KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

Monday

Early morning we heard something that sounded like a wounded beast moaning very close to our tent. Startled we sat up and twisted our bodies to see outside. Then the beast dislodged the frog in its throat and released it natural call... Moooooowwww. Near us was a cow grazing for its breakfast. Apparently they came past the camp site many mornings, then would continue up the mountain where they'd be scared back down again a few days later only to continue the whole routine again. Silly cows. Once up we broke down our camp and ate our left over eggs & bagels for breakfast. Tasty.

The family told us about a lake that sat about 1000 ft. above our site on the mountain. They informed us that Matt's Toyota truck "Betsey" should be able to make the 10 mile 4 wheeler road up. So we took off for the top. Travel was slow due to the road being very rocky and narrow. About 2 miles up we came across and abandoned gold mining town. We could still see the whole set up for sifting. Water was brought from the creek to a mill with wooden pipes and you could see where excess water and dirt would spill out underneath creating a small pond that was now dried up. The mill had collapsed and now sat in the hole. As we hiked around we saw gold dust everywhere. Matt was convinced that if we searched long enough we'd find ourselves some gold nuggets. Unfortunately no nuggets were found. So we returned to the truck and pushed on.

The road got really crazy after the ghost town. We were all impressed with Betsey's abilities to climb over rocks like a caterpillar. Finally about 2 miles before we reached the top we decided she had had enough and that we would walk. As we approached the lake we could see only a small fraction of its size. The lake was only a few hundred feet across yet continued on like an elongated kidney bean for almost a mile. Jeremy quickly found a good fishing spot and began messy with untangling his line. There were horse flies everywhere so we stayed busy avoiding being bitten. After a few hours of not catching anything (the fish were there they just didn't go for the horsefly bait) we packed up and hiked back to the truck. That night at the house we took it easy, cooked some dinner and went to sleep early.

MONTANA WATER

Sunday

We started today by returning to the Co-op to purchase all the fixings for yummy farm fresh eggs on everything begals stuffed with greens, onions, cream cheese, tomatoes, and well you get the point. It was delicious! The rest of the morning was spend collecting supplies and loading Matt's truck for our day out on the water. Around 2 we drove out to the Madison River. Floating on top of its surface were hundreds of tubes filled with sun baked bodies. But we weren't there to join in the tube action, we had a canoe. We loaded up our boat with snacks and fishing rods then pushed off into the strong current. Fortunately we managed to depart alone and avoided traveling down the river with any of the many islands of tubers tied together. The river snaked us around astonishing canyons, providing us with a relaxing & picturesque experience. Jeremy tried fishing a few times but the current was too strong. So much so that many tubers were falling out to their floatation devices. We could hear distant cries to "Save the beer" as floaters struggled to collect their water logged belongings. We couldn't help but laugh just a little. About 3 hours later we arrived at the ramp and Matt hitched back to his truck then drove back to load up the boat.

Next we went to the Norris Hot Springs. Many years ago someone built a wooden pool that gets continually filled with the hot water from the spring. In recent years a new owner constructed a restaurant style atmosphere around the pool. Its called Water of the Gods. When we arrived our hunger was raging. We ordered from an awesome menu that included local bison burgers & fresh organic salads from their personal garden next door. A bluegrass band played from a partially open geodesic dome that sat at the pools edge. After dinner we got into the warm water and soaked while watching the band rock out.

The sky started to get dark and we opted to leave and set up camp before it was too late. We drove up to South Meadow National Forest outside of Ennis. Matt had gone camping at this spot up the road before so we didn't have to search for a site. We began to unload when some folks approached us. They were our camping neighbors coming to see if we were rowdy campers. The family explained how over the previous week the people who had occupied our site had been so loud and messy that their camping experience was almost ruined. Fortunately they seemed to like us alot. Before we even got our tent bags out they had brought over fire wood and started a fire in our pit. We stayed up for a few hours with the husband, wife and his father playing music and chatting by the fire. Soon their 4 girls had awoken and also came over to join us. It was a very pleasant way to end our long day. Positioned under the stars with the sound of a raging creek nearby we slept like babies.

BAD BIKING

On the morning of Sat. Matt suggested we go to his favorite local breakfast stop, The Western. Anyone who knows Matt knows how much he loves his local slice of heaven experienced only at dive cafe style restaurants. These are the kind of places where you risk having more grease on your plate than food and coffee is served by a friendly yet tired waitress with a name like Marty. Somewhere you can belly up to the bar and swap life stories with truckers and farmers alike. This place was no exception other than that the walks were decorated with old newspaper clippings from Bozeman dating back to the 20s.

After breakfast we hung around town for a bit, then returned to the house. Around 3pm we took off for a bike ride on Bozeman Trial to a lake we'd heard about. It took us only 2 miles to get to the trail yet from that point on it would be another 10 miles up a very steep and rocky 4 wheeler road. We struggled through it and reached an amazingly beautiful lake as our prize. Or so we thought. It got even better as we began riding back down. We were thrilled by the 30 minute roller ride that threw us around bends and over rocks at high speeds.

Once back at the house we ate and crashed early again. The next day would be a busy one.

DRIVING THROUGH YELLOWSTONE

We left Ed and Brenna's around noon on Friday and drove into Yellowstone on our way to Bozeman, Montana. In the early afternoon we stopped at Old Faithful and walked around a bit. We took off for the least traveled paths to smaller geysers and an overlook. But this place was almost as crowded as Disney so we left within an hour. Along the way to the West gate we stopped again by a stream and had a bite. Once out of Yellowstone we continued North through a Gallatin National Forest and into Bozeman. When we arrived at our destination our friend Matt (Chewy or Matchew) was playing soccer outside the house with his nephew Justin. We got out of our car and began playing with them. This quickly turned into a game of touch football (Matt and Justin v.s. Jeremy and Nikki). An hour later we had to say goodbye to Justin as he and his mother Sadie were leaving for Australia. Matt took us to the local COOP where we got grub for dinner. After cooking up a masterpiece of a meal we realized it was already 11 pm. So to bed it was.

MOVING DAY

We all slept in till 10 am after a late night at Ed and Brenna's. When finally up we indulged in a country breakfast at Bubba's BBQ. We ordered the local special and were rewarded with an overflowing plate of food. Once back at Ed and Brenna's house they began calling the moving company to figure out when the movers would be arriving. To their surprise a truck and crew had not even been located yet. This was their moving day and there were no movers! So we decided to stay one more day and help achieve a small miracle. In just a few afternoon hours we picked up a small 14 ft. trailer (the only one left in Jackson) and loaded it full of all the furnishings of their 2 bedroom house. One person would be on Hunter duty while the other 3 would pack. As a team we pulled it off in time for the carpet cleaners came the next morning.

COMING DOWN

On Wed. morning we awoke with the first light, had tea and breakfast and began packing up for the hike back to Jenny Lake. Our bodies were sore from the previous 2 days of hiking and our feet had developed some uncomfortable blisters. But it was nothing that a lot of stretching and mole skin couldn't handle. On our way down the trail was empty of all other people. Then around half way we began encountering many day hikers who wanted to know what our experience was like. As we closed in on our 7 mile hike the crowds around Inspirational Point became almost overwhelming. And everyone noticed us, the exhausted couple with overnight packs emerging from the mountain's canyon. Once back at the car we breathed a sigh of relief as we took off our packs. From there we drove to Brenna's house to help her pack boxes for their move and stucco the walls. In the afternoon we returned to Shoguns Sushi and refueled on veggie oil. That evening we ate mexican food for dinner and stayed up late talking with Brenna, Ed, and several of their Jackson friends.

PLAYING ON MOUNTAIN TOPS

The following morning we took advantage that the sun didn't come over the mountain range until after 9. The air was crisp and the valley was dark with shadow. It was a wonderful few hours of continually returning to the world of slumber. Once up we greeted good morning to our neighboring marmots and scrambled back on top of the big rock to watch to light come over the range and fill the valley. Somewhere around 10 (we didn't have a time piece other than the sun) we loaded up our day pack full of food and warm clothes and took off for Lake Solitude. This time the lake was not so secluded. To our surprise there are a lot a endurance driven day hikers that venture out to the lake. So we decided to press on up the range on the adjacent side and get a higher view. We had originally hoped to hike this range with all of our gear and camp on the other side at Lake Holly. Though plans changed when we were told by rangers that the pass was iced over. So today we hiked up to see how far we could make it before the ice got too bad. The trail took us on a gradual incline along the range with sweeping views of Lake Solitude, the valley we were camped at and above to hidden lakes still frozen in the cleavage of the surrounding mountains. At about 10,000 feet the hike got harder. It began to switch back even higher into snowy and windy terrain. But the views were more than worth our efforts. As we climbed on we reached peaks where we were looking down on several of the Teton mountains. The Grand Teton raised up to appear that it's peak was right beside us. Once on top of the Paint Brush Divide (11,000 feet) we looked down upon the rocky mounds and valleys, snow and ice, lakes and glaciers, and we felt larger than life. It was at the peak that we could go no more. The trial continued on to cross a section that was entirely too dangerous for us to attempt without the proper gear. Instead we decided to sit down and take in the experience. There was an out cropping of rock that we sat on that protected us from the wind and provided an amazing panoramic view. We ate a wonderful lunch while sitting there, then slowly began our climb down. It was as we retraced our steps that the truly picturesque moments happened. The sun was now at mid afternoon height and the shadows had returned and were playing to our advantage. Once back at Lake Solitude the day hikers were all gone and we again had the place to ourselves. Hot after a long hike we dipped ourselves into the freezing water and then sunbathed on a rock along the shore. At some point we noticed that there were several marmots coyly attempting to steal our socks. We got dressed and followed the crashing sound of water to the falls that poured out on the lake and down into the valley we camped in. Once back at the campsite we made ourselves a dinner of quinoa, cheese and seaweed. We tried to watch the sunset on the large rock again but were both too tired. It was to bed early that night. What a day.