Pizza and Adventures

Last Saturday, Haileigh and I went and hiked Mystic Falls. Because of the huge snowfall this winter, the falls were roaring. When we got back, I compared pictures from when I hiked it last year, and the difference was unbelievable. Also different between the two shots is that the first time, I had bug spray on my lens and did not yet know how to shoot manual. What a difference a year of practice and some alcohol wipes can make.

Mystic Falls, 6/9/16. 

Mystic Falls, 6/6/17.

On Tuesday, Haileigh, Paul, Daniel, and I did the short hike from Canyon to Cascade Canyon. It's just across the road, but it is fairly unknown, even amongst staff. We set up hammocks and listened to music as the sun set. The next day, I didn't work until 3 pm, so I drove down to the lake. I was going to sit outside and journal, but the mosquitos were insane. Instead, I went up to the hotel and sat in their lobby. It overlooks the lake and was thankfully bug-free.

Hammocking at Cascade Canyon, 6/6/17. 

I worked Thursday morning, but my managers let me leave early because Mackenzie, her boyfriend, and his family were coming through the park just for the afternoon. I decided to do Mystic with them, because I thought it would be a good, easy hike that we could get done pretty quickly.  On the way to Gardiner after the hike, Mackenzie and I saw a yearling black bear chilling on a log by the side of the road near Tower. We had pizza and ice cream there (I highly recommend Yellowstone Pizza Company. The service is so-so, but the pizza and cheesy bread are amazing), then they left for Bozeman and I drove back to Canyon. On my way, I saw a mama black bear with two yearling cubs. They quickly disappeared behind the hill, so I couldn't get any pictures. A little further up the road, there was one more yearling, but at that point, I just wanted to get home, so I kept driving. I stopped at Tower Falls to get a few pictures of the moon rising (it was the day before the full moon).

Cheesin' at Mystic Falls, 6/8/17. 

Moonrise from Tower Falls, 6/8/17. 

The next day, it rained all day, so we decided not to hike. That evening, it started snowing like crazy, so of course, some of the staff decided to have a snowball fight in front of the dorms. I had just showered and I went outside without a hat, so my hair froze. It was still hilariously fun.

The rest of the week focused mostly on work. They had me work eleven days in a row, and by the end of the "week", I was getting pretty grumpy. The only thing that kept me going was focusing on how huge my paycheck is going to be.

Yesterday was finally my day off! Haileigh and I were going to camp on Tuesday night, but it snowed all day, so we decided against it. Instead, we left early yesterday morning with a big group to go to the Tetons. We heard about a place called Delta Lake that is on an unmaintained trail. It's accessible from the Lupine Meadows trail head, but then breaks off in a different direction. On the way up, we saw two black bears pretty close up. The first was a cinnamon bear, and he was super close to the trail, so he was easy to photograph. We caught a glimpse of another black bear through the trees, but he was moving fast and didn't seem to even notice us.

Grand Teton from Lupine Meadows Trail, 6/14/17.

Cinnamon black bear, Lupine Meadows Trail, 6/14/17.

The weather was perfect, but when we got to the cutoff, there was a ton of snow on the ground. We tried so hard to find the trail beneath all of the snow, but it was pretty impossible. We were all spread out over this snowy boulder field on the Grand Teton, and we started to worry about someone getting lost or sliding down the mountain, so we sadly decided to turn around. To make ourselves feel better about not making it to the lake, we went to Jackson to get pizza. On the way back, Haileigh, Daniel, Carly, and I stopped at Jackson Lake Lodge to see one of our friends from last season. We chatted with him for a while outside of his dorm, then headed back.

Tetons with the most photographed barn in the world, 6/14/17. 

All of us are working 6 day weeks right now, which makes it a little difficult to do all of the trips that we have been planning. I still have yet to camp in the park, and it's starting to get to me. I need to sleep under the stars soon, for the sake of my sanity.

My animal count is now up to 6 grizzlies (two female, two male, and two cubs), twelve black bears (two separate moms with two cubs each, one adult in the distance, four separate yearlings, and the cinnamon one), 7 bighorn sheep (one male, six females), a bull moose, two swans, two ospreys with hatchlings, and two bald eagles.