Floating down the Snake River - and lots of moose!

Tuesday morning, we got up bright and early (not an easy feat after our crazy long day at Yellowstone) for a rafting trip down the Snake River.  We booked our trip with Triangle X Ranch, and they were fantastic!  We met them near Jenny Lake, were put into boat groups, met our guide, and hopped in a van so they could take us to the river.

Our guide, Ray, was fantastic.  He'd moved to Jackson Hole a few months prior, but already knew a lot about the area and was super friendly.  He paddled us down the river and (most importantly) had a great eye for spotting wildlife.  On the boat trip, we saw 4 different Bald Eagles, lots of other birds, and a moose!  The trip was smooth and lasted about two hours, weaving us along some of the most beautiful Teton views ever.  We passed the spot Ansel Adams stood to take his famous picture of the mountain range, too - no doubt why he choose that spot.

Here are a few pictures from the trip!

After the float trip, we decided to head back to our cabin to get cleaned up.  On the way, we saw another moose...twice!  Little tip - if you're in Jackson Hole, make sure you happen by the intersection of Highways 22 and 390.  We saw 5 of our 6 moose within that 4 mile area!

This moose was hanging out in someone's backyard and had a huge rack (haha...)!  He was chewing on a tree up toward their house when we were headed home.  As we headed back into town a few hours later, he was still in the area...this time taking a sip of water from the pond.  He was a HUGE guy!

Downtown Jackson is really cute.  There are tons of restaurants and great shops.  Some of them freaked us out - toooo much dead animal for us!  After walking around for a while, we realized everyone was exhausted, so we headed home for the night and played cards.  Too much fun makes for 5 very exhausted people!  Up next is another hiking trip around a beautiful mountain!

Jackson Hole Vacation - Jenny Lake and Colter Bay Hiking

Helloooo from Wyoming!  We are having the most fantastic time here in Jackson - everything is more beautiful than you can imagine.  So far we've gone hiking several times, covered almost all of Yellowstone National Park, and taken a rafting trip down the Snake River.  Today I'm going to share one of the hiking trips, to Jenny Lake and Colter Bay.

Jenny Lake is located in the Grand Teton National Park.  The lake itself is beautiful to look at, but what's most fantastic about this location is the hiking.  You start by taking a boat across the lake to the trailheads. There are three main destinations once you start the hike - the Hidden Falls (about a mile hike), Inspiration Point (another half mile UP), and Cascade Canyon (3 more miles).  The nice thing about this hike is that it gets more difficult as you go, so if you want a simple climb, stop at the falls!  (Trails ranked moderate to difficult.)

One of the key tips we heard is to GO EARLY.  There are far fewer people on the mountain around 8am, which is nice since most of the paths are only wide enough for one person.  On our way back down there was a good bit of stopping and waiting for others to pass.

Mom, Dad, and Mark taking the boat over

Travis and me

Mark and me at the lower falls

Once we had a chance to take in the waterfall, we began the trek to Inspiration Point!

Super steep!

Part of the trail

Silly parents...

The hike is really one of those places you feel the need to take a picture around every bend because it just keeps getting better and better.  Inspiration point is 7200 feet high - not a bad view!

At this point, most people turn around and make their way back down the mountain.  I'm SO glad we decided to go on, because Cascade Canyon was by far my favorite part of the hike.  You were literally hiking through a canyon with HUGE mountains on all sides of you.

We found some fun rocks...

One of the most beautiful places ever!

Mountains, mountains, everywhere!

If you take a trip to Jackson/Yellowstone, this is definitely a must.

Once we took the boat back to our car, we decided we hadn't had enough (8 miles up/down is nothin'...right?), so we decided to go to Colter Bay and do another short, 2 mile trail.  The trail we did was deceivingly called the Lake Shore Trail.  We assumed it would be water views the entire time, but really you were in the forest for 1.5 of those miles.  It does, however, have great views of the Tetons.

Once we finished the trail, we turned a corner and heard a big commotion down the way.  As we looked to our left, we realized what was going on!  A bear was making his way through the woods and up the path.  I was pretty freaked out about running into a bear while we were hiking through the middle of nowhere, so I was happy to get to see one when there were 20 people between me and it.  :)

Next up...Yellowstone National Park!