jumping rock” for some fun before continuing out of the woods to the Rockefeller Preserve–that’s what we did on previous visits.

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Our group, however, decided on a different approach, making the hike slightly longer and more difficult. We started the hike as usual, reaching the Phelps Lake overlook after hiking about a mile.

IMG_0200    IMG_0201Then, as usual, we hiked down to the lake’s edge and made our way around to the “Jumping Rock”.

The “Jumping Rock” is aptly named as many visitors use it as a place to jump into the lake. The rock, which does not appear too intimidating from afar, sits somewhere between 25 to 30 feet above the lake’s surface. Peering over the edge though, the height becomes much more intimidating. In fact, Tyler was the only one in our group to take the leap before we settled down for a lunch break.

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Nonetheless, the view and the cool lake breezes were wonderful and we all enjoyed our time sitting on the “Jumping Rock”. This is where we changed course. Instead of continuing towards the Preserve, we turned back around to ascend the ridge we had previously descended, back up to the Lookout. We were feeling pretty good after our break so we made an effort to push ourselves up the many switchbacks. We quickly broke a sweat, but had a lot of fun doing so.

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After two days of hiking and a total of ten miles covered, we decided to switch up our activities for the next day. Can you guess what we did?

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