Close Encounters of the Best Kind

I have been hiking the shorter trails in the Tetons since the snow cleared enough to make that comfortable.  Although it is very much bear habitat, I have yet to see any bears.  I guess that is due in part to my following the recommended practice of making lots of noise on the trail.  That's ok - the trails are rewarding in themselves.

Phelps Lake's overlook is reached from a trailhead that leads to a place called Death Canyon.  I didn't go that far...

Taggert Lake Trail is shorter with less elevation change.  Near the start you cross a stream carrying the lake's outflow, with a Teton peak in the background.

Further along, you reach the trail's high point and a vista opens in front of you.

This morning, I woke, sat up and looked out my back window.  There were 5 people, about 100 feet away, looking back at me.  I turned and looked out the side window, to see a bull moose grazing along.

He passed within 8 feet of me as I sat at my dinette with the window open.

Every now and then, you have to stop and smell the flowers...

The bison herd can be seen almost every day.  They seem quite complacent about cars, but when they are this close, I do not get out...

If you look closely at this very young calf, you can see buttons where its horns have already started to grow.

Meanwhile, back in the campground, a very shy momma peers at me as I peer at her.

She is so cautious because she has two calves with her.  Several days of familiarizing her with me meant that I could get fairly close without disturbing her. 

As I shot photos with my big lens, she checked me out, then looked around, then did a bit of grooming.

I think she was just fine with having me there, but I didn't want to push it.  A few photos, and I backed away and left her in solitude.

Spring Has Sprung in the Tetons

In one week the primary tones have changed from grey to green.  Life sprouts anew.

Beavers are out and about, feeding on new sprouts.

A hike up the hill across the road from the campground yields colorful scenes.

Jigsaw Puzzle, anyone?

More Butt-heads

I think I figured out the converting of a series of jpg's to a GIF.

Boys will be boys

It is spring in the Tetons, and bisons' thoughts turn to... dominance.  This will be mostly photos.  I will say only that these critters were in the field between the campground and the road, and I did NOT get out of the car.

I don't know quite how I got motion from that.  Anyway, here are the rest.

I have 50 shots of the competition, but that is enough for sharing.

Back to Winter - almost

I made it to the Tetons.  In New Mexico, when I left in late March I was doing my hikes in shorts and a T-shirt, and sometimes just shorts.  From there, I went to southern California, then up the eastern side of the Sierras, in warm, sunny weather all the way.

When I got home to Oregon, the weather gave me my second taste of snow with a brief flurry that sugar-coated the trees.  The Cascades were sleeping under a white blanket but elsewhere, it looked like late spring.

Here in Wyoming, I am struggling to find manageable hikes.  I tried two yesterday, turning around within 900 feet on each because of snow cover.  No matter - the views are my main reason to be here.

From the main road overlooking the Snake River, the Tetons rise from a flat plain.  The abrupt change from prairie to peaks is the foundation for the scenery.

Located just south of Yellowstone, the Tetons share most of the wildlife found in the larger park to the north.  So far, I am seeing bison every day.

How does a bison scratch its nose?  Well, you find a log, then go for it.

Three days ago, the late afternoon skies became threatening.  At one point, the dark clouds provided a stunning backdrop for the sage and trees painted silver-white by the sun peeking through a break in the cloud cover.

The next morning, I arose at sunrise long enough for a quick shot from my campsite of the morning sun painting the peaks.

Colter Bay at the north end of the park is set on Jackson Lake.  It is still frozen, but a narrow stretch of water between the shore and the ice, on a still afternoon, made a delightful mirror.

 

Now, as soon as enough snow melts from the trails, I will get more hiking in...

Travelin' Time

I got an 'atta boy from my doctor, leaving me free to "phone in" my fall appointment.  That means I am able to return to Colorado this summer to spend some relaxing time there rather than driving through, tense as a drum, with a malfunctioning towed car braking system, like last summer.  I planned my departure and left home, heading for the Tetons as my first destination.

The Tetons are a three day drive from home.  My second night on the road, I stayed at a city park in Burley, Idaho, at the side of the Snake River.  The cloudy afternoon through which I had been driving evolved into a break in the clouds at just the right place and moment.

While the subtle lighting of the higher clouds was interesting, the real gem was the steel truss bridge so nicely silhouetted in the setting sun.

The next day was wet, grey and cold.  The Snake River and I climbed to above 7000 feet elevation to reach the Grand Tetons.  I have seen them in late June with my family in 1963, in late September in 2011, and in July and August, 2012.  Entering the Park with a sense of anticipation, I saw... nothing.  Clouds obscured all but the very bottoms of the peaks.

I checked into the campgrounds and set up, planning a 2 month stay with no hookups. 

The next morning dawned clear and crisp.  Tent campers on the neighboring site were taking photos of... the bare trees?  It made no sense but looking where they were pointing their cameras, that was all I saw.  Then a shape emerged from behind several trees.

It is good to be back here.

Whitney

Wow.

On the way north, I planned a stop in the area of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48.  It is 14,505 feet high, is on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada range, directly east of Sequoia National Park.  This means it is made of the same medium grey granite that forms the bulk of the Sierras.

What is different is that the peaks here are unprotected by foothills.  They rise directly from the desert around Lone Pine, CA.

My first day full day here, I drove a road known as Whitney Portal Road.  On the flats just west of Lone Pine, some great views of the Whitney massif can be seen.

I was ready to stretch my legs, so at the Portal, 8400 feet up, I took a short hike along the Whitney Trail.  I would love to have reached one of the lakes, but they were out of my range.  I had to settle for this.

That evening, the peaks blocked the sunset, but I had a hint of what it might have looked like.

I got up before dawn the next morning and set up my tripod, waiting for the light.  Some cloud cover to the east blocked some of the color but it still was nice when the sun found a hole through which to peek.

The morning after that, there were no clouds.  The first few seconds of direct light on the peaks were rich with reds.

Moments after, the color muted to orange, then yellow-orange.

Not too shabby a way to wake up.