Monday, August 29, 2005


August 19, Friday
We were up at 7:30 and out of camp by 8:00. We stopped at the Lodge armed with camera and binoculars to take in the view from the restaurant windows. However the low fog block the view, so we finished breakfast and headed south for our tour of Jackson Hole

Out first stop was the road to Signal Mountain. This is the highest point in the valley. The read wind 5 miles to 7,600 feet where we could see all of the NE to SE side of the valley. The experience was somewhat spoiled by a woman talking as load as she could to her daughter about her husbands need to fine a drug store to get a medication for his eye problems. When we left that location we backtracked to the south west end of the mountain and beautiful view of Jackson Hole (Valley) and the Grand Tetons Mountains west of it. This was the location that a photographer by the name of Jackson took a panoramic photographic view of Jackson Hole and the Tetons behind in 1875. This photograph and others was credited in convincing Congress to establish Yellowstone as the nations first National Park. To produce these photos Jackson had to pack in chemicals, glass plates, a darkroom tent, and other equipment required to develop photograph on the spot since in those days that is what was required.

Fifteen miles south of Signal Mountain we came to Jenny lake. A very popular spot for rock climbing and hiking. The parking lot was full and the overflow had just one spot left. Walk a quarter mile to the boat dock where we took a pontoon boat with 17 other folks for a trip across the lake to the trail head. The first hike was to Hidden Falls, a half mile hike rising you to 400 vertical feet above the lake. The hike was mostly steps and we past student in training for rock climbing with all there gear. On arrival we were at the base of a 100 foot high waterfall. We took a photo opt and headed back down. The boats seem to arrive every 5 minutes so it wasn�t long before we were off the other side of the lake and our car. We headed south until we exited the park and met highway 89 and proceeded north on the east side of the park. It was mostly flat valley floor, but did provide some nice photo opportunities for pictures of the Grand Tetons.

The Tetons were caused by a fault 40 miles long running North South. The eastern side of the fault dropped while the wester side rose. The western side rose to 13,00 feet at it highest point and the eastern fell 4 time as far as the wester side rose. With the collection of snow, ice, and glaciers the west side eroded into the jagged mountains we see now. The east side formed a large valley referred to as Jackson Hole.

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