Plenty of climbing and tourist fun in Jackson

27.8.-1.9. Jackson. After sunrise, we drive back to Pinedale. Along the way, we pick up a hiker who is walking from Mexico to Canada.

In Pinedale, our goal is to look out for rodeos and powwows, download new books, and do some shopping. Tonight, there is a rodeo in Jackson! We manage to get tickets, what luck. We say goodbye to Soukey and reach Jackson after about 2 hours of driving. First, we try to find the best hiking options. We get the necessary information at the Visitor Centre outside of Jackson. Tomorrow, we will climb the “Middle Teton”, a 10-hour tour to a nearly 4000m high peak. We are excited! Jackson turns out to be a fancy tourist resort. We are not too fond of the groomed ladies and gentlemen, the posh shops, and the overpriced housing. A beer flight at Snake River Brewery smooths things over. Paul, a bon viveur who no longer "has/wants" to work at the age of 30, gives us many travel tips. Our sleeping spot near the ski resorts is a good choice.

So let's go! The Middle Teton is waiting for us. A long but truly rewarding hike/climb in the midst of the Tetons. We reach the summit on our own route, which is a lot of fun but also a bit uncertain. Taking the wrong turn in the rocks could lead us into a dead end at any time. The mountain is merciful and we reach the top! What a view! For the first time in our lives, we climb a mountain without precise directions and off the obvious route. In our opinion, there are a few people up there who probably shouldn't be there...

We easily manage the 4-hour descent and refresh ourselves with a beer flight at Roadhouse Brewery, the best beer in town! At Pizza Caldera, we get exactly that: two surprisingly good pizzas (Napolitana style).

Finally, it's time to sleep in. At Pearl Street Market, we find delicious muffins, coffee, and wifi. We stroll through Jackson and do our souvenir tour. For $95, we get to dress up as cowboys and have our picture taken in front of a great backdrop. A lot of fun, also thanks to the friendly owner Jackie, who does a great job. Despite the interrupted day, we drive to the national park to visit two lakes. A cool swim in Bradley Lake works wonders! We also get to observe a bear mom with her two cubs roaming around! Another visit to the Visitor Centre convinces us to climb Mount St. John's tomorrow, mostly off-track and away from the popular tourist routes.

On Sundays, almost all restaurants in Jackson are closed. We visit Bin22, a liquor store to stock up on liquids. Back in front of Pearl Street Market, we use the wifi to write and search for good restaurants. We end up at Thai Me Up, another brewery called Melvin, and we indulge in four different delicious Thai appetizers.

Finding the turnoff to Hidden Valley ends with us taking the "direttissima" (aka straight up through the bushes). An adventure of a different kind, as we have to expect to encounter a bear in the dense undergrowth at any time. The many piles of dung indicate that we are not alone. The hindquarters of an elk peeking out from the bushes 5m from the trail is scary enough. ;)

After a 3-hour ascent, we reach the back lake without encountering any bears. Now it's time to find a suitable route. It should be noted that we do not know which of the many rocky peaks is St. John's, and from here on there are no signs to be found on how to get wherever we want. We decide on a couloir, which seems too dangerous after 40 minutes, and change our ascent route on a whim, and after adventurous detours, we reach the ridge! On the other side, it goes down hundreds of meters, almost overhanging! We decide that we've had enough adventure for today, as the entire descent still lies ahead of us. (Except for hiding a geocache...) After a short refreshment, we manage the descent flawlessly as well, and this time we follow the original path all the way to the valley. Unfortunately, to our regret, our "through the bush" shortcut from this morning was much faster...

We write to Jessica and John for a joint dinner and end up at PICA, a Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of Jackson that is bursting at the seams. The reunion is pleasant and we decide to have breakfast at Jessica's "The Juicery" tomorrow. Since her son Russ has to get up early, we also go to bed early.

What is better than taking a shower after 4 days? That is possible at the Recreation Centre in Jackson.

Surprisingly, Jessica offers us breakfast and we support her by buying two cold-pressed juices for $28!!!!!

The drive to Yellowstone is quick and not too far. We spend the 90 minutes until the next eruption of Old Faithful geyser visiting various shops and enjoying a giant ice cream.

Since we last visited the park six years ago, we enter through the West Entrance and go to Idaho to visit the Upper Mesa Falls. The campground near the lower Mesa Falls is cheap and we stay for one night. Kim, the camp host, is extremely friendly and invites us for coffee tomorrow... Is that a good decision? (Cliffhanger!)