Saturday, June 30, 2018
Day 11: 6/29
Our last day on the road. Did a quick run along the "Cowboy Trail" that goes through Valentine. It's actually a really good running surface and great scenery. Ran to and across the Niabrara river so there was even trees for part of it. Didn't get going too early though, so the sun really started cooking by 10.
En route to Monevideo, we made another pit stop at yet another brewery; this one in Hendricks, MN. Bank brewing has actually been around for 5 years and had good beer (not as too as Bolo in Valentine though).
Made it to Montevideo which was kind of the end of the road. Good to be back.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
day 10 6/28
Woke up for a much more pleasant run on the exact same loop I had done yesterday on 93 degree heat. Kate came with for the first 20, the. Turned around. While the bike system is great, it’s all concrete, which is significantly worse for runners. There are however, numerous dirt trails close to the city if you were willing to drive a little.
Got breakfast on our way out at a smoothie place and “peace, love, and little donuts” that did a sort of mini doughnut with tons of different toppings. They were amazing. Probably 25+ flavors to choose from.
Hit the freeway and started the weave back to mn. Rather than the freeway, we took a collection of backroads that brought us through Scottsbluff, alliance, and eventually valentine.
Found a cheapish motel, and their new brewery “bolo” with actually had outstanding beer. We’ve made quite the rounds on beer this trip, maybe 7 breweries when it’s all said and done.
Dinner at the peppercorn steakhouse which delivered all that you hoped they would. A burger large enough to make you a little sick at a good quality and solid price.
Got breakfast on our way out at a smoothie place and “peace, love, and little donuts” that did a sort of mini doughnut with tons of different toppings. They were amazing. Probably 25+ flavors to choose from.
Hit the freeway and started the weave back to mn. Rather than the freeway, we took a collection of backroads that brought us through Scottsbluff, alliance, and eventually valentine.
Found a cheapish motel, and their new brewery “bolo” with actually had outstanding beer. We’ve made quite the rounds on beer this trip, maybe 7 breweries when it’s all said and done.
Dinner at the peppercorn steakhouse which delivered all that you hoped they would. A burger large enough to make you a little sick at a good quality and solid price.
Day 9 6/27
we've been all over the place with timeline for heading back. The original plan was to stay a couple days in Fort Collins, but the pull for heading home was growing and Jenni had to work 12-8 today, so we had though about heading home. After a breakfast downtown and drive out to the resevior, we decided to stay for a swim and some beers. Swam out at the resevior, then I gotten out s run in 93 degree heat. Quite dry at least, but in combination with the altitude it was pretty draining.
Rented bikes in Fort Collins dockless bike system In the afternoon and went to rally king brewing, then o’dells. They have a robust bike trail system and though the dockless bikes are new, we talked to a guy that helps manage it and said they were growing fast,
O’dells is the real deal, nearing the size of surly and an awesome patio. They even had a stage for a live band, and though a band was there, they were already taking down by the time we got there. Jenni said that all the breweries close early to try to encourage people to go downtown and support the bars. Ate a corn dog there, then went to agave blue for tacos. Not sure how I fit those in my stomach, but they were good.
Got some ice cream at walrus to top things off. Another good day.
Rented bikes in Fort Collins dockless bike system In the afternoon and went to rally king brewing, then o’dells. They have a robust bike trail system and though the dockless bikes are new, we talked to a guy that helps manage it and said they were growing fast,
O’dells is the real deal, nearing the size of surly and an awesome patio. They even had a stage for a live band, and though a band was there, they were already taking down by the time we got there. Jenni said that all the breweries close early to try to encourage people to go downtown and support the bars. Ate a corn dog there, then went to agave blue for tacos. Not sure how I fit those in my stomach, but they were good.
Got some ice cream at walrus to top things off. Another good day.
Day 8 6/26
continued our trek toward Fort Collins today, sadly leaving the Rockies in place of the Wyoming plains/desert. Holy cow is it desolate out there. We drove for nearly 100 miles on us 191 before we hit a town over 300 people and it was rock springs at that. Then once on the freeway, we drove another 100ish miles before starting to see mountains again (the medicine bow range). Kate’s foot is a little dinged up right now, so I hemmed and hawed about whether the detour was worth it, and in fact it nearly always is, so we exited again bound for Saratoga, wy (not much to that one either) and the medicine bow mountains. Another grand mountain pass road where you weave up and up into alpine meadows and conifers. Even though we’re quite a bit south now, there was still snow at the pass (10,000 feet and change). The hike up to the peak isn’t long or particularly strenuous, but I hesitated again the point in having Kate hang and hiking it solo. Again, the answer to that question is usually to go for it, especially with an attitude of getting as far as I could, conditions permitting, then simply turning around. There are precious few times in our lives as midwesterners that we actually get to leave the tree line behind; you have to take them.
It’s only 2.7 to the summit and while there were periodic snow piles, nothing worse as to what we had done previously. I made good time and clipped to the tree line (2 miles in) in 45 min or so. Began the now drastically steeper hill and was getting close, but hit another snow field to cross, this one at a much steeper pitch down and a heck of a lot farther to slide if things became unsettled. It’s not awesome stopping before the top, but figured I had pushed my luck enough and left it maybe 100 vertical feet from the top 12,000 perhaps. Soaked in the view of colorado stretching before me and headed down,
Only a couple hours later, we we in Fort Collins eating dinner with Jenni, one of Kate’s collage friends that’s made the move out here. She lives a cool life. Got to meet her fiancé who seemed awesome as well. Made it for a drink downtown after dinner and even beat Ben and Jerry’s closing to a begrudged employee that just wanted the day to end. Another fine day on the road though. Hard to complain.
It’s only 2.7 to the summit and while there were periodic snow piles, nothing worse as to what we had done previously. I made good time and clipped to the tree line (2 miles in) in 45 min or so. Began the now drastically steeper hill and was getting close, but hit another snow field to cross, this one at a much steeper pitch down and a heck of a lot farther to slide if things became unsettled. It’s not awesome stopping before the top, but figured I had pushed my luck enough and left it maybe 100 vertical feet from the top 12,000 perhaps. Soaked in the view of colorado stretching before me and headed down,
Only a couple hours later, we we in Fort Collins eating dinner with Jenni, one of Kate’s collage friends that’s made the move out here. She lives a cool life. Got to meet her fiancé who seemed awesome as well. Made it for a drink downtown after dinner and even beat Ben and Jerry’s closing to a begrudged employee that just wanted the day to end. Another fine day on the road though. Hard to complain.
day 7
Our last day in the Tetons. We headed to two oceans lake for a trail run on a trail that ended up being a little more rugged than we had hoped. And the mosquitoes were Minnesota vicious. Coupled with a disappointingly muddyish dip in the lake afterward and I’d give it a hard pass to a prospective Teton traveler.
Headed into Jackson next for lunch at snake river brewing. Good beer, only decent food. We walked around Jackson for a little while, but too many tourists/gift shops for my liking. Really ritzy/expensive at times too. We wandered into an art gallery trying to sell landscape paintings for 10,000$ +.
Headed south from Jackson to Pinedale, wy which also was a little bit touristy. Pit stopped at wind river brewing to pick up a 4 pack (which we are bringing back) and headed out to a National first campground at Fremont lake. A great stop and an awesome price at $12 for the night. Up in a pine forest with a view of the lake.
Headed into Jackson next for lunch at snake river brewing. Good beer, only decent food. We walked around Jackson for a little while, but too many tourists/gift shops for my liking. Really ritzy/expensive at times too. We wandered into an art gallery trying to sell landscape paintings for 10,000$ +.
Headed south from Jackson to Pinedale, wy which also was a little bit touristy. Pit stopped at wind river brewing to pick up a 4 pack (which we are bringing back) and headed out to a National first campground at Fremont lake. A great stop and an awesome price at $12 for the night. Up in a pine forest with a view of the lake.
day 6: 6/24
A couple of backfill notes:
1. It’s way harder to journal via internet out west for less with less WiFi/cell service
2. It’s way cooler to toad trip west with the expansive prairies, snowy peaks, and lack of WiFi.
What a fantastic day. Had the alarm set for 5:45 which I quickly shut off and rolled over to. With that said- the mattress in our cabin is harder than tent camping, so with that as the limiting factor, I was up at 7:30.
We didn’t exactly slay it on departure time, but got to Jenny lake in time to get a parking spot and rode the rather expensive ($15) but joyful ferry across the lake to the trail head.
A man on our hike yesterday had struck up a conversation with us and had said that this was the best looking/favorite mountain range on the continent. I’m not sure if it’s fair to rank such things as they’re each unique, and I also wanted to stir the pot a little so I mentioned how much I liked the big horns, but the guy isn’t probably right the Tetons might be unparalleled.
We slung our packs and set out at 10, hoping for lake solitude, but realizing that there was a good chance we wouldn’t make it all the way due to time. The first mile has massive conifers reminiscent of the west coast. Gradually, you transition to meadows and sparser pine forests with great views of the peaks on all sides.
The first 4.5 flew by with pretty fresh legs and great scenery any time you looked up. Came to the fork in maybe a little over 90 minutes and abruptly ran into a pack of people and reports of a bear on the trail right ahead. We approached cautiously and saw them indeed right off the path maybe 50 meters. The initial person had said it was a grizzly and black bear, we sounded kind of bullshit although anyone mentioning a grizzly still gets you a little nervous. once we got closer, it was rather apparent that it was a cinnamon and normal colored black bear. A group of 4 in front of us decided to go for it and we latched on. *side note- these people ended up being French and likely had no idea of the risk assessment they were making. Either way, we came through alright and continued on.
Another mile brought the beginning of the snowfields. Each one was perhaps only 100 meters to cross, and not particularly dangerous, but difficult walking and increasingly made you question if it was worth it to keep going. The problem is the farther you get in, the more connected to the goal you become, generally pushing on with the attitude, “well if we’ve came this far, we might as well cross another”.
The final push was significantly steeper and we sat a few times considering to turn around, but ultimately decided to push on knowing the lake was right at the ridge,
After a finally gentle hill, we came to a spectacular view of a still frozen(!) lake lying in a snowy, rocky bowl. A solid lunch stop, albeit short as we we getting anxious about the return.
The first, steep ascent had make us anxious as to how we’d get back down and it was amazingly easy. Kate literally slide down in a groove made by a few hikers right before us, I half ran/slid down and had no problems.
We hooked on with a solo traveler for the hike back. A hedge fund manager who lived in New Jersey and was visiting his first ever national park. He wasn’t much of a hiker but played hockey and had no problem rolling 2+ mph all the way back with us. What a cool risk to take in all of his firsts. Very interesting to talk to.
Upon suggestion of a visitor center volunteer, we ended up at dormans eating amazing pizza, and drinking good beer on a roof top patio nearly touching the Tetons. A fantastic day and easily the best of the trip yet.
1. It’s way harder to journal via internet out west for less with less WiFi/cell service
2. It’s way cooler to toad trip west with the expansive prairies, snowy peaks, and lack of WiFi.
What a fantastic day. Had the alarm set for 5:45 which I quickly shut off and rolled over to. With that said- the mattress in our cabin is harder than tent camping, so with that as the limiting factor, I was up at 7:30.
We didn’t exactly slay it on departure time, but got to Jenny lake in time to get a parking spot and rode the rather expensive ($15) but joyful ferry across the lake to the trail head.
A man on our hike yesterday had struck up a conversation with us and had said that this was the best looking/favorite mountain range on the continent. I’m not sure if it’s fair to rank such things as they’re each unique, and I also wanted to stir the pot a little so I mentioned how much I liked the big horns, but the guy isn’t probably right the Tetons might be unparalleled.
We slung our packs and set out at 10, hoping for lake solitude, but realizing that there was a good chance we wouldn’t make it all the way due to time. The first mile has massive conifers reminiscent of the west coast. Gradually, you transition to meadows and sparser pine forests with great views of the peaks on all sides.
The first 4.5 flew by with pretty fresh legs and great scenery any time you looked up. Came to the fork in maybe a little over 90 minutes and abruptly ran into a pack of people and reports of a bear on the trail right ahead. We approached cautiously and saw them indeed right off the path maybe 50 meters. The initial person had said it was a grizzly and black bear, we sounded kind of bullshit although anyone mentioning a grizzly still gets you a little nervous. once we got closer, it was rather apparent that it was a cinnamon and normal colored black bear. A group of 4 in front of us decided to go for it and we latched on. *side note- these people ended up being French and likely had no idea of the risk assessment they were making. Either way, we came through alright and continued on.
Another mile brought the beginning of the snowfields. Each one was perhaps only 100 meters to cross, and not particularly dangerous, but difficult walking and increasingly made you question if it was worth it to keep going. The problem is the farther you get in, the more connected to the goal you become, generally pushing on with the attitude, “well if we’ve came this far, we might as well cross another”.
The final push was significantly steeper and we sat a few times considering to turn around, but ultimately decided to push on knowing the lake was right at the ridge,
After a finally gentle hill, we came to a spectacular view of a still frozen(!) lake lying in a snowy, rocky bowl. A solid lunch stop, albeit short as we we getting anxious about the return.
The first, steep ascent had make us anxious as to how we’d get back down and it was amazingly easy. Kate literally slide down in a groove made by a few hikers right before us, I half ran/slid down and had no problems.
We hooked on with a solo traveler for the hike back. A hedge fund manager who lived in New Jersey and was visiting his first ever national park. He wasn’t much of a hiker but played hockey and had no problem rolling 2+ mph all the way back with us. What a cool risk to take in all of his firsts. Very interesting to talk to.
Upon suggestion of a visitor center volunteer, we ended up at dormans eating amazing pizza, and drinking good beer on a roof top patio nearly touching the Tetons. A fantastic day and easily the best of the trip yet.
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