Scrambling toward the summit

Last weekend Mark, Jennifer and I made it nearly to the top of Teewinot, located on the northern flank of the Grand Teton. We got a late start, and didn't want to get caught downclimbing in the dark, and create an epic for ourselves, so we turned around about 25 minutes from the summit. We made it back to the parking lot just as the light was shimmering into sunset. I'm super excited to try again for the summit, but not making the summit had little to do with the outcome of the day, which by all accounts was extraordinarily satisfying. The view from the rocky perches we scaled of the vast, yellow and orange covered valley below were striking. And the company ... great!

A beautiful morning view

Mark making the climb up

Jennifer

Me on the way up

Our turnaround point

Checking out the final pitch, for next time

We went straight up the gut ... it looks scarier than it turned out to be

Jennifer lovin' the fall colors

On our way out with the Teewinot in the background

An extraordinary sunset

The view of Teewinot from the parking lot

A reMarkable day

Last Saturday Captain Mark, or reMarkable, as he later became known, graciously took my mom, our friend from Australia Jane and me down the Snake River Canyon in an oar boat. It was Jane's first time on a raft, and we went into the trip planning to avoid all the rapids, but then Mark jokingly asked if we wanted to hit the meat of the Big Kahuna ... and the rest was whitewater. The fall colors in the canyon were busting as big as the smiles on all of our faces. We saw bald eagles and even a black bear cub ... a first for Mark in the 10 years he's been guiding that section of the river. A truly reMarkable day!

At the end of the trip, we had to push the boat back out into the water to get around some rocks so we could load the boat ... Mark pulled is best Huck Finn.

Ahhh-tum

Needless to say ...

it's been a good month or two.

From powder in May to hotsprings and bike excursions at the base of the Tetons, I've fallen in love with my new backyard ... and the people who like to play with me in it.

This year the so-called "off season" in Jackson has been anything but "off" ... it's either been dumping buckets of freshies or bluebird skies and 60 degrees.