Not-so-Grand Tetons

Now this part of the trip was supposed to be our big camping trip: 2 nights, 31 miles, peaking out around 10,700 ft. I was very excited for this one. But it never got going. When I went to get our backcountry permit, the ranger told me that we needed crampons and an ice axe to get where we were planning on going. Apparently they had gotten 2 feet of snow 2 weeks ago and our 31 mile loop was down to an 8 mile out and back beacuse of trail conditions. We still wanted to head out, and the trail had a few nice views, but the majority of it was in a mosquito infested valley. We got to the campsite pretty quickly, and there was a raging creek next to us. This was perfect for Steve and Joe because it would drown out any bear noise during the night. We hung out with a couple kids who were doing a road trip, but they were taking the unplanned approach. I had to respect them for that. We then headed off to sleep and sometime in the middle of the night a thunderstorm rolled right over us. The campsite was in a canyon and the thunder of the storm was echoing off the walls and sounded loud as hell. Maybe the fact that we were only in a tent made the storm seem a little more serious. The next day we headed off for night #2, and part of the way through the hike I made suggested to everyone that we scrap the second night and go off the itinerary. Now don't get me wrong, the sights of the Tetons were beautiful, but the hike was not what I had in mind. We ended just getting back in the car and driving. From here, all we needed was our handy atlas and the open road. We drove through Yellowstone, saw some bison, and headed out into the vastness of Wyoming.