I hope everyone had a good weekend! Almost everyone out here works in the service industry, so I don't even really keep up with the days of the week anymore. This week my weekend will be Wednesday and Thursday. When I worked at Ben Silver in Charleston, it was a little bit harder because most of my friends worked a typical Monday-Friday schedule, so when I had to work a Saturday, I felt like I was really missing out! Here, you can pretty much find people doing something fun every day of the week. Sometimes it's harder to find something to do on a Friday night than it is on a random weeknight! Last week, I had Thursday and Friday off, and William had Friday off as well. He suggested hiking Goodwin Lake, a dog-friendly trail in the Gros Ventre Wilderness (part of Bridger Teton National Forest, on the other side of the valley from Grand Teton National Park.)
Look at that! MORE snow! Everything was fine for the first 2-2.5 miles or so, and then there were some massive snowbanks. Well, massive for June. (The one pictured above was one of the first we saw... and probably also the smallest!) I have to admit, I really was not ready to hike through a bunch of snow. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but it is HARD to hike through snow in regular hiking shoes, especially when it's nasty, old, hard snow. I may or may not have acted a little too dramatic about the whole thing.
Nice view from the start!
I think I mentioned the incorrect mileage on our snowy hike to Ski Lake a few weeks ago. It wasn't too far off, but enough to be noticeable. Also, on my walk on the river a few days ago, the mileage was mismarked too! Our hike to Goodwin Lake stole the show on this one. It was supposed to be 5 miles roundtrip. 5 miles- not too bad, right? I was thinking it would take a couple of hours max. It ended up being nearly 7.5 miles. That is 50% longer! It really wasn't that big of a deal because we had nothing else to do, but it definitely bothered me at the time.
Look at that! MORE snow! Everything was fine for the first 2-2.5 miles or so, and then there were some massive snowbanks. Well, massive for June. (The one pictured above was one of the first we saw... and probably also the smallest!) I have to admit, I really was not ready to hike through a bunch of snow. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but it is HARD to hike through snow in regular hiking shoes, especially when it's nasty, old, hard snow. I may or may not have acted a little too dramatic about the whole thing.
On the bright side, Sammie was able to cool off! Unlike me, she loves to find snow mid-hike. She licks it and lays in it for a while to cool down.
On the way to the lake, we saw a nasty looking pond. I didn't take a picture, but I wish I had. It was pretty funny- we were both like, "Really? This is it?!" Luckily, we saw more people hiking down the trail and knew to continue. Finally, we reached the lake! I wish I had a panoramic function on my camera so that I could have gotten the whole thing, but I had to take a few photos instead.
The water is so clear!
The one upside of all the snow (which got heavier as we got closer to the lake) was that Sammie had a blast. Even after hiking almost 4 miles to the lake, she went absolutely wild in the snow. At one point, she was just sprinting back and forth on a 15-foot or so stretch of snow. I wonder if she will act like that all winter!
The hike loops around the lake and then goes back down the same trail. You can choose to go further and summit Jackson Peak, but we just did the loop around the lake this time. It was nice to have a different view on the way back down!
Someone must have wanted to take a long break!
Sammie actually waiting for us. Definitely a rare sight.
One of the views on the way down.
Jackson Peak. It looked cool with the clouds around it! Maybe we'll go up one day.
Well, that's about it for the Goodwin Lake Hike. Overall, it was a nice hike. I do admit that I got a little bit dramatic when I realized how long it would be. One of the problems was that we basically started the hike hungry and didn't pack that much food since we didn't think we'd be there for that long. I think some extra food may have put me in a better mood! I was also a little upset about the snow... I know I am living in a cold climate now, and it snows a lot here, but when it is 85 degrees in June, I didn't expect to be hiking through snow banks! I have been thinking about winter recently, though, and I am looking forward to it. It will definitely be a different experience, but I think it will be an adventure! I have heard nothing but great things about the winter here. Until then, I'll keep updating everyone on our summer activities!
