Yellowstone and the Backcountry of Grand Teton
I’m really good at procrastinating. Always have been. We got back from our six day trip through Yellowstone and Grand Teton Friday afternoon and I keep putting off writing this blog post. I often procrastinate to avoid a something I don’t want to do, which I’m guessing is the most common reason. Occasionally though, I delay action because I don’t believe I can do justice to the task at hand. And, that’s the case now. I know the pictures won’t capture the beauty and grandiosity of the landscape and my words won’t convey how much the four of us enjoyed our time in the backcountry. However, I currently have wifi and everyone else is watching a movie so I will stop googling yoga studios in Bozeman and do my best to recount our six day adventure.
When we were planning this trip we knew that Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks were both high priority stops. There is so much to see in the two adjacent parks that to make the best use of your time you should stay in lodging inside the park or be prepared to spend lots of time in the car. By the time we started planning the trip most of the lodging in both parks was already booked and what was still available was pretty pricey. Cameron and the kids had expressed an interest in doing some camping in this area, but as we have never camped as a family it seemed a little crazy to attempt it for the first time in a gigantic national park over 2400 miles away from home. And, I had zero interest in the provisioning required for such an undertaking. So, we outsourced the provisioning, and most of the hard work, to the amazing people at OARS.
OARS is an expedition/adventure company that has spent the last 50 years offering guided trips all over the world. I came across them in December when I googled “guided camping trips in Yellowstone”. At first glance, it seemed too good to be true. The experience of camping in the backcountry in an iconic national park without all of the planning, preparation, and hard work that normally would entail. The six day Yellowstone/Grand Teton Adventure offered everything we wanted. In January, we took the plunge and booked the trip. We had no idea how many other people would be with us or if there would be any other kids. Everything we would need for the trip, including our sleeping kits, would have to fit in a waterproof sack that OARS provided each guest. As a serial over-packer, that concept was a bit stressful.
Fast forward six months. We met our trip leader, Blake, and the rest of the group in Jackson, Wyoming last Saturday night for a pre-trip meet and greet. We immediately were relieved to see that our group included another family (Geoff, Kate, Iris, and Julian) with two kids close in age to ours. Over the course of the next six months Ada and Jackson will be together almost non-stop so any opportunity to play and engage with other kids is very important and appreciated. In addition to the other family there was a retired attorney and professor, Neil, whose daughter, Hannah, was flying in late that night. This was their seventh OARS trip so we knew we were with some experienced adventurers.
The next morning we all met our second guide, Katie, and loaded into an OARS van and headed for Yellowstone. It was nice for Cameron and I to not have to do any of the driving as it’s hard to check out all the scenery and safely keep your eyes on the road. Plus, there are SO MANY people in Yellowstone which makes driving and parking a huge pain. On the first day we visited West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, saw Old Faithful erupt, and caught some glimpses of the Grand Prismatic pools through their steamy haze. That night we stayed in a hotel in West Yellowstone. The next morning we hit the road early so we could get a parking spot for the Norris Geyser Basin. Our next stop, and our favorite part of the day, was the Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The trail to the top of the falls and the view out over the canyon was steep and zigzagged down the side of the hill. You could hear the falls long before you saw them and it wasn’t until you finally got to the bottom of the trail that you got a clear view of the canyon stretched out before you. We finished the day hiking to Steamboat Geyser and stopping off to see Dragon’s Mouth Spring before we spent the night in cabins at Flagg Ranch on the south end of the park.
Blake and Katie did a great job providing interesting facts and historical context as we worked our way through Yellowstone over those two days. It was great that we got to see the park and didn’t have to drive, prepare meals, or make decisions about what to visit and in what order. I think had we been left to our own devices Cameron and I would have gotten very frustrated with the amount of people and traffic and not been able to focus on the wonders of the park. The entire time we were there, I kept thinking about how early explorers and settlers must have felt when they first came across the geyser pools, canyon, and waterfalls. I’m guessing it was a combination of awe and fear. It’s probably good that they didn’t know they were on top of a massive super-volcano at the time.
On the third morning we were joined by one more guide, Miles, and headed into the backcountry of Grand Teton National Park via sea kayaks on Jackson Lake. OARS has a J Rig boat that carries all the camping supplies, water, and gear that is needed for the next three days which allows for a “glamping” version of backcountry camping. On the first day we paddled seven miles and set up camp on Grassy Island, which OARS has the exclusive rights to use. The island sits right below Mt. Moran so the views are amazing. After we got our tents set up and got unpacked the kids took to exploring every inch of the island while the adults sat and enjoyed an adult beverage. That night we got our first taste of our guides’ cooking skills and we were pretty blown away. They served goat cheese and sundried tomato bruschetta, chicken tikka masala, quinoa, and a cabbage slaw, all created on some folding tables and propane stoves. Dessert was a pineapple upside down cake cooked in a dutch oven inside a metal beer box. Exhausted and full, we headed to bed for our first night out in the wilderness. The kids shared a tent near ours and did really well for their first night camping. I had a mild freakout in the middle of the night when I woke up in the pitch black and forgot I was in a tent. Which led to me worrying that the same would happen to the kids, but of course they were fine.
We spent our second day in the backcountry kayaking to Bearpaw Bay where we hiked to Lee Lake. Ada and some others in the group decided to take a dip in the alpine waters while Cameron, Jackson, and I sat warmly on the shores taking in the welcome sunshine. We then hiked back to our kayaks and returned to Grassy Island for the afternoon and evening. Again, we were treated to a delicious dinner and the kids enjoyed having an entire island at their disposal.
Evening view of Mt. Moran and Mt. Bivouac from Grassy Island.
Our wakeup call (“Good Morning Grassy Island, coffee is ready!”) came a bit earlier on Thursday as we packed up camp and then kayaked across Moran Bay for a longer and more difficult hike where we would get a panoramic view of Jackson Lake. It was a tough climb, but completely worth it once we reached the top of a rocky outcrop and saw the lake laid out before us. In the distance, we could see yellow clouds of pollen coming south from the lodgepole pine trees in Yellowstone. After our hike back down we proceeded to paddle five miles east to the other side of the lake in much rougher water than we had previously encountered due to a strong wind coming up from the south. We were all pretty tired and soaked by the time we reached Spalding Bay, our final campsite of the trip. After another delightful dinner, some of us got back in the kayaks for a silent sunset paddle into a nearby lily pond. We finished our final night of camping with some Smores and mosquito swatting.
Friday morning we were up and out early for our final day of our OARS adventure. We did our final fireline to load up the J Rig with all our camp gear and then kayaked back to the boat ramp we’d left three days before. A short van ride took us to the Snake River where we got back on the water for a 10 mile float in an OARS six person raft. That part of the Snake is only a Class One so it was a pleasant three hour ride with great views of the Tetons and some occasional wildlife spotting. After kayaking 18 miles in the past three days we were all happy to let the guides handle the river paddling. We were off the river and back to our hotel late Friday afternoon. Smelly and sticky with sunscreen, hugs and phone numbers were exchanged before we started our short drive to Driggs, Idaho where we were staying that night.
Sunset Paddle on Jackson Lake
I really can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed the entire trip and how fantastic Blake, Katie, and Miles were as our OARS guides. It takes a special person to be successful in that role. Choosing to be responsible for the safety, feeding, shelter, entertainment, and enjoyment of ten complete strangers (including four kids) for six days is more than I’d ever be willing to take on. We all feel so lucky to have gotten to know them and they certainly left their mark on Ada and Jackson. I’m so glad that the kids got to spend time with adults that LOVE their jobs and have found joy and fulfillment in an occupation that doesn’t involve sitting in an office. Needless to say, we’d highly recommend OARS and look forward to taking another trip with them sometime in the next few years.
Also, this trip wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable without the company of our fellow campers. There were lots of laughs and memorable moments, which I will not include here as they only signed up for a camping trip and not having stories told about them in our blog. Geoff, Kate, Iris, Julian, Neil, and Hannah- please know that we are better off having met you and we couldn’t have asked for better people to share a bus and island with for six days.
Apologies for such a long post and thanks to those of you that stuck it out the end. If you’re interested in a more concise and occasionally more comical perspective on our trip you can follow Cameron on Instagram.