For the past two weeks I’ve been on vacation in Grand Teton National Park.
When I was a kid my family traveled to the Tetons every summer for ten years or so, but the last time we went was in 2013—at that time I didn’t think it would be eleven years before we would go back. I’m young enough that that’s close to half my lifetime, which is to say I am in many ways a different person now. Seeing the (mostly) unchanged mountains and surrounding familiar sights after so long felt more psychologically transportive than anticipated.
Like in the old days, my dad insisted on organizing the whole thing. Unlike the old days, we flew into Salt Lake City and rented a car from there—formerly we drove the family car from northern Minnesota all the way to Jackson Hole. I regret that this nostalgia tour consequently couldn’t provide for stops at Wall Drug (Wall, SD) or Star Plunge (Thermopolis, WY), but that might just have been too much.
He also wanted to do the driving, adding to the exercise in nostalgia: I was free to read or stare out the window or take pictures from the back seat.
The drive from SLC to the Tetons takes six hours, so we were not exactly robbed of the road trip feeling.
#turbineclub
In light of recent podcast comments, it must be said that Montana's borders cannot contain...
and there was much driving after that
At a grocery store I discovered that the common U.S. condiment brand, Hellmann’s, is known to the west of the Rocky Mountains as Best Foods. Learning this was a significant event during the trip and merits note.
We stayed in the park at Colter Bay Village, where we have stayed nearly every time we’ve been out here, and notably this time in the same cabin as in 2013 (my dad remembered the number and requested it). It smelled and mostly looked the same, although the bathroom fixtures were different (good). There was no wi-fi and I had bad cell service, which was pretty nice all things considered. We didn’t spend much time in the cabin in any case but while we were there I got some reading done.
But the real purpose of the trip of course was to see the mountains.
left to right: Teewinot, Grand Teton, Mt. Owen
We took lengthy walks around String Lake, and Swan Lake/Heron Pond—all beautiful—but the main event was the hike up…
Cascade Canyon
Every time we come out here we make our pilgrimage up this trail, whose head you reach by crossing Jenny Lake. Before the boat dock there’s a visitor center:
My dad spent eight summers working at the JL boat dock when he was young (15-23). Apparently one day in the summer of 1978 or '79 Yvon Chouinard, who was friendly with the manager of the dock, approached the group of guys working there and said “Hey boys, I’ve got some shit for ya,” and sold them some Patagonia equipment at what I am told was a steep discount. My dad still uses the backpack he bought that day and indeed brought it on this trip.
Around 9:00am things were pretty overcast, but that cleared up after an hour or so.
The first point of interest along this trail is Hidden Falls…
after which you come up to Inspiration Point overlooking the lake.
About a quarter of a mile later there’s a place where some large rock slabs dip into a stream, which I recognize and remember for two reasons: firstly because we would stop to eat lunch here when my brother and I were kids, and more importantly because when I was six I had a cherished magnifying glass which I dropped in the stream. We could all see it sitting at the bottom (the water is very clear), but it was too deep to get it back.
Shortly afterward the trail opens up onto a huge view of the canyon.
We stopped at exactly this spot, around four or five miles down the trail, and turned around.
On the way back we saw a moose (very far away).
For the last mile of the hike it rained and hailed! We were OK, we packed rain gear.
No trip to Jackson would be complete (when we were kids) without a visit to…
Jackson Lake Lodge
Colter Bay Village is managed by Teton Lodge Company, which also manages the nearby Jackson Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake Lodge.
Can’t say what these places were like before Vail Resorts acquired them in 1999, but I can say that since 2013 they let the Pioneer Grill restaurant in Jackson Lake Lodge go extremely downhill. They used to have cool old farm tools, saws, wagon wheels, and other stuff like that hanging on the walls, and the food used to be OK. Now the interior is like this awful corporate midmod look (not pictured here out of respect for the dead (my memories)) and is decorated only with photos of the restaurant itself. The food is junk.
:(
(mentioning this at all only because it was an important part of the ritual when we were children—it is to adult eyes obviously a tourist trap)
But the point of visiting the lodge isn’t really the food, it’s the view:
(Incidentally, the day we left we stopped by the lodge again to grab coffee and saw them setting up tents for the annual Fed meeting.)
Toilets
Saw some interesting ones on the journey, which I dutifully photographed in honor of this forum’s greatest thread
At the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center the urinals have what I can only describe as individual patches of industrial carpet immediately beneath them (otherwise surrounded by tile). I did not get a picture of these but that pretty much describes it.