That flighty temptress, adventure.: Camping in the Tetons

I. Love. Camping.

Since I went to college (actually, probably since my later high school years) I have not had the opportunity to go camping as much, due to being away from my family and having a busy social/extracurricular/academic/internet life, but it is definitely something I have loved doing since childhood. I love campfires, and being in nature (usually) and hiking and exploring and reading books outside... I love it.

So when the other VISTAs I work with and I planned a camping trip for the Tetons for the long Labor Day weekend, I was so pumped. I love the Tetons, I love camping, I love actually getting to hang out with people my age, so it was going to be great. We had borrowed tents, tarps, and sleeping bags from our bosses, so regardless of us not being the most experienced campers, we thought we were adequately prepared.

The campground we were staying in had no electricity, no showers, and only vaulted toilets. Though this was different from what I was used to (I had always camped with access to a shower house, or at least in a camper that had a shower), I was unconcerned. 3 nights in the wilderness with no shower wouldn't be a big deal. We had also heard a lot about the possibility of bears, but we concluded that as long as we kept any food in the car when we weren't using it, we would be fine. We knew there was a chance of rain during the weekend, but since we had come to our various towns in Northwest Wyoming, we realized that it does not rain here very often (the Big Horn Basin, where we live, only gets about 5-10 inches of rain annually), so we were not terribly concerned about experiencing bad weather.

So we left Friday morning and began the 6-8 hour drive to Jackson Hole, and then continued on to our campground, for which we had to go through Idaho (woo, new state) to get to. After we set up camp we went for a walk, during which we just happened to see a bear. The next day we of course bought bear spray. Saturday a couple of us went to Jackson for the day and saw the beautiful Jenny Lake. Saturday night we were all forced to hang out in the car while it was pouring rain - I guess in the mountains it tends to rain more than in the basin. On Sunday we went to Jackson again and spent a while at String Lake, swimming and just enjoying the view and the sunshine. It had finally stopped raining and we were able to relax with a campfire and s'mores on our last night at the campground.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. I learned just how lucky I've been to always have access to a trailer, and how refreshing a shower feels after 4 days without one. I think it also allowed us VISTAs to get to know each other better. Mostly it was nice to enjoy the other side of the state. I hadn't been to Jackson Hole in about five years so being there again definitely brought back some fun memories.

Anyway, I have nothing else insightful to say about this experience, so please enjoy some pictures I took during the trip.