GART Day 5: Staying put

Because of the change in departure day, this was our first stop where we had two night in the same place. After a somewhat rough night, I slept way too long (Frank felt the need to make sure I was still alive) but we eventually made it to breakfast. Then it was off to the main event of the day: hiking in the Tetons! I wanted something that rated as an actual hike (so no pavement) and was a little more than the casual tourist would be willing to undertake. After some research we decided on the Taggart Lake- Bradley Lake loop in the southern part of the park. And boy were we glad we did.

It took about half an hour to get to the trailhead and the car park was pretty full by the time we got there. Nevertheless, she persisted. We headed toward Bradley Lake first and it seemed like the 800 feet elevation change happened entirely on this part of the hike! We kept going up and had fabulous panoramic views of Bradley Lake – one of the 6 glacial lakes in the park.

We then headed toward Taggart Lake which was where we found the real magic. The trail goes right along the lake front (which means we had a lot of “down” to do first) and we were treated with crystal clear waters with spectacular mountain views in the background. I couldn’t resist dipping my feet in the water – which was really cold! – before continuing on the journey. All in all, the route we took covered 5.9 miles which we did in just about 3 hours. We then visited various scenic spots in the park before heading back to the hotel to take a dip in the pool to wash off the dust.

Then to the Blue Heron bar for a drink before dinner. The reason we chose this lodge is that it is where the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium takes place each year. It is hosted by the KC Fed and many of my colleagues work very hard to make it a premier event for economists from around the world. Since I will never be an official attendee at the big event, I really wanted to see what the fuss was all about. And I promised a friend at work that I would have a drink in the Blue Heron for him – so I did: a Jackson Lake Lemonade which apparently involves huckleberries as do so many other things here.

We then had a lovely dinner in the Mural room where we got to watch the sunset over the Tetons. Afterwards, we struck up a conversation with an English couple and funnily enough, the wife went to school down the road from where I used to live in London. It was another case of “it’s a small world.”