Grand Tetons NP.
An early start from Grant Village sees us travelling
southward through ghostly, mist-shrouded forests and grassy meadows to Lewis
Lake and Lewis Falls by which time the mist is clearing bringing promise of a
fine day. Following a brief stop at Moose Falls we depart Yellowstone and
follow the Snake River into the John D Rockefeller Memorial Parkway which
bridges the gap to the Tetons. Excitement is mounting for it is here that we
are to meet our friends Audrey and Ken - but more of that later.
From as early as 1897 attempts were being made to create a
park in Teton County but were encountering
both local and political opposition. In 1929 a park about 30% the size
of the current park was proclaimed but it neither preserved a complete
ecosystem nor protected the mountain views from valley developments. In 1926,
after visiting Jackson Hole and agreeing that the area would be ruined by
uncontrolled development, Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the country,
began purchasing large tracts of freehold land. By the mid-1930s this amounted
to 35,000 acres which he tried to gift to the American people - an offer which
was rejected by Congress until 1943. It took a further seven years of political
wrangling and local opposition before, with the direct intervention of
President Roosevelt, the current Grand Tetons National Park was proclaimed.
The road follows the forested valley of the Snake River
before suddenly, there ahead of us, appears the
jagged peaks and deep canyons of the spectacular Teton Range rising up
to some 2000 metres above an emerald-blue Jackson Lake. In 1938 Fritiof
Fryxwell, upon seeing the Tetons for the first time, was moved to write,
"Irrespective of hour or season, whether viewed on clear days or stormy,
the Tetons are so surpassingly beautiful that one is likely to gaze silently
upon them, conscious of the futility of speech."Our reaction was a little different, for neither of us could
refrain from expressing a spontaneous and heartfelt, "Wow". The scene
was truly postcard perfect.
Colter Bay, on the shores of Jackson Lake, is a First-Come
–First-Served campsite so we arrive in
time for breakfast, then enjoy a leisurely stroll to Heron and Swan lakes - no
herons to be seen (and happily no black bears) and only a distant trumpeter swan,
but a couple of beaver dams and lush carpets of water lillies. Jackson Lake is
formed behind the impressive walls of Jackson Dam where we stop for lunch
before returning to the historic Jackson Lake
The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Centre at Moose
Junction is an outstanding interpretive facility with many park rangers only
too willing to provide information and assistance to the constant stream of
visitors seemingly from all parts of the world. Internet access has, to date,
been unavailable but here free access is provided - a facility we gladly take
advantage of to catch up with emails.
On to another FCFS campsite - Gros Ventre – before making
our way to the Jackson Fish Hatchery where Audrey and Ken are waiting for
us. For the last three months they have
been volunteering at the Hatchery where each year literally hundreds of
thousands of indigenous Cut-throat Trout are bred to replenish stocks in local
waterways where they are under threat from the introduced Lake Trout. They live in their 5th wheel rig
on site. We get a ‘behind the scenes’
tour of both the rig and the Hatchery.
The Hatchery is right
beside the National Elk Refuge where each year up to 70,000 elk spend the
winter. The town of Jackson was established right across their traditional
migratory route, thus denying them access to their usual wintering grounds, so
the Federal Government created the reserve. Cattle grazing is no longer
permitted and the elk receive supplementary feed in order to see them through
harsh times.
Audrey and Ken…we met
Audrey when we were walking Wainwright’s Coast to Coast (C2C) in England in
2006. Happily, we have remained in
constant contact with her over the intervening years, so this is a very
exciting time for us all, and hopefully also for Ken, who we are about to meet
for the first time. And, of course, Mr
P, Audrey’s cat, about whom we have been hearing for the past 8 years…and what
a handsome chap he is!!
Heavy rain overnight puts paid to our planned ‘introduction
to the Tetons’ tour in Ken’s truck, but Audrey offers to drive us into Jackson
and be our ‘town guide’ for the afternoon.
The weather clears and today’s aborted plan becomes tomorrow’s new
plan. We pack our lunch and park at the
Hatchery, climb into Ken’s F350 and visit the picturesque Jenny Lake, walk the
String Lake trail to where it joins Leigh Lake, and chat to a canoe touring
group about to head up Leigh Lake and into the wilderness.
Away from the crags of the Teton Range, we venture onto the
Bridger-Teton National Forest road which takes us to the Gros Ventre Slide,
where in 1925, the side of the hill came tumbling down, dammed the river, and
slid up the other side of the valley.
This formed a lake, but, as water will have its way, about 2 years
later, the dam broke, part of the ‘wall’ fell away flooding the valley and
killing 6 people in the village of Kelly. The lake remains and Kelly has been
somewhat restored.The Mormon influence on this part of Wyoming is still
obvious with the remains of early settlements – a few houses, barns, and water
still running along an irrigation system dug by hand in the early 1900’s – a
real testament to the pioneering spirit!
The day ends with a
gondola ride up the hill at the Jackson Hole Ski resort – real tourist stuff,
where Ken states our party composition as “2 adults and 2 Australians!” He’s definitely warming to the Aussie sense
of humour!
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