6/17/07 – Grand Teton N.P.

After waking up at 7:45 am, which is thus far the latest we’ve slept while camping, we took a short walk down to Jackson Lake. From here we could see Rolling Thunder Mountain, Bivouac Peak, Mount Woodring and the tallest among them, Mount Moran at 12,605 ft. Having booked a rafting trip at 2 pm and still feeling hiked out from the day before, we spent the morning viewing the park through scenic drives and various pullouts. After taking a very short walk around String Lake toward Leigh Lake we stopped for lunch which consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (we’re on our second loaf of bread, but still the original jars of pb and j). Anticipating that after the rafting trip we were going to try and find free camping outside of the park, we realized that this afternoon would be our last time spent in the park. Although the time spent at Grand Teton was minimal, it is obvious from the pictures taken that the park was a unique place with stunning scenery.

Before Jonah and I left Yellowstone we called several whitewater rafting companies in the Grand Teton area and booked ourselves on a trip down the Snake River. The rafting trip left from the town of Jackson, just south of Grand Teton N.P. We arrived a half hour early, as instructed, and signed the necessary release forms. After picking out water shoes we returned to the car to change into proper rafting gear. When we returned to the rafting headquarters we met and talked with a family from Phoenix, AZ. They offered several pieces of advice for traveling through the Utah National Parks, including the recommendation to stay in Moab for a night before taking on Arches National Park (our next destination). The next thing we know, the transportation bus arrives and everyone starts loading up. We jump on the bus and are greeted by the friendly driver, Lou. Over the course of the 45 min trip to the drop in point, Lou entertained us with interesting factoids about the places we passed as well as snippets of his own personal life. Arriving at our destination we met our rafting guide, Jason, who spends his summers as a whitewater guide and his winters as a ski instructor. Jason informed us that in his hundreds of trips down the Snake River, this was by far the windiest day he’d ever seen. In any case, we boarded the raft and pushed off. Our fellow rafters included Jason and a family of Texans, who would prove to contribute little to the paddling efforts and in general be a family of “Debbie Downers”. The river took us past class II and class III rapids by the names of Lunch Counter, Big Kahouna and Champagne. One of the highlights of the trip was when a bald eagle flew over and circled the raft. The eagle sighting left only one desired wildlife animal to be seen, the elusive moose. Exhausted and cold, the bus ride back to the rafting headquarters in Jackson provided ample napping time. When we returned to town we gave Jason a generous tip and inquired about free camping nearby as well as suggested places for food and beverage. Having hung around the rafting shop for several minutes after the trip and feeling fully satisfied with our whitewater experience we headed out to the car. Now, everything written thus far has been a factual representation of the events which occurred surrounding the rafting trip. Certain details and realizations have been purposely omitted. Such details may or may not be those which involve the exact cost of the trip, how such payment was tendered and at which point in the story (if any) was payment tendered. However, I’d like to highlight the fact that despite being budget travelers we felt justified in giving Jason a very generous tip (that part is actually true). Attributing any possible miscommunication around payment as a clerical error (and feeling confident that those who deserved payment, received payment via tip) we promptly left the rafting headquarters and treated ourselves to a fine dinner of Taco Bell.

After dinner we ventured over to the local micro-brewery, Snake River Brewery, to try some of the local beers. Debating whether or not to stay in town for a while or go set up camp, we decided that since we weren’t even sure where we were camping we should probably take care of that first. Following Jason’s advice we headed up into the nearby National Elk Refuge. After making the drive up into the mountains on non-county maintained roads we decided that it probably would be a bad move to try and navigate the roads again in the dark. Therefore we set up camp and decided against heading back into town. Instead we built a fire, finished off the scotch and slept peacefully in the National Elk Refuge. Any day with a free rafting trip (there I came out and said it, just in case you couldn’t follow the innuendo’s above) is a good day by me.

- Alex