Day 8: Grand Teton National Park
Today was a much better day than yesterday. Mason and I planned two activities for the day, and executed both perfectly (I can tell that I’ve been on my own for over a week now because I’ve started talking about the dog like he’s a person…)
First, we drove into Grand Teton National Park and did the scenic loop drive around the park. I really can’t describe how awe inspiring the park was. I’ve been looking at the same mountain range from different angles since I hit town back on Saturday, but the park itself clearly is designed around the best possible views. I took a ton of photos while we were driving around because at every scenic turnoff, I said, “Nothing’s going to beat that, I need to take a picture,” only to get to the next turnoff and say, “Well, actually, that might beat the last one, let’s take another picture.” The drive took about two hours with all the stopping and was well worth it. However, it took me another hour to get back to camp since we are staying on the West side of the mountains and the park is on the East. I will happily live the rest of my life without driving through Jackson, Wyoming again—some how all the events of my life for the past three days have involved driving through that (admittedly charming) resort town with poor traffic flow.
In the afternoon, Mason and I decided that we needed to take advantage of the nature around us here and went for a 5 mile run up and down a mountain here in the National Forest. It was the first time I was actually able to run with Mason since our first stop, back in Missouri, because I’ve been either running half marathons or recovering from half marathons most of the time. That meant it was Mason’s first time running at altitude, which I was a little concerned about, but he did great. I carried my can of bear spray with me on the run, but didn’t see any bears and none of the other hikers I passed had bear spray on them and I feel peer pressure to leave it behind next time… Also, I was pretty self-conscious walking up to a lone female hiker to ask her to take my picture at the top of the mountain—the answer to the “Would a woman feel more threatened alone in the woods by a bear or a man?” question that gripped the internet a few months ago becomes pretty obvious when the man is soaked in sweat and holding a can of bear mace. Fortunately, once I started talking I was able to seem a bit less concerning and she took some awesome photos of Mason and I on top of the mountain.
Looking towards tomorrow, I’m making the first significant change to our plan. One of the centerpieces of this trip was going to be a three day stay in Yellowstone, but the more I’ve researched it the more it seems like a bad idea to bring a dog camping there. Between the wildlife and the geothermal activity, it’s not a good scene for pets. Best case scenario there’s nothing for him to do, worst case scenario he gets off leash and jumps in a geyer or something. So instead, I’ve booked us a campsite in Montana, much closer to where we will be for the next race. I will still drive through Yellowstone on the way there, so my national park pass remains a good investment and we will get to wave at some buffalo or what have you, but from there we are trucking on up the road. Also, after the last couple of days camping out next to a Girl Scout troop I might be done camping surrounded by the teaming masses--- it’s time to go find some solitude!
