In The Shadow of Longs Peak
Thursday 05 August 2021
Snake River from below Jackson Dam to Deadman’s Bar Takeout.
This has been on my bucket list for a long, long time. And now here it is!
At the put-in, I noted a warning about needing to go right at Deadman’s Bar. But in retrospect, I must have not read it correctly. Since we were getting out at Deadman’s Bar, I did not focus on it. As it turned out, the obstruction to be avoided was between Pacific Creek and Deadman’s Bar. Looking online afterward, it looks like the trouble starts below Spread Creek. We’ll come back to this.
Let’s backup a couple of days. On Tuesday, there was another trip on the Snake River from below Jackson Dam to the Pacific Creek takeout. I initially planned to go on that trip but changed my mind. That was the day that we slept late and went for a hike at Two Oceans Lake. But now, I am even more unsettled about paddling the river. I should mention I have not done much paddling on rivers the last two or so years. On Wednesday, we paddled around Elk Island, another day where I started out feeling lethargic but ended paddling strong (I would have been game to go around Donohue Island). Arriving back at camp at a reasonable hour after this paddle, I was not quite as frantic as earlier days. Just like the houseboat trip, it seems to take a few days to embrace the group outing thing. Maybe next time, I should arrive a few days early to de-compress and disconnect…and preparing for these trips does take effort, so maybe a day or two to simply relax. So by Wednesday evening, I am looking forward to paddling the Snake. I digress. Back to the Snake River outing.
I sleep fairly well and we are up around 7 AM. I boil water for coffee and forego breakfast. We are ready to go at the appointed time of 8 AM.
Once at the put-in just below Jackson Dam, we unload boats and gear. Gary and others run the shuttle. I have my sketch pad and journal with me in the event I go belly up and decide to stay here. Also, I have a bit of salami for breakfast. It sits well and is a good no-cooking-needed breakfast option.
This is when I see the warning.
The river here is flat and wide. It is moving along at 5000+ cfs and is reminiscent of Glendo to Guernsey. A dory and recreational kayak float by and later a couple of folks on paddleboards. Everyone is enjoying and no one seems to be having a problem. Plus, if this is doable on a paddleboard, I should be able to paddle it in a sea kayak.
Folks return from the shuttle. It looks like Karen is not joining us for this section but she will hop on at the Pacific Creek Access. And I note I can take out there if needed.
So we launch. First thing: ferry out and back. I only go halfway but have no problem out or back. I turn downstream to join the group, trying to stay somewhere in the middle of the group and the middle of the river. This section has very few islands or strainers, other than along the shore, so staying river center is a good plan.
The decision had been made to avoid the islands of the Oxbow section. At some point we blow by those though I do not know exactly where that is.
Tim points out an outhouse which is our next stop. We pull over. Some folks hop out for a break. I pull up to shore and wait. I see that Patrick is getting out. And Karen is getting in. As it turns out, this is the Pacific Creek Access, not Oxbow as I had imagined.
We continue downstream. We leave the wide flat river behind and enter a section of islands and channels. We stop for lunch. I use my GPS and map to determine where we were.
After lunch, we continue downstream. I remember at one point, Tim went left. Right seemed more open but there was a noisy rapid and I wondered if he thought it would be shallow. We continue. I follow, still trying to stay mid-river and mid-group.
With the many oxbows on this river, many times we were headed west and had a great view of the Grand Teton.
Now Tim is off on the left, guiding us to a narrow right-hand channel. I paddle thru and find a spot to eddy out on river right, next to Leslie. I hold on for a moment to her boat then move up into an open spot and hold unto a root. Beside Leslie and me, Linda, Marsha, and Ken are all on river right.
The others follow Tim’s direction and come thru the channel. Last is Gary, who paddles down below, eddying out on river left, to wait.
I watch Tim. What I do not realize is that he is stuck and cannot paddle out of where he is. Karen had eddied out on river left and gets out. She comes back for her throw rope but then is out of sight. Soon we see Gary, who appears to climb down into the river and next seems to be behind Tim. Eventually he pushes and Tim paddles out, and eddies out next to Karen. At this point, it appears that Gary is on the opposite side of the channel. He had used Tim’s boat to get to that side, but now it’s not there. So what is next? Karen and Tim throw him the rope and they hang on tight while he crosses the river. Good to have the rope in case he lost his footing. He makes it across and now we see him climbing up the bank. All is well.
While I watched the action from my eddy perch, I noticed a raft or two coming into the channel below us on river right. So I guess that the route we should have taken and what the sign at the put-in was alluding to.
Time to move on. Karen and Tim go first and join Gary. Then Leslie and Linda and Marsha. Then me. As I go around the bend and everyone is yelling “go left, go left”. I am not sure what the obstacle is though there is a strainer mid river. But as it turns out, everyone simply wanted me to eddy out with the others though there was another strainer which I did not even notice.
We have grouped up and now are headed downstream. Seems like there was another island/strainer coming up and I think we go river right but am not sure.
It had started to sprinkle a bit back at Tim’s dilemma. But now, it seems like an afternoon storm is moving in and it is accompanied by thunder and lightning. I spy and eddy and pull over. Ken goes past, stops briefly, pointing out that no one has eddied out so he goes on.
Gary arrives and stops with me in the eddy. It pours down rain and hails. For the 2nd time, when I need my rain jacket, it is not in my deck bag. I holler to Gary: I am getting cold and need to paddle. It is pouring. It is hailing. Gary mentions afterward that once I pull out of the eddy, he cannot see me.
Just a bit downstream, there is another channel coming in on river left. I turn upstream and eddy out where, it turns out, everyone is. I hop out and get my rain jacket (which ends up being in the front hatch, not the back where I originally looked). It hails. Thank goodness for helmets which I had put on way back at the put-in. I did not feel like I needed it then but by having it on, it was one less thing to concern myself with.
The storm lessens and again we are on our way. Now its about a mile to Deadman’s Bar. We arrive, trying to stay out of the way of the rafts. Patrick is there. We get out and hustle gear up to the top of the ramp then come back down for boats. Everyone drives down closer to the ramp and all the boats and gear are loaded.
We head back to camp.
Another wonderful day out!
Somehow, I am on my way to regaining my river legs. Though I did make a strategic decision to stay put and not try to ferry across to where Tim was. One thing I have always liked about easier rivers is that I always felt confident to help out when needed, but that was not true this time. I have to commend Tim about getting out of the storm. This situation brought back memories of the Flaming Gorge trip where the trip leader did not get out (though I finally did and everyone else followed suit)
Grand Teton National Park
30 July 2021 to 05 August 2021
Our first long trip of retirement. The plan is to camp at Grand Teton National Park and paddle at various places there with the RMSKC (Rocky Mountain Sea Kayak Club) and Sue Hughes reserved Group Campsite #1 in the Colter Bay Campground for the week. We have not been on a long group outing with RMSKC for a few years though we did do a 10 day houseboat outing with the canoe club to Lake Powell last year.
It feels like we’ve spent a good deal of time planning this trip, and most of it has been around food. Though this trip, additional planning was needed about where to camp enroute and which paddles we wanted to do.
For camping enroute, I focused on BLM areas north of Rawlins since Rawlins is probably the half-way point. Using the BLM website, I found an area north of Rawlins called Green Mountain which was accessed east of Jeffrey City on US 287, our driving route. Even better, there was a campground which indicated there would be pit toilet. What luxury! So, the plan is to leave on Friday, drive to Cottonwood Campground and bivy. Then on Saturday, drive the remainder of the way to Colter Bay Campground.
Note: At the end of this document is a section named trip planning with links to BLM sites.
On Thursday afternoon, I drove up to Gary’s and helped him load the truck which did not take too long. I got there about 4 in the afternoon and his truck was in shade, which was really nice since it continues to be really hot, in the mid-to-high 90’s.
I head home and finish my own packing which does not take long. Now, I will only need to pack the cooler in the morning. And I am glad I dedicated this day to just packing – no biking, no stretching, no cooking – only packing.
Friday 30 July 2021
I am up at 7:45, do tasks, shower and stretch. Then off to the bank to make a deposit for Kari, then chat with her, then home again. Next is to pack the coolers. Gary calls and says he is running late. And calls again to say he is still running late. This is good since it gives me time to lower the boats then and then weave.
Gary arrives around 11. It takes about 45 minutes to pack, which is about normal. It’s cooking outside!
Then we off, with a stop first at Whole Foods for sushi for supper and other last-minute supplies. Finally, at 12:15 we head out, north on Hover to Yellowstone. We make our way thru rural Larimer County to Taft Hill Rd, then north on Hwy 287, past Ted’s Place to Laramie and the Wyoming Boat Inspection. Here we change drivers. Gary naps. I head north to I-80 then west. The next stop is Rawlins.
To me, this is the longest section of this drive and nearly the most scenic. The most scenic is the section of US 287, north of Ted’s Place and south of Laramie. It’s very Wyoming-like, reminiscent of the Vedauwoo area.
We exit at Rawlins and pull in to get gas at 4 PM and change drivers. Next stop is the Cottonwood Campground. I regret not bringing my Wyoming Geology Book. There are interesting hills off to the east with what look to be scored faces of white. According to the map, these hills move east to Seminole and Pathfinder Reservoir, and I wonder if these are the same as the dunes we have seen there.
The road into the Green Mountain area is well marked and signed, indicating the distance to the campground is 10.5 miles, and each turn is marked. On we go and soon we enter the fee/campground area. It is pretty but I am having misgivings. Many of the campsites seem to be down a path and away from the road. I am not sure that I want to lug stuff anywhere. There is site 14, on the upper side of the road, away from the creek, open with a flat spot big enough for a bivy. We unload the gear and I walk down to pay the fee.
On the way, I stop at a site with a car pulling a small trailer with 2 sea kayaks. Turn out to be Leslie and Lynn, 2 members of the Rocky Mountain Sea Kayak Club and the Grand Teton National Park trip. We chat for a minute then I continue my trek.
Just as I arrive at the fee station there is a clap of thunder. I pay the fee and scurry back to the truck. By the time I arrive, it has started to rain. Gary has already drawn the tarp over the bivy gear. We sit in the cab and it rains. And rains. At 7:15, I get supper from the cooler and we eat in the cab. Then we both go out and set up the Noah’s tarp over the bivy gear.
Then we are back in the cab. It rains. It pours. There is lightening and thunder. And more rain. We decide the bivy is a bad idea and decide to sleep in the cab. It is not exactly comfortable but is dry. We share the few warm clothes I have in the cab and we both sleep fitfully. Only my feet are cold. I try different schemes but to no avail.
There are wool socks under the tarp with the bivy gear but who know if they are wet or dry or easy or hard to get, so I sleep with cold feet. Next time I will be sure to have my hiking shoes in the cab along with wool socks. And some bourbon.
There is rain and thunder and lightning pretty much all night. But eventually morning comes.
Saturday 31 July 2021
Luckily, most of the stuff under the tarp is dry including my socks. Instantly my feet are warm. Woo-hoo! We pack up the bivy gear, being sure to keep wet from dry.
We are on our way at 8 AM, continuing north and west on US 287, thru Lander, stopping for gas at Dubois. We arrive at the entrance to Grand Teton National Park at 12:15 or so, get the boats inspected and continue to Colter Bay Village and Campground, find a spot, setup, then join the others.
We have arrived! Gary cooks steak and ale frozen pies which are a delight. I write in my journal. All is well.
Friday 06 August 2021
Our plan was to get up and make waffles for breakfast but again storms moved in during the evening and then again overnight. Because of the storms, we worked on Thursday evening to do some pre-packing which paid off this morning.
I make a press of coffee and we have leftover pizza for breakfast. We work at loading the truck. After a bit, I feel the lethargy coming on but persevere. We get everything in the truck. We load the wet tent & sunshade last and are on our way.
We arrive at my house around 6:30 PM. I unload my stuff from the front of the truck and my gear from the back. The final step is to take the boats and put them on the top of my car. Enough for tonight. We go in, have a drink, and reminisce on the trip. Sad to say, we also talked about CareerTrack. Time to move on.
Trip Planning
Link for Wyoming Map of BLM sites.
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/LandStatus_Statewide_500k_2020.pdf
This Is an interactive map:
https://blm-egis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a6b1bc529b344e36a1d9d4d729bc03f7
Possible Places:
Green Mountain and Cottonwood Campground:
www.blm.gov/visit/green-mountain
https://www.blm.gov/visit/cottonwood-campground-0
First come, first serve, $6 / night
The Cottonwood Campground is a developed camping site in a semi-alpine setting. The site features 18 campsites, fire rings, water, picnic tables, vault toilets, garbage collection, and can accommodate large recreational vehicles. Season of use runs June 1 to October 31. The Green Mountain Loop Road above the campground is open June 15 - December 1.
From Jeffrey City, go east 6.3 miles to Green Mountain Road (BLM Road 2411), an improved gravel road which intersects U.S. Highway 287 about six miles east of Jeffrey City. Go right, and follow it about 10.5 miles south to the campground.
Green Mountain LATITUDE/LONGITUDE:
42.344438, -107.732795
DIRECTIONS:
Named for the green timber which covers it, Green Mountain and its neighbors, Crooks Mountain to the west and Whiskey Peak to the east, comprise a small mountain range by Rocky Mountain standards. Green Mountain has no hard rock core but was formed from sediments eroded from the much older Granite Mountains just to the north. Crooks Mountain and its adjacent Crooks Gap and Crooks Peak were named after Civil War veteran and Indian fighter General George H. Crook.
The area has spectacular views of the surrounding Wyoming landscapes and excellent deer and elk hunting. If you're a rock hunter, both jade and agate are found in the surrounding areas. Wild horses can be seen in the area year-round.
Green Mountain does have a seasonal closure that runs from December 1 to June 15.
Lankin Dome WSA:
This looked interesting but access is via a series of 2 tracks.
https://www.blm.gov/visit/sweetwater-rocks-lankin-dome
Miller Spring WSA (you need permission to cross private land to access this one
Other places I did not look at:
Split Rock WSA
Savage Peak WSA
Ferris Mountains WSA
Agate Flats
Tuesday 03 August 2021
I decide I need a rest day and I think Gary likes that idea.
We sleep till 9 AM, make breakfast, do dishes, and other camping maintenance tasks.
At the crack of noon, we are finally on our way. Two Oceans Lake is our hiking destination. The parking lot is full. But someone is about to pull out so we are in luck!
We take another look at the map. It shows a trail going completely around. We approach the lake and I am surprised by how big it is. I was expecting 3 miles…but this will be twice that! As it turns out, Judd is just getting back from his paddle. Gary helps him bring his boat back up to the car.
We start our hike, going counter-clockwise and I wonder about the Two Oceans but I could not see where this lake flows to both the Atlantic and Pacific drainages.
An aside here: When I climbed the Grand Teton in 2000, before I met Gary, I purchased a book about local history. One of the things discussed was the discovery of ‘Two Oceans Lake’ which has an outlet both to the Altantic (maybe the Yellowstone River) and the Pacific (probably the Snake River) drainages. Turns out, there is a lake in Yellowstone that drains to both drainages, but it is not this lake.
Despite that this is not the Two Oceans Lake I thought it was, this is scenic and a wonderful hike. But it is also very hot. We get to the far end of the lake and the trail seems to end. We trash a bit looking for it but give up and retrace out steps back. A lovely day but very hot. By the time we get back to camp, I am exhausted. Good thing our supper plans are for leftovers. We eat, tidy up and I am in bed by 8 only to sleep very fitfully.
Wednesday 04 August 2021
Gary has his heart on circumnavigating Elk Island. I am not feeling up to par but struggle thru breakfast, clean up, packing. Once in the car I feel better. We unload boats and gear at the Signal Mountain boat ramp and marina and again find myself struggling. I am not optimistic. But magically, once we start paddling, the lethargy drops away.
We paddle steadily for 3 hours, circumnavigation Elk Island, sneaking between Elk Island on the east side and Dollar Island and head back, deciding not to go the long way around Donohue Lake. That will have to wait till next time.
The Tetons, especially the Grand Teton are in a haze of smoke but still rise dramatically out of Jackson Lake.
Monday 02 August 2021
Again, we are not inclined to be up at the crack of dawn.
Our plan is to drive up to Lizard Bay Campground, see if we can put in there, and paddle north. There is no day parking there, so we drive back down to Leeks Marina, put in there, and paddle away at 10:45. We pass Cow Island on its south side.
The forecast is for rain and indeed, it does start to sprinkle. And continues to sprinkle and rain lightly for about an hour. I am glad I wore neoprene shorts and the heavier top, as I am “just right” in the rain.
We paddle north, passing the pullout on the highway where I watched the fire burn on the opposite side on my last trip to the Tetons, which would have been in 2000. Soon, we are at the Lizard Creek Campground, and we paddle into the upper lake area. There are a bunch of weed patches to negotiate but by keeping close to the east shore, we avoid the worst of them. Within 5 or 10 minutes, we see the water has a current, so we have reached our destination: that point where the Snake River flows into Jackson Lake. We paddle a bit more, turning around at 1 PM.
We considered returning via the west side of the lake, but the weather is looking ominous.
Up ahead, I see what looks like a lake-wide sandbar blocking our way but it turns out to be a thick growth of weeds. Since there is both and east and west channel around this patch of weeds, we take the east.
The clouds continue to be ominous but seem to be hugging the Teton Range. We focus on paddling.
We paddle past the point where the road no longer hugs the lake edge. Up ahead is Arizona Island. We consider heading there but do not since it is out in the open. We prefer to be closer to shore, and settle on heading toward a point up ahead. Gary claims to see something white. I take out binoculars and it appears to be trailers and buildings but a do not see a campground on the map.
There is a clap of thunder. We head for the shore in earnest and I need a pit stop anyway. And after what seems like forever, we do reach shore. I might mention that we did try and get out earlier at a different point but were hampered by the weed patches, so we decided to continue on.
Gary finds a nice log to sit on, down a bank just at the edge of the trees. I start to walk toward the point to see what is beyond but decide its too much effort so I join Gary on the log. The storm continues to hug the peaks; thunder rumbles and we see a bolt or two of lightning.
My GPS shows us 1.3 miles from Leeks, so about 20 minutes or so of paddling. I decide it might be ok to proceed. But as I launch my boat there is a flash of lightning and almost immediately a clap of thunder. I pull the boat back unto shore and hurry back to the log.
We wait another 1o minutes or so and decide to try again. This time, the storm does seem to be dissipating. We get in the boats. I paddle, keep about 10 feet from shore. In no time, we are at the point and the marina is in sight. Good News! We pass Cow Island, keep to the north of it and pull up at the ramp.
Another good day out!
Sunday 01 August 2021
On Saturday evening, there was a get-together to plan Sunday’s paddles. Many chose Jenny Lake, one of the busier areas in the park and commit to leaving at 7 AM. Others are headed to Two Oceans Lake with an 8 AM start.
We suggest Colter Bay to Moon Bay with an 8:15 start. Judd signs up with us but first he needs to restock ice. The other 2 parties, John & Annabelle and Dan & Gail, head over to the putin. Judd returns and the 3 of us head over.
We work at getting boats and gear unload, though the first step is to empty out the water collected in Friday night’s rainstorm.
We are all ready and head out at 9:45. This outing features fingers and bays and islands. But the level of the lake is low this season so at least one island is now a peninsula. We do not have a specific destination other than to explore between here and Half-Moon Bay.
As we leave the marina, I note there is a buoy and then we paddle around the corner and into Colter Bay. We peek into the first inlet and determine it is land locked. I take a waypoint. We paddle into the next inlet. The map shows this one is not land locked but at the current water level it is. We turn around and head further out into Colter Bay and toward Little Mackinaw Bay where, again, there should have been a passage, but we can clearly see there is none. We continue into Jackson Lake proper and turn south.
At Sheffield Island, we turn thinking again we will be blocked but, will wonders never cease, it goes thru! Voila!
We take a quick break. We see an animal on the beach that turns out to be a Badger. He seems wary of us and soon hops into the water and starts swimming. I guess that his destination is Badger Island!
We continue down along Hermitage Point. Gail mentions the shade looks like a nice spot for lunch. We decide to paddle a bit further then return here for lunch.
We paddle to Marie Island. I am thinking we’d just kiss it and turn back, but everyone is out of their boats, so I guess this is lunch. We scamper up to the shade and are treated with an incoming eagle, but I am too slow to get a photograph.
Once done with lunch, we retrace our steps on the return except we keep to the Lake between Dollar and Sheffield Island.
Half the group turns in at Colter Bay. Four of us continue north toward Leeks Marina and Moose Island which we touch then turn around.
A good day out. About 12 miles total.