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May 28, 2008 (Night)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 50ish, nice and somewhat sunny

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Oregon Trip '08 - Day Four

ANOTHER AMAZING DAY.

We woke up around 0700 today -- a nice "sleep-in" compared to the previous two mornings -- and had everything packed and ready for the road at 0800. The "continental breakfast" at our hotel consisted of a variety of Little Debbie snacks. Wow. I actually grabbed one just to not be ripped off (it was a pretty good coffee cake one I'd never tried) and we rolled down the road to two other hotels we spotted. The first one was pretty weak: some simple cereals, toast, and apples. We passed on that and went to this nice Best Western, only to find it had a restaurant and thus did not offer continental breakfast. What a rip-off! These nice hotels refuse to offer breakfast because of some crappy, over-priced restaurant on-site. Weak. Because of that, we had no choice but to return to the previous spot.

That breakfast started off adventurous, when Behrs, while setting down a bowl of cereal, and styrofoam cups of milk and hot water, got burned by the hot water, which then caused him to tip over his milk glass all over the table! We spent a couple minutes cleaning that, and then when I threw this tiny napkin to his side of the table, I spilled his water! CRIPES! It was ten minutes into the meal before we got to eat.

We filled up on cereals and toast before hitting the road. Sinks Canyon would be our first stop, since we felt guilty for not camping there. "Sinks" is called so because the river (the Popo Agie, which is NOT pronounced "a GHEE", but rather "Popo-zsha") flowing through it actually disappears into the canyon rock -- presumably flowing through cracks of the limestone -- before reappearing in a pool about 200m downstream! It was pretty bad-ass. We actually unhitched the bikes and rode up the highway for these sights. This was a pretty short excursion, so we were back on the road in less than an hour.

We decided to forgo the Wind River Mountains -- which were mega-snow covered -- for the Grand Teton NP, which was about 3 hours drive from Lander. The first half of the drive was uneventful, driving through the Wind River Indian Reservation. It got interesting once we passed through Dubois (NOT pronounced "Du-bWAH", but LITRALLY "DUE-BOSE"), when we started a progressive climb over the Wind River Range. The highlight was passing over the Coninental Divide at Togwotee Pass, elevation 9650'! That was definitely the highest the ol' Celica has ever climbed! We got out to take some pictures of the immense snow pack that still remained -- at least four feet at this point -- as well as to PEE ON THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, which has always been a lifelong goal of mine! :)

We ran into some construction on our way down into the Teton area, but otherwise made it unscathed into Grand Teton NP at around 1PM, only to find the entry point unmanned, and thus unable to charge us entry fees! Score!

We drove directly south to Jenny Lake in hopes of getting a campsite, which we didn't think would be too difficult. Along the way, despite the crappy weather and cloud cover, we were greeted with breathtaking views of the Teton Range mountains along the way. On the drive down, we started brainstorming a bike ride but we weren't seeing a convenient loop like in the Black Hills. At any rate, we'd have a flatter course, since the majority of the NP is in the flat valley of the Snake River.

We arrived at Jenny Lake -- a small lake at the base of the Tetons -- around 1:30ish and secured a camp spot, of which few remained since a large portion of the camp was still closed because of snow cover! The weather was garbage at Jenny when we arrived: cold and windy! I was really sick of this weather, especially since we had just experienced sun and warmth up in the mountains just an hour before.

Given the conditions, we reluctantly prepared for the bike ride and planned a modified out and back route north to Jackson Lake and back, followed by a run along the Jenny Lake trail.

The initial bike ride was more enjoyable than in the Black Hills, simply because it was predominantly flat, which only gentle, rolling hills here and there. Interspersed were amazing views of the Tetons. Behrs brought his camera for this ride, and I decided I'd carry it in a fanny pack so I could actually access it while riding! Because of this new innovation, we got tons of "action pics" -- mostly of Keith biking -- with the Tetons as the backdrop!

On the drive south Keith spotted a side road for Signal Mountain which, on the map, looked to be a relatively simple side-trip road climb, so we veered off the main road to check it out.

The Signal Mountain road turned into a bit more than that. There was a brief climb followed by a long flat and downhill to a small lake. Upon approaching the lake I spotted a smallish, gray animal about 200m ahead. I stopped and signaled Behrs to do the same. Right when Behrs rolled up to me, what looked to be a grey wolf jogged off the road and into the woods. Pretty cool!

We continued the ride and began what would become a long, relatively steep climb up Signal Mountain -- the likes of which we thought we'd left behind on this ride! But like most of our adventures on this trip, we were determined to see what was at the top and weren't about to turn back, no matter how long and steep it had become.

The Signal Mountain road was still technically closed to traffic, and it was due to the frequent snow drifts that remained in the road, which made biking the road even more interesting. Thankfully there were double-track paths cut through the drifts, which varied from 6" to 2' in depth. There were also a multitude of small rocks and piles of elk crap that added fun obstacles to the ride!

Like two days before, I was feeling pretty good and, back on my bike, faster than Behrs. Once again I rode ahead, checking out the road about a half mile to mile ahead, then circling back.

After the long climb that included two switchbacks, we finally approached the top. It was well-timed, as just as we were summiting Signal Mountain, the weather took a turn for the worse, with hard rains and strong winds from the south. I was praying for some kind of shelter on top, and those prayers were answered: we took shelter in a Forest Service outhouse!

As "crappy" as it sounds, the shelter of the outhouse was a welcome relief from the hard rains and wind. It was also clean and smell-free, so we sat in and around it, with the door open, and rode out the storm while refueling with water from our packs, Clif Bars, and even some yummy Clif Shot Bloks I bought on clearance at REI.

Even out of the wind, I was getting COLD. I was already wet and now we weren't moving, and I was legitimately worried about hypothermia, especially since we still had to ride down the mountain. Thankfully it had stopped raining, but it was still cold with no sign of sun.

Despite the cold, it was still an awesome time atop Signal Mountain. The lookout from the south had amazing views of the Tetons, and the north lookout highlighted the Snake River Valley and the expansive Jackson Lake. We didn't stay long, though, because we were cold and it was already past 5PM and we had to get going.

The bike down wasn't too bad. The road was wet from the rain, but it was now drying out and when I looked to the sky, the sun started poking through the clouds! It was a Festivus miracle!

The rest of the bike down Signal Mountain and back to Jenny Lake was glorious, with our first sustained sun in four days and low winds, making it an effortless ride back. Our plan was to stop at a lookout on the north end of the lake and do a bit of a run together, before I took off to do the entire loop around Jenny.

While Behrs readied the camera, I did a brief out and back half-mile run, and then when I returned, he was ready to go. The northeast trail segment, which strayed away from the lakeshore, was a little TECH because there was still quite a bit of snow remaining, so several times over that 1.5mile out stretch we had to run over and through snow drifts along the trail. It wasn't a huge deal, but once we parted ways and I was on my own around the lake, it became a real pain, only adding to my overall fatigue.

Despite the fatigue and challenging trail conditions, this run was incredible. Not more than ten minutes after leaving Keith, I ran into a major river that feeds Jenny Lake, and connecting String Lake to Jenny from the north. I ran into the river and could find no bridge or any feasible crossing. I did, however, see the trail cut into the banks on the opposite side, so I knew the trail continued on -- I just had to find the crossing point.

The trail was sketchy here, but I found it again and followed the river north for a while, thinking a bridge was somewhere upstream. After nearly a mile of tough, mud and snow-filled trail, I could see no bridge. I was worried there would be no bridge and that this trail would keep going north for miles and miles, so I decided to double back.

At the mouth of the river I had spotted a lone man fishing, so I was hoping to ask him about a bridge, but when I approached, there was no real trail to his location, and the rushing spring waters over the expanse of big rocks and log jams precluded even yelling.

At this point, I said "Fuck it" and decided to "ford the river" myself. While the river flowed briskly and seemingly deep, about a hundred feet wide, there were quite a few rocks and logs, so I thought a dry crossing would be feasible.

I started across, trapeze-walking across a downed log into the river. Just as I had make that traverse, the fisherman turned and spotted me. I waved a hello and kept crossing; he must've thought I was an insane person, trying to cross this raging river. I, myself, was just happy that he saw me, so that if I did fall in, at least someone would know about it, and have a better idea of where to find my body.

With the aid of several well-placed logs and boulders, I managed my way across, unscathed and dry!

I scaled up the steep bank and found the trail and kept going. This next segment of trail, proceeding counterclockwise from "12 to 9", was my favorite, where the trail coursed its way through an old wildfire burn, and then into a series of small (but "raging") creeks that flowed from the mountains into the lake. At 9 o'clock at the trail I ran into a major creek, "Hidden Falls". There was a nice lookout 0.2 miles up the mountain, but I was too tired and short on time, so I kept rolling.

The second half of the run I was genuinely exhausted. Though incredibly beautiful, it was tough to enjoy just because of how tired I was. But it was amazing, especially since it was nearly 8PM and the lake was like glass.

The last third of the lake loop was uneventful, having left behind the pesky snow drifts and puddles for dry trail. I finally made it back to the lookout, got my bike and gear out of the woods where we'd stashed it, and make the final six minute bike back to camp!

Another terrific day was in the books: 3 hours, 20 minutes of exertion with about 70 minutes of running. Behrs had the mixed veg cooking already, so I changed and made a fire. We enjoyed a huge pile of veg, then re-heated some leftover breadsticks and ate those around the fire.

It was getting really cold again, but despite that, we left the fire behind to go for a short walk to the clearing past the campgrounds to check out the stars. People don't realize how much the "light pollution" of the city affects the night sky 'til they get into the wilderness. We actually laid down on the paved road in front of the campground and looked at stars for a good half-hour. Miraculously it wasn't very cold, so it was a terrific experience.

Upon return to camp, our fire was nearly out and we had no more wood. And since Behrs had no camping pad, we both slept in my tent on my queen-sized Coleman air mattress. This was a huge anti-jimmy for me, since that extra body in the tent kept things much warmer, making for a great night's sleep! :)