What a wonderful time we had in the Tetons! So many animals and great hiking. I am very excited that the time in the pool at the gym is paying off. We went on several 5 mile hikes. I was tired but had no problem finishing the hikes. Slept well those nights too!
It was so sad to see how low Jackson Lake is this year. As the ranger, less than pleased about the situation, explained, the dam on the southern edge of the lake was built by the state of Idaho. Essentially they own the top 40 feet of the lake. With the drought this year, they are taking the water. The Snake river is flowing high but much of Jackson Lake is dry. The marina where we rented the boat with the kids 20 years ago is far out of the water. Bone dry! Our campsite was close to the water, and although there was a lot of shoreline, we did see the lake. We had a bear in camp one day, at the site next to us. He was a good sized black bear just a cruising’ through camp! It was nice being on the outer edge of such a large campground. They also had open showers and it was glorious to take a shower with fully running water!! And do some laundry.
We found a lot of moose during this part of the trip. We found one by Jackson Lake lodge who was just losing the velvet on his antlers. We watched as he crossed the road and simply disappeared into the willows where Matt and I surprised a cow moose so many years ago. We also saw a lone black wolf very up close. We stopped at the wolf jam and got out to watch him as he successfully hunted in a pretty open field. He got three or four catches of rodents I’m sure. Then he headed right toward us and easily got within the 100feet minimum. We stepped behind some guy’s car as the ranger got a bit excited at those still taking pictures. It was thrilling to get to watch him in action!
We did a lot of hiking looking for animals and kept seeing them as we headed back to camp. Oh well! We only stayed 2 days in Colter Bay and then headed to Gros Ventre campground. Cherie promised we’d see moose. And we did!! The first night we were walking along the river, and heard clanging noises. We came across three young bull moose looking like they were play fighting. Then we saw the cow. It seemed weird to me that the bulls were so low key about it all. Then the big bull stepped out and they took off! She had to spend about 30 minutes convincing him that she was not another bull. It was awesome to hear them call back and forth! Eventually they were nuzzling and rolling in his urine. We had to get back to camp because it was getting dark, but you could tell a baby moose was going to be started that night!
The next day, we go to Jenny Lake looking for animals…none. Well, just a few. We saw small herds of pronghorn and Sandhill cranes. No bison or elk. We drove the Laurance S. Rockefeller preserve and did see a black bear cub and Mama by the road. But no moose. We stop at a road jam and saw a cow and adorable calf right by the trailhead. Then…we get back to camp. The bull and cow from the night before had taken over someone’s site for the day. And it turns out she had a 2 year old calf with her. I was totally hyped listening to her and the bull call back and forth! The bull looked exhausted but eventually they all got up to eat around 8 pm. Too dark to take any more pictures, so we decided to head back to our site by way of the river trail…and here they came. They walk fast with such a large stride! We hustled along (what the kids would call my “whale walk”) and suddenly the bull was coming toward us…we hustled a bit faster! Finally he decided the female was more interesting, and turned away from us. He never got very close (maybe 35 feet) but he was watching us.
The final day we hiked to Hidden Falls and then Schwembacher landing…no more bigs animals sighted. Some cool beaver dams though. We met a nice nurse from Elk Grove too. We talked about the fact that there seemed to be fewer animals and so many people everywhere. Sounded like she and her husband come to the Tetons frequently. Driving home, there was a giant bull moose along the river that I saw from the road. So that was cool. Overall, we saw a lot of animals but it was just shocking at how many people were everywhere we went (do they not understand it was our turn in the parks?)!
So now we are headed to Great Basin National Park in Nevada. At least there won’t be a crowd…only 23 campsites! Until next time…
Sounds like fun! We are enjoying the lovely pictures. Quite impressive.