A couple of miscalculations later...

I had decided to get into the Western side to see more of the area than most folks do. (I have a hunch a large percentage of people drive into the park, through it, camp once or twice, maybe take a float trip, and that's about it.) So I went back into Idaho and stopped into a bike / outdoor shop to get some advice on picture locations. One guy suggested I go up "The Devil's Staircase"; he claimed it should take me about one and half hours (Ha!) and that there would be alot of great scenery along the way. So, up I went, at about 8:30am yesterday. When I got to the top (in nowhere near 1 & 1/2 hrs), the view was good, but I thought I'd get a little better view a bit further up the trail. Hmmm... the views kept getting better, and I wasn't panting too hard from the altitude. (In fact, I may be becoming acclimated, which would be cool. That means more red blood cells and being in better shape when I return to lower altitudes.)


I was actually hiking along a hanging valley, in and out of snowpack. It was so cool, I kept going and pushing off when I'd stop for lunch. Just after I ate, a couple of teachers from Calgary met up with me. (read: were hiking a much faster pace than me.) We talked for a bit. It turns out I was better equipped for the day - I had a map. So we talked about routes and whether to turn back or keep going for a little bit or go all the way around the canyon. Looking at the map, all the way around didn't look too bad, and not that much further. (Important note, I didn't have my best map of the area on me.)

Well, they went on ahead of me, while I took a side trip to the edge of the hanging valley to get a picture of the three Tetons (and definitely one that's not got tripod-marks). I decided that I wanted to get up to the Mount Meek Pass. Some other hikers had told me that I'd find a hidden lake that was "worth it". I may have been, but, unfortunately, I never did find the lake. Partly because I wasn't quite as far along as I thought. So by the time I made it to the area where the lakes are, I was only thinking about getting back to the car. In no small part because I could see that my shadow was getting longer.

(By the way, another of my misconceptions is how easily I burn, and how easy it is to not notice this when there's a nice cool breeze. Oh, and how much reflected sun can burn, too. I am now a very unbecoming shade of red on my forearms, face, and neck. Ouch.)


One more misconception was that stream crossing would be relatively easy. Most were. Some even had either bridges, fallen trees, or intentionally placed rocks. But, if it's been a really hot couple of days, the snow will be melting faster than the rock-placer expect. This makes crossing streams a decision. In a couple of places, the decision was to cross barefoot, and thus have warm, dry boots after the crossing, or hike in wet, cold boots. Did I mention that these streams are the result of melting snow / ice? That means they're somewhere around 33-34 degrees. Crossings like these were not fun.


Anyway, I did eventually make it out to post about my adventures. (Obviously) I made it back to the car at 8:30. 12 damn hours of solid hiking. Looking at the map, yesterday was about 18-19 miles. Checking altitudes: Trailhead, let's say 6976; Mount Meek Pass, 9726. Difference: 2750.

Just a few minor miscalculations...