Our Day of Discontent...and Grand Tetons!

Every long family vacation must allow for at least three days of discontent. Yesterday we used up at least two of those days between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.! It all started when I woke a certain tween up from a solid comfy motel room slumber in order to snag a campsite at the Colter Bay campground on Jackson Lake in the Grand Teton National Park. Our early-waking boy has been a reliable household alarm clock for years, but it seems that we are witnessing the beginning of some changes to his circadian rhythms.

The next incident was when we exited the motel and walked to the van. I was temporarily blinded by the brilliant sun and managed to walk right into a tree limb at forehead height. Ouch! That left quite a goose egg and put me in a bit of a funk.

Finally I failed my family by finding a less-than-stellar grocery store for breakfast items and sub-standard coffee. When we finally hit the road and head northeast toward Wyoming and along the Idaho border, we took turns being very grumpy, and this sour mood hung like a dark cloud over us all until a while after we set up camp. The mood did lighten considerably when we stopped for groceries and a picnic in Jackson Hole. The quality and range of the offerings were not far off of Wegmans standards, quite a change from the last time we were here in the mid-90s. They even had things like pre-packaged Portobello mushrooms with basil, finely chopped tomato and feta cheese, all ready for the grill and a wide range of fake meat products.

It always takes a little while to feel settled in at a new campsite, so instead of immediately putting up the tent, we took in the breathtaking views of Colter Bay and the rugged Tetons in the background. Then we did the ritual tour of the visitor center and gift shop. We were most impressed by the quality of fresh produce and range of products available in the camp grocery store, including our favorite Greek yogurt, which made for a great lunchtime treat today.

Family peace was restored when we went to the evening program, sang familiar campfire songs, and learned about the history and the biology of the bison. We continue to be most impressed by the quality of the programming. Every park ranger that I’ve met has been so patient and kind, and they deserve kudos for figuring out how to manage the endless questions and occasional inappropriate interruptions from the junior ranger crowd.

We woke up on Sunday to a beautiful sky, and I worked on the omelet and home fries breakfast while Gail went for her first run in a little while. After piling on the calories, I went for a bike ride to the Yellowstone border and back. This was my fastest ride of the vacation, and aside from a 600’ climb spread over 3 miles, it was great time trial material—I wish I had aero bars for the flat sections, but in spite of that, I averaged 21.4 mph over the 37 mile ride with almost 2200’ of total climbing. The return trip was most rewarding, with views of the Tetons and a tailwind, but surprisingly I didn’t see many other cyclists.

This afternoon we went on a three-hour ranger-led easy hike. Ranger Danielle was terrific, and she taught us a great deal about the trees, plant life, animals and the entire web of life in this portion of the park. The bear claw markings on the lodge pole pines were most impressive, and I really hope that we have any close calls with bears, based on the size of the incisions. I’ll definitely be buying a canister of bear spray, since the Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier are all prominent bear territory.

When it started raining, I raced ahead, since once again I forgot to close all of the tent windows. When will I learn? Fortunately nothing got too wet, and the skies cleared again after a two-hour light shower. A burrito dinner hit the spot, and now we look forward to another evening program. Tomorrow it’s off to Jenny lake and some more adventurous hiking that will take us closer to the big mountains, particularly Rockchuck Peak, which is just over 11,000’ high, weather permitting. The current plan is for me to bike ahead to the trailhead with a bit of a head start. Hopefully we’ll also find a 3G hotspot so that I can upload this blog entry as well!

Holy Hail, Batman!

We're currently once again huddled in the car, this time at Bryce Canyon, as we wait out a hailstorm. Just moments ago I returned from my 34 mile bike trip through the park road and back, and it looks like I returned not a moment too soon. I only endured a few minutes of hail on the ride, and otherwise it was just windy, with some steady south winds. We seem to be getting lots of dynamic weather in the last few days, and it's quite exciting in spite of the minor inconveniences.

Today was a welcome mellow day, that started off with welcome showers (luckily there are convenient shower stalls at the very cool general store) and more laundry. Where does all of this laundry come from? I just can't figure out how we're generating so much of it.

We hiked the Queen's Garden trail and marveled at the hoodoos, washouts and other interesting and quickly changing geological features. The boys are really getting into hiking the National Parks, especially with the lure of ice cream and the engaging junior ranger programs that each of the parks has to offer. We're really hitting our National Parks stride, and I'm also quite satisfied with the cycling that I'm able to fit in.

Now I have to sign off and figure out how to deal with a bucket full of wet shoes (the wind blew the lid off), and also we have a river running under our tent. At least we're all safe and good-humored.

Fern Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

Gail writes:

Last night was chilly and soggy. There was a middle-of-the-night downpour that made things kind of damp in the tent, and the temperature dipped down into the upper 40s. We were all bundled up this morning, but Armin’s terrific breakfast of omelets and potatoes warmed us up quickly.

We got the campsite tidied up and headed out for our first Rockies hike. We walked about a mile and a half to the Fern Lake trailhead and from there we hiked 2.4 miles to Fern Falls. Most of the hike was pretty easy, but there was an uphill section at the end that was a bit challenging. We’re at about 8000 feet, so the boys and I were feeling the altitude a bit. The scenery was gorgeous—some of the peaks still have traces of snow, and for most of the hike we were walking alongside the Big Thompson River. Our return trek down the trail was pretty speedy, and Armin went ahead to retrieve the car.  He met us at the trailhead and we ate a quick lunch in the car on our way to Estes Park to enjoy some post-hiking ice cream. The boys logged just under 7 miles and were troopers (though footsore!).

Estes Park is a tourist mecca, chock full of quaint (as well as tacky) shops selling t-shirts, taffy, and belt buckles. We enjoyed people-watching as we strolled. Some of the folks visiting town clearly do not intend to go on any hikes or venture off paved surfaces, while others looked like they might have come straight out of the backcountry. My favorite was the late-teen hipster quartet (shaved eyebrows on one, saggy pants on another) trying very hard to look cool and disaffected while they licked their ice cream cones.

We got back to camp in the late afternoon and decanted our cooler, stove, and food out of the car. One thing about camping in bear country is that you always have to secure any food items (or anything with a scent) in the car when you’re asleep or away from camp. It makes things a little more work, but it’s preferable to having a bear snuffle around your campsite.

I did make one of the best camping meals ever: I simmered quinoa with some water and a packet of Rajma Masala (kidney beans in tomato-ey sauce) and threw in some diced sautéed tofu. The boys may have had mac & cheese, but Armin and I enjoyed our protein-packed quinoa delight. Tomorrow we’ll try the vegetarian equivalent of a weenie roast, since the park has lifted the fire ban. We just hope that the local Safeway sells veggie dogs!

Tomorrow we’ll try to get an early start and take the park shuttle to a trail near Bear Lake.  We’ll hike a shorter distance, around 3 miles, and maybe head up to the higher altitude alpine tundra after lunch.

Armin writes:

Yes, it’s time for the cycling update. Bear Lake Rd. is under construction for the first 5 miles, but I thought it would be worth exploring in the afternoon after our first hiking adventure. The National Park Service is discouraging car traffic on this 1600’ climb, so I figured that if I could get past the rugged dirt section, it would be just fine. Sure enough, it was a good move. As soon as I passed the section of construction at around 8300’, the climb got outrageously fun with hardly any traffic to contend with. There was a steady climb averaging around 5 to 6% grade with a bunch of switchbacks and terrific mountain views. The descent could have been better however—I was stuck behind a very tentative driver for most of it. Evidently I have become acclimated to the altitude now, since I didn’t feel at all stressed during this ride. I’m looking forward to more climbing in the next few days, especially Trail Ridge Rd., which will take me across the Continental Divide.

Custer and drying out after some rookie camping mistakes

Gail writes:

Guess what I’m wearing? No, that’s not some sort of weird come-on. I’m sporting long pants and a long-sleeved shirt over a t-shirt—it’s downright chilly here in the Black Hills! It’s probably under 60 degrees, and sure to be a chilly night. It’s also pretty damp.

Last night, we invited our campground neighbors (a nice family from Louisiana with 3 sweet kids and a mom who’s a kindergarten teacher) over for smores. The kids were having a blast, and the adults were comparing school district stats when the drizzly rain turned into a full-fledged thunderstorm and downpour. We all scurried for our tents, and the boys bailed out of their small tent to join us in the big Copper Canyon. Despite the crashing thunder and bright lightning, we all fell asleep very quickly and had a peaceful night. We had quite a bit of work this morning as we hauled damp stuff out of the tent to dry. No problem, though. The morning was bright and warmed up quickly.

The boys spent the morning larking about with their campsite buddies, and Armin went for a bike ride. I tried this new-fangled thing called “relaxing,” which I don’t seem to be very good at. I read a bunch of New Yorker back issues and thought about maybe rewriting my library curriculum or brushing up on the Common Core. I resisted, though, and read about temple treasures in India, the raw milk controversy in California, recent changes to the city of Mecca, and a Shakespearean actor. Gotta love those New Yorker back issues.

After a tasty lunch concocted in our new Pie Iron, we headed off under sunny skies to go check out Jewel Cave. The second-largest cave complex in the world, it’s located near Custer City. The tour we wanted was sold out, so we made reservations for tomorrow, took a short stroll in the woods (which had been burnt out sometime in the past few years), commented on the warmth of the day, and headed back to stroll around Custer City. It’s a cute town, a little less obviously touristy than Hill City, with lots of character and a terrific rock shop. The boys chose some cool rocks and arrowheads and we headed back toward the campsite for a swim.

On the drive back, we noticed that the roads were wet, and when we piled out of the car at the swimming area, the temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler than it had been at Jewel Cave. We braved the water anyway (since none of us have showered in the past few days!) and came back to find our campsite a bit of a wet wreck. We hadn’t buttoned things up before we left (it was so warm and sunny!), so the sleeping bags, pads, and pillows were all wet, our chairs were drenched, and there was standing water on the floor of the tent. Yuck. We mobilized, though, and got things hanging up to dry. We’re crossing our fingers that they’ll be dry in time for bed.

We made a quick dinner of pasta for the boys and packaged Indian food for me and Armin. Cooking on two burners (one of them not really functional because of the rainstorm) is a challenge, but we’ve managed really well so far. I think there’s a Whole Foods in Fort Collins (on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park), so we may stop there on Sunday as we drive through. Maybe we’ll find some tasty options. Honestly, though, anything you eat while camping tastes extra good, so even if we continue with basic meals I’ll be happy.

Well, here’s hoping for a dry night and some good sleep. Tomorrow we’ll take our Jewel Cave tour—we opted for the Historic Lantern Tour, which means going on some unpaved paths while carrying oil lamps. We’ll be wearing our long pants and sweatshirts, since the caves are a constant 49 degrees. I can’t wait to see the rock formations!

Morning update: no rain during the night, so we all stayed dry and snug. The boys finally slept in (7:00!) and I got in a nice run. It was on the short side (about 3 miles), but it’s hilly here so I had to work at it.

Leo writes:

We are having a fun time. On the car ride I saw the Badlands. It was amazing. My friends caught 6 fish.

Armin writes:

My Friday bike ride was somewhat less ambitious than the previous day’s. I was looking for less than 1 ½ hours of saddle time, and since there really aren’t all that many paved road options, I decided to head north for around 11 miles and return. That took me just past the Pactola Reservoir, and involved a solid Cat 4 climb, 600’ spread over three miles. The reservoir looks to be quite a popular destination for boaters. The road runs right along the edge of the massive dam, and the views across the water and up the heavily wooded hills are lovely.

The shoulder on Rt. 385 essentially disappears north of the exit to the Sheridan Lake campground, so there wasn’t much roadway to spare when cars passed, but I’ve found drives to be very respectful and cautious when it comes to sharing the road in the Black Hills. There are many intriguing gravel roads worth exploring, but I’ll have to leave that for my next visit.

I was pretty happy with my pace, averaging 20.1 mph over 23.5 miles and 1900’ of climbing. I managed to snag my first Strava KOM on the return trip Cat 4 climb, thanks in great part to the generous tailwind. Interestingly, as I arrived at the end of my ride, the wind direction switch from a northerly to a southerly direction. I wonder if this is typical for this area.