Day 9

A Day of Straight Adventure in The Hole

In Jackson Hole, there is no bellying up to the bar for the day or wandering around to see the sights. Ed told us to be ready by 10am for whitewater rafting and other activities. Sure enough, Ed pulled up around 11:30 (it was too cold to raft before then) with a whitewater raft straped to the back of his Jeep. Apparently picking up a whitewater raft, paddles, life jackets, and a trailer is standard procedure in these parts. We drove about an hours to the drop point on the Snake River for some Wyoming rafting.

The temperature of the water at the drop point was approximately 39 degrees. With Ed as our master wrafter, Pete, Brendan, Trish, and Jeannelle embarked down the Snake River. Chowda heads Pete and Brendan were up front rocking the boat trying to get some waves goin. The sea, or river, was angry my friends this day and we hit some strong rapids as we made our way down. We hit the two major rapids, Big Kahuna and The Lunch Counter, with no one being bounced from the boat. The next stop was the cliff where you can jump about 25-20 feet into the current. Ed made it up no problem, Brendan for the life of him couldn't make it up the cliff, and Pete eventually made it up for the jump. Brendan manned the throw rope and fished Ed and Pete out of the water after their jumps, very cool and we have pictures. This may have seemed like a full day, however, we were not done. We got the boat out of the water and back in the Jeep, Ed: "Hey you guys wanna go hiking?" We look at each other with a single response, "When in the Hole..."

Being in Jackson Hole is just straight up outdoor activities. We took the Jeep through the Elk Refuge (have to see the pictures, insane) and up to a hiking point through Curtis Canyon. The road up to the hike was 8-10 miles of dirt road 4x4ing, bouncing/zig-zaging our way a couple thousand feet over the valley. The hiking group is Pete, Brendan, Jeannelle, and Ed with Reegen (the dog, a Puggle: Pug/Beagle). About 20 minutes into the hike Reegen takes off way off the trail and into the wild. Jeannelle takes off after Reegen, Ed takes off after Jeannelle, and Pete and Brendan are left on the trail yelling for Jeannelle, Ed and Reegen. Reegan is found... 20 minutes later. The consensus is Reegen (who weighs all of 30 pounds) smelled Grizzly Bear, went after it and scared it away only to get lost off the side of the mountain. After this whole ordeal Brendan and Pete are sucking some serious wind as the group continued up the mountain. The goal of the hike is to find the Goodman Lake for some fly fishing. We come up over a small pass and see/hear a small river:
Pete: "Ahh a river, I have discovered a river. We will name it The River Pete."
Ed: "Why not just Pete's River?"
Pete: "It will be The River Pete, sounds more majestic, trust me."

At this point however, it is 730, we are no where near a lake, Brendan needs an oxygen tank, there is no river in sight, and the snow (yes snow) is getting deeper. We decide to turn back and make our way back for sunset over the Tetons.

Quote of the Day: Getting ready for the hike, Ed: "Should I bring by BEAR repelant spray?"
Brendan: "Ahh we going to to need that, Ed?" (Expecting an immeditate negative)
Ed: "Not sure, think we'll pack it to be safe". Brendan's facial reaction too much to describe.

Song of the Day: "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister (look it up, its worth it)


When in The Hole... It was a very long day.

Pete and B