Moose on the Loose
The morning began fairly peacefully, with Reed’s alarm going off around 7 AM, and then a couple more times before we finally realized we should probably wake up. The early hours were quite frigid; we were all loathe to leave our tents. Eventually, we stumbled out of our tents and began to throw breakfast together. Using our nifty camp stove, we performed the extremely complex maneuver called boiling water. After the water was ready, we made some oatmeal and coffee to start our day. Spirits were high, and we decided to begin our day by exploring the park, beginning with Mormon Row, an original, old-fashioned Mormon settlement situated a few miles away. We packed up the essentials and made our way to the van. However, once we were all inside it, we noticed some very strange occurrences around us.
As I sidled into the front passenger seat, I noticed someone in the campsite across from ours holding up his phone as if to take a picture of our van. “Huh,” I thought. “I guess he’s just taking a selfie.” Then, I noticed a few more people poking around nearby, all fixed in the same direction. Then came Sam’s call from outside. “Uh, guys, there’s something out here you might want to see.” We hopped out of the van and peered over in the direction Sam pointed out. Only about 30 yards away from us was a curious moose. It was on the edge of our neighbor Bob’s campsite, snacking on some conveniently-placed shrubbery. People at the campground quickly realized what was happening; pajama-clad families and camera-laden early risers rushed over and began to talk in hushed whispers. One woman lurked beside Bob’s bear box, which we thought was way too close (around 10 yards from the beast). The creature itself was quite slim, but nonetheless impressive and intimidating. The bull stood well over six feet in height, towering over Bob’s tent and picnic table. He approached cautiously to sniff Bob’s bicycle and tent, before perking up at the people all around him. We kept our distance, but some campers got a little too close. The moose began to slink across the road and flee into the woods, toward the stream. Others followed, but we decided to get going. After so much action that early in the day, we decided to keep the excitement rolling and explore what the park had to offer.
The aforementioned moose scours for leafy eats in the nearby greenery.
Sam took us up to the main road, and we set out toward the national park. We drove along, stopping at odd outlets to capture photos. We looped all the way up through the northern end of Jackson Hole, spotting other wildlife such as bison, pronghorn, and pikas. The park was relatively peaceful. We stopped at Colter’s Bay on Jackson Lake to capture some photos of the stunning scenery and to purchase some much needed bear spray. Sam was designated as our armed-and-dangerous bear sprayer. Finally, we reached Jenny’s Lake, and saw where all the people were. A ridiculous number of vehicles were hungrily trundling through the lot, searching for scarce parking spaces. We wisely decided to return later. We stopped at a picnic area for a quick lunch, complete with peanut butter and Nutella wraps. We then drove back up to Jenny Lake, where we finally found a spot large enough for our Covid Wagon.
The gorgeous scenery of the mountains rising over the clear Jackson Lake.
We saddled up with our day packs, and set out on a trail that would bring us up to the Hidden Falls and beyond to an outlook called Inspiration Point. We encountered extremely high traffic on the trail; nevertheless, we kept bear bells and spray easily accessible. In fact, not far into the trail, we encountered two or three bears. Well, when I say encountered I mean that they were tiny brown blobs on a hill about 400 yards from the trail. Soon, a crowd gathered to spectate. Not wanting to contract the disease we swore to avoid, we moved on. Around the third mile, we found the Hidden Falls. The temperature dropped five degrees or so, and Sam decided to filter some of the water from the falls. It was delicious. Reed became one with the marmots, of which there were around five or six, none of whom were strangers to human presence. However, it was time to move on; Inspiration Point awaited.
Sam prepares for his swan dive into the frigid rapids below.
Ben decides to cool off a little from the beating sun in the water below
We strolled uphill for a quarter-mile or so before coming upon an overlook. Not feeling particularly inspired, we decided to continue to the main overlook. After our encounter with the 14ers, this uphill trek was no problem. Inspiration Point gave a spectacular view of Jenny Lake and the mountains on the opposing side of Jackson Hole. Now sufficiently inspired, we traveled back down to the lake to be ferried across. After a speedy journey across the water, we decided to explore Jackson more before going to dinner at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. After exploring more shops with overpriced merchandise, we entered the restaurant. After witnessing a girl flee the bar once her ID was deemed fake by an employee, we were escorted to our table.
The foamy waters of Hidden Falls.
We quickly realized that this restaurant was way out of our league. We all were wearing the same thing we had the previous day, and likely didn’t smell the best. We ordered three elk burgers, and had one of the best meals of our trip thus far. Well-fed and lighter in the wallet, we strolled back to the van to return to the campsite. Once we arrived, Sam started on chopping up a piece of firewood we found in an abandoned campsite earlier that day. After frustratingly attempting to carve up this poor log, we threw its butchered remains aside to try and get a smaller fire going. After much labored collecting of sticks and bark chippings, we were finally able to start a small campfire using a handy firestarter log. We made s’mores and enjoyed the warmth of the fire for a while before extinguishing it and preparing for bed. We needed our sleep, for a new adventure awaited the next day: whitewater rafting.
Our cozy little late-night campfire.
