Vacation Report, Day 5…rafting and walking down a mountain

Like most days on this trip so far, we started the day early…even earlier than usual in this case since we had somewhere we needed to be.  Our rafting excursion, the only planned activity of the vacation, required us to meet in town at 6:40 to check in.  Considering this would be the day we would be closely interacting with water, it was a little disappointing to see the morning temperature drop below 40 to a chilly 37.  Due to the cold, the excursion check-in desk recommended we rent wetsuits (sleeveless) for the rapids portion of the ride, which seemed like a good decision. 

The raft trip itself was a 2 part ride.  The first 8 miles being a calm float trip to take in scenery, grab some pictures, etc.  Then, there was a stop for breakfast at a campsite before embarking on the additional 8 mile rapids section of the river.  Even though we rented wetsuits and booties, we decided not to use them for the float trip section.  This was a mistake since the water in the bottom of the boat froze our feet, and they didn’t thaw until toward the end of breakfast.  The scenery on the float section was beautiful, as we travelled through what was basically a wide canyon.  Unfortunately there was a road to our right most of the trip, which kept away a lot of the 4 legged creatures we had a chance to encounter.  We did however, get plenty of great bald eagle and osprey sightings since they were out peering into the river from the treetops looking for breakfast. 

Leaving for the float section of the raft trip

The pictures through the morning activities were limited for a couple reasons.  We had our first camera casualty when Susan (my wife) had her camera slip into the bottom of the raft and take on water.  This was a big loss since she’s undoubtedly the best photographer of the bunch.  Then, my camera’s batteries went dead.  Of course, for the rapids section of the trip all we had was a waterproof film camera, so there won’t be any pictures from that yet, either. 

Breakfast was a welcome break to warm up our feet…and the food was delicious as an added bonus.  Pancakes (made from a rice-based batter), eggs, sausage, coffee, melted butter and syrup made up the menu.  Post breakfast, we crossed the river to our bus and donned the wetsuits to prepare for getting wet. 

The rapids leg was all category 2 and 3 rapids, enough to toss us around, but not too much for beginners.  There was one rapid in particular, the lunch-counter, that really hit us hard.  It was basically 3 giant waves hitting the boat head on in quick succession.  No one went into the river, but the river pretty much went into us.  Afterward, Susan decided she might as well jump in the river for fun (it was 56 degrees water temp).  On the bus ride back from the rafting trip, we did see a moose just like I hoped, but it was a female (no impressive antlers) and had its head half buried in the river drinking, so we didn’t get a very good shot of it.

Post rafting was lunch and some errands in Jackson, then heading up to Teton Village to check out the tram to the summit of Rendezvous Mountain (~10,750 feet just south of the Tetons).  We walked to the “true” peak, which was extra windy, then decided to attempt an “easy” stroll 3 miles down the mountain to the Lookout bar for happy hour.  Turns out, walking down a mountain is more difficult than it seems.  We completed the 3.25 mile hike down the steep access road covered with loose gravel, and definitely earned our beers before riding the gondola back to the mountain base. 

A view from the top of Rendezvous Mountain

The tram we rode to the top…holds 100 people + gear

Myself and my sister making our way down the mountain

The goal, the Lookout Bar and gondola the rest of the way to the bottom

The rest of the night was cleanup, dinner, and bed…we were worn out from the day and also have our most ambitious hike planned for tomorrow.  Where I’ll hopefully see a bighorn sheep, but will settle for a moose with antlers.