It was a chilly one when we got up this morning, 33 degrees outside. There was a layer of frost on the bike cover. But it was a clear day and we were looking forward to what we would see.
We made sure we were up on time as parking lots around here fill up fast. As we were finishing breakfast, I noticed the sun shining on Mt. Moran. One thing we’re learning right away is that there are no bad views here. Everything is framed with the backdrop of the Tetons which makes for quite a view. Even in this dispersed camping parking lot just outside the park boundary, the sunrise on the mountains are amazing.
First thing today was to kayak Jenny Lake. It took almost 45 minutes to drive there so we weren’t super early, but things still were pretty open when we got there. At one point during the drive we were stopped by a traffic jam and figured out quickly that it was caused by everyone rubbernecking at a moose grazing beside the road.
We launched the kayaks at the Jenny Lake boat launch and noticed a steady stream of hikers coming by. The trail to Inspiration Point, one of the more popular hikes in the park, comes right past here. With this many people streaming by, the parking lot at the visitor center must be really filling up.
Jenny Lake was smooth as glass when we launched, offering great reflected views of the mountains right at the water’s edge. At one point I was at just the right angle and I framed Deb under the mountain with my camera. I told her to stop paddling, waited until the ripples died away, and took her picture. The result was probably one of the better pictures I have ever taken. Even mediocre photographers get lucky occasionally.
Just a few minutes after taking this picture, the surface of the lake started to get a little ripply.
This was a super nice lake to paddle. The sunshine, cool temperatures, lack of any wind, the mountains jutting up out of the lake on one side all made for a bucket list experience. This offered a perspective that is very hard to get on a trail, and, best part of it is, we had the entire lake to ourselves.
We paddled all the way across the lake, 2.2 miles worth of paddling, had a snack on the rocks on the shore, and then paddled back. By the time we started back the ferry service that takes hikers across the lake had started up and a breeze was starting to blow, so that glassy surface was gone. We enjoyed the whole thing immensely however.
The parking lot was nearly full when we arrived back at the boat launch. Mostly with hikers looking for a place to park, even though several signs told hikers to park elsewhere. Lesson learned: plan for a place and come early.
We learned this lesson again when we arrived at the Jenny Lake visitor center. The lot was already full and lines of parked cars stretched out along the main road for several hundred yards. If this was the traffic situation during the so-called “shoulder season”, I can’t imagine what it must be like during the busy season.
We found our place at the end of this line and unloaded the bikes. We weren’t interested in the visitor center, we just wanted to access the bike trail.
We spent most of the remainder of the day riding the bike trail and stopping at various points along the way. Another lesson learned: Bikes are easy to navigate and easy to park. The roads may be busy and the parking lots stuffed full of cars, but the bike trail was nearly deserted and the bikes could be parked anywhere.
We rode back to the RV for a total distance of 25 miles. It was one of the few cars left parked by the side of the road. Everyone was going back to their campgrounds/lodges/hotels and the place was really clearing out. We parked the RV in the visitor center parking lot and made dinner. One thing nice about being a turtle (having your house on your back) is that you can make dinner anywhere. Today’s meal we called Teton Gumbo. Leftovers from a rice dish with some stewed tomatoes and ham added and made into a thick soup. Turned out pretty well.
On the way back to our camping spot, we cased out what we will do tomorrow. We’ll probably arrive as early as possible to procure a parking spot and then just stay there for most of the day. We have a couple ideas and you’ll have to tune in tomorrow to find out what happened.
The sun was setting as we were driving. I took a couple pictures out the window and we also stopped at Oxbow Bend (along with hordes of other people) to catch the sunset. Pretty amazing. It’s hard to NOT take a good picture here.
We arrived back at our dispersed camping parking lot just before it got dark. Deb commented that she was feeling tired. Well, no wonder. Kayaking nearly 4.5 miles and biking for 25 miles will make one tired.
It’s supposed to get down to near freezing again tonight. Right now, however, with the afterburners running, we are keeping quite warm.
No comments:
Post a Comment