Lunch Tree Hill

Some deer I saw on the way up the hill

Me with the willow flats in the background

The beautiful Jackson Lake

Mount Moran- my favorite peak in the Teton Range

A moose I saw grazing out in the willow flats

            This morning I decided to hike up to Lunch Tree Hill, which several people have told me has a beautiful view. Cristina went over to Yellowstone for the day to hang out with her brother, who’s working over there. My shift isn’t until 3:00, and I knew I didn’t want to just sit around the dorm until then, so I grabbed my camera and headed out. The trailhead for the hike is actually in the employee dorm area, right behind the Whistle Pig, so it’s a fairly secret little path. I saw two white tailed deer on the hike up there. They actually stuck around long enough for me to get my camera out and take a few pictures of them.

            The hike was almost entirely uphill, but only took about fifteen minutes to get to the top. The view was absolutely spectacular. I could clearly see the Tetons, Jackson Lake, and the large meadow area between the lake and the lodge that we call Willow Flats. We’ve been told that we shouldn’t walk out into Willow Flats since there is a lot of wildlife that hang out in that area, so it’s pretty dangerous. That’s the same area that I saw the wild black bear two days ago. I learned on this hike that it’s also a great spot to see moose! I saw at least three moose there today. Along with being next to Jackson Lake, there are also several smaller streams that run through Willow Flats, which makes it a prime spot for moose to hang out since they eat plants that grow around water.

I decided to go ahead and make today’s blog post now since I work until 11:00 tonight and will probably be too tired to post one after that. The lodge is officially open to guests as of today, but we won’t be very busy yet. I’ll make another tomorrow about how my first real shift goes.