Exploring the Tetons

It’s Mackenzie again!

Madison has been on here talking about the important things, like our rotation site and our housing, so I get to tell you about the fun things we’ve done! After finding out that I was coming to this rotation, one of the main things I heard about was visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. These parks are expansive with so many things to see, so you certainly have to be intentional with your time there!

As a quick side note: you do have to pay an entrance fee to both parks, and the closest entrance to Yellowstone from Ft. Washakie is only accessible through Grand Teton National Park. The most cost-efficient option is the Annual Interagency Pass. It is $80 and gets you unlimited access into all national parks (for reference, a day pass to each park is $20-30 so the annual pass pays for itself with just two visits to Yellowstone). The easiest way to get this pass is actually by purchasing it at the park entrance! 

Our first weekend here in Wyoming we got to explore the Tetons, and it certainly lived up to the hype. On day one we hit all the picturesque spots and did a quick hike to Inspiration Point!

Now I won’t lie… when we first hiked to Inspiration Point, I thought it was difficult. The air is thinner here, so I had a hard time catching my breath, plus I wouldn’t say that I’m at my peak physical shape. BUT the hike on day two made Inspiration Point look like a walk in the park.

So where did we hike to on day 2? Well, let me tell you about it. Madison heard of this gorgeous spot called Delta Lake (I later found out that she found it on a fitness influencers social media, and they described it as “tough”—which certainly meant that we were not qualified to be doing this hike), and after looking at some pictures online we knew we had to go check it out. The only problem? It was not easy to get too. At all. We hiked across boulder fields (literally), gained over 2,000 feet in elevation, and hiked a total of 8.5 miles. There were points where I almost turned around, but in the end, I am glad I didn’t. After we reached Delta Lake, I understood why so many people suffered through this hike—it was breathtaking. The water is from a glacier, so it was nice and cold (if you choose to go for a swim) and the air was much cooler, which was perfect after the long hike. 

After finally getting back to our car after the Delta Lake hike, I can say that it was 100% worth it, but I would never do it again. Please enjoy the pictures of our boulder and mountain climbing!


Until next time,

Mackenzie


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 2 - Johnny & Jackson Hole

Image
Week 2 Hello again, When we first got to town Tom and I passed an interesting looking trail that was called Johnny Behind the Rocks. Last Sunday we were able to go out there for the first time. We decided to hike up Red Ridge and try to make it to Johnny Falls, then hiked back on Dry Well Road (despite the name you are still climbing up a massive hill). Also, the Egyptian Time Machine sounds cool, but there’s no pyramids or hieroglyphics to look at so, wouldn’t recommend. Round trip it was going to be about an 8-mile hike. This is a trail that I would say is definitely worth it, the snow made it more difficult for us of course but the views it had were amazing. Just be sure you do it with plenty of daylight and are prepared to climb up about 650 ft. if you take the same paths that we did.       We spent week 2 at the Riverton clinic and met the staff over there. Everyone was very nice and had great recommendations on things to do in the area and Jackson. We spent t...
Read more

Traveling to Wyoming: Block 3

Image
  Greetings from Wyoming! My name is Mackenzie, and I have the unique opportunity to spend my 3rd APPE block in Ethete, Wyoming at an IHS clinic on the Wind River Reservation. My classmate, Madison, and I found out that we would be on this rotation together around 6 months in advance, giving us plenty of time to prepare and brainstorm all the things we wanted to see. One of the main things we discussed was the travel plans and how we planned to commute around the area (spoiler: my husband (Levi) and I drove up so that we could have my vehicle). The next step was to figure out when  I could arrive. After a quick email to our preceptor, it was determined that I could move in the Friday before our rotation started. This was a blessing because not only did it give me enough time to get everything unpacked, but it also gave Levi and me a chance to explore the surrounding area and have our own adventures before he flew home that following Monday.  Levi's grandparents we got to ...
Read more