Opal-
This weekend my dad came to visit and we made him camp every single night he was here. (He was perfectly fine with this, his new sleeping pad is basically a mattress.) After work on Thursday, I headed to Bozeman to pick him up from the airport. We caught up on the beautiful drive through Montana back to Old Faithful where he got to see our cabin. We picked up Oliver and headed down to Lewis Lake Campground on the south side of the park. It was dark by the time we got there so we set up and went to sleep after a quick look at the stars.
The next morning we got up early and headed to the Tetons. Now my goal for this trip was to spend time with my Dad of course, but more importantly to see a moose. So every time we passed what looked like good moose habitat on the drive we would say "Oh that looks like good moose habitat."
We stopped at Colter Bay and picked up backpacking permits for Trapper Lake and some food. Then we attempted to park at the trailhead but it was clear that it was much too busy. So we decided to come back around 2pm and drove around the park stopping at Death Canyon to hike for a while. The drive to Death Canyon was full of "really good moose habitat." At Death Canyon we hiked up to the Phelps Lake overlook and on the way saw a black bear scaling a pine tree. We stopped and watched it for a while and a small crowd gathered. A few of them were kids and after seeing the black mass up in the tree said "That's the worst bear ever." Personally, I disagree, I've never seen a bear climb a tree before and it did it with such skill and so easily. At the overlook, we stopped for a while and listened to people talk about the "3,000 feet" of elevation gain that it took to get down to the bottom of the lake. In reality, it was around 600.
Unfortunately, this summer hasn't made me any more fond of people, and this hike was bringing out my dislike.
Anyway, we got to our trailhead eventually and started the hike. It was around 4 miles in 4 miles out, flat, and mostly followed Leigh Lake which has gorgeous clear water. We stopped a few times for the views and arrived at the campsite around four. It was tucked away in some rocks behind which sat Trapper Lake. A creek flowed into the lake dammed by a beaver den. So went went upstream of the dam to refill our water (No one wants beaver fever). We were all hot and sweaty and the flies had come out so we decided to go for a dip. The water was freezing. The kind of cold that physically takes your breath away and makes you tingle when you get out. But we all got in anyway and sat around the lake for a while. Then we set up our camp and made dinner. We kept checking the lake for moose as the sun sank because it was "really good moose habitat" but no moose appeared. We did, however, see a beaver. It swam back and forth trying to figure out what to do about the guests near its den, and eventually decided the best thing to do was slap its tail on the water and wait. So we let it be.
The next morning we headed out around 8:30am. Leigh Lake was glassy and calm in the morning with the Tetons reflecting on its surface. We were nearing the parking lot when all of a sudden my dad said "BEAR!" Oliver and I had walked right past it. It was a small bear but it was close. Around 20 feet away. I was getting flashbacks to my past bear experience. But this one was clearly uninterested in us and simply went on digging through logs and bushes. We watched it head down the trail for a while.
We got back to the parking lot around 10:30 and swam in String Lake with the rest of the Teton Tourists. Something that I've noticed is if you get just off the beaten path you are completely alone around here. String Lake was not off the beaten path. After swimming, in much warmer water this time, we got lunch at Colter Bay and headed to Grant to pick up a Yellowstone backcountry permit. Here we encountered Nina, an older woman who was even more tired of tourists than I am. It took us around an hour to get our permit. Luckily we weren't in a rush. Then we drove up to Canyon. We had decided on a shorter hike due to time, and my dad's newly formed blisters. The first half a mile was on the canyon rim and had spectacular views. Then the trail turns down for about another mile and a half to Ribbon Lake. Ribbon Lake is "really good moose habitat" with mosquitoes. We immediately started a fire to get rid of them and put our raincoats on to keep them off our arms. Throughout dinner, we had to beat ourselves with willow sticks to stop the swarms. Other than that though Ribbon Lake is beautiful. Every few seconds we could hear trout jumping, this agonized Oliver who had not brought his rod to any of the lakes we had been to. A mistake he will not be making again any time soon.
The next day we headed back to Old Faithful, showered unpacked, and gave my dad a tour. He saw the Inn where we work, the boardwalk and the recreation center. We got some ice cream and attempted to see Grand Geyser go off but by the time it was an hour late from its prediction we were ready to leave. We did catch Old Faithful though.
Then Dad and I headed up to Mammoth Hot Springs where we camped for the night. We had a nice dinner at their dining room, watched the sunset, and some deer meander through the camp. During the night we heard elk bugling nearby. Very loudly I might add. Enough to keep us up for a good while.
In the morning I drove him to the airport, stopping in Gardiner for a good old food truck breakfast, and at Auto Zone for a back windshield wiper. It was a very nice weekend, although unfortunately in all the good moose habitats no moose were seen.
Thank you Dad for all the food, thoughts, and jokes.
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