Hikes- Lake Solitude, Big Elk and Table Rock

Lake Solitude via Cascade Canyon

This hike was amazingly beautiful.  We had planned this for a long time as our one big walking hike with whoever wanted to go, mostly because our friend Chera really wanted to do it.  But then she couldn't even come.  There was only one person, Tracy, who was not a runner.  But that wasn't the biggest problem.  The problem was that she only brought one 16 oz water bottle for the whole long day.  She ran out quickly and was filling it in little springs along the way.  That is never a good idea.  We ran into these this group of older, more seasoned hiker ladies who were using a filter to refill their packs.  We kind of mentioned it and they offered to let her use it.  They were our idols.  They were from Florida and were teachers and spent their summers traveling and hiking.  We ended up at the lake close to them as well and I told Tracy she needed to finish her water again and ask them to use their filter again before we headed back down.  We offered to take a group picture of them and I chatted with them for awhile.  I noticed one of them had a knife strapped to her belt, and we couldn't stop talking about them.  It was a long hike back with Tracy.  She was just beat and not quite in hiking shape like the rest of us.  So by the time we got back to the ferry, there was a line that was almost an hour long and we were all out of water because those of us who had some had shared it with Tracy.  It was the longest day.  I was in a bad mood that we had to wait and we didn't have service to let our families know how late we would be.  I started blaming all tourists, saying that everyone in America is coming to our parks.  It's true.  There are so many people, and so many license plates from everywhere.  I think I got three new ones for Dylan's bingo game in the parking lot.  We got stuck in traffic and took another 45 minutes just to get through the small town of Jackson Hole.  Then Holly got carsick and I had to pull over a couple times for her to throw up.  Very eventful day!  We stopped in Swan Valley for ice cream and Holly was able to eat a slice of pizza and felt much better.  After dropping everyone else off, I finally rolled into home around 9pm.  So much later than I ever usually am.  I was tired and hungry.  And I woke up the next morning at 6:30 to run 16 miles with Sherri, lol!  Marathon training is hard.  But the run was surprisingly easier than I had expected.  I guess you use different muscles when hiking slow than when running.

First bear sighting on a trail for me!  We saw a lot of moose and an elk too.

Kariesa, Tracy, Holly, Julie, Sherri, Cheryl, Joanie

Big Elk Creek

This is one that's not too far and I had wanted to try it.  It was fine, nothing too special but we enjoyed it.

Table Rock

I hadn't planned a Table Rock hike because we had done this one so many times already.  But Holly had been wanting to do it.  And I felt like another challenge.  Why not.  It was a great day!  We saw another moose.  I startled it right next to the trail and it took off running.  I'm just glad it didn't run towards me!