Inspiration Point

Me, Kelsey, and Jesse hanging out last night

Panoramic view of Jenny Lake from one of the shores

Me in front of Hidden Falls

All of us at Hidden Falls

Tanner being his daredevil self

The view of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point

A calzone from Leek's- the best way to refuel after a long hike

            There are so many words I could use to describe today. Incredible, spectacular, beautiful, exciting, fun, exhausting, awe-inspiring… I could go on and on. But let’s start with last night. I worked the later shift with James yesterday, with Emily as our supervisor. By about 9:30 at night, there were only like twelve check-ins left, and Emily said I could leave. As I was going to clock out, I saw Jesse, Kelsey, Cristina, and Tanner in the lobby, getting ready to head back to the dorm. I quickly clocked out and walked back with them. Then, after changing out of my uniform, I went next door to Jesse and Tanner’s room, where they were getting ready to play a crazy card game called Munchkin. We all played, listened to Disney music, and joked around until after one in the morning, when I headed to bed.

            This morning we all slept until about ten- Tanner and I are off, and Cristina didn’t go in until three. After hanging around on the back porch for a while, we all headed to the EDR together for lunch at about 11:30. We met Nate in there, who worked the earlier shift today. He said it hadn’t been bad at the desk so far.

            After lunch Cristina, Tanner, Jesse, Kelsey and I came back and hung out on the back porch some more, enjoying the nice day. It’s been getting warmer here, especially in the middle of the day. Kelsey wanted to get out and do something, since she’s only visiting, and said we should go for a hike together. Tanner suggested we go take the hike to Inspiration Point around Jenny Lake. That’s one of the more popular hikes in the area, and is supposed to be really beautiful. Cristina couldn’t join us since she had to go in to work later, but at about two in the afternoon Jesse, Kelsey, Tanner and I jumped into Tanner’s car and hit the road down to Jenny Lake. It’s about a fifteen mile drive from Jackson Lake Lodge down to Jenny Lake, and the drive is absolutely beautiful. The area around Jenny Lake was full of tourists renting canoes or kayaks, going on boat tours, checking out the visitor center and gift shop, or hiking around the lake. Most people were staying pretty close to the front area, near the visitor center, so the trail itself wasn’t too crowded.

            The Inspiration Point hike is about six miles round trip, and a lot of it is uphill, so it was quite a workout. The amazing views the trail gave us made it totally worth it, though. We stopped and took some pictures by Hidden Falls and at the top of Inspiration Point itself, which is at an elevation of 7,200 feet. It definitely gave us an incredible view of all of Jenny Lake, as well as the area around it. We stayed up there for a while getting a little break to enjoy the view we’d earned, then stopped again by Hidden Falls to catch our breaths, sit down for a bit, and enjoy the lower temperature and cool mist that the falls provided. It was a physically exhausting few hours, but we all absolutely loved it.

            While sitting by the falls on our way back down, we decided that instead of just doing the EDR for dinner, we should go to the delicious Leek’s pizzeria in Colter Bay. Jesse wanted to take Kelsey there while she was here, and Tanner and I agreed that sounded like a great idea. At nearly six we finally made it back to Tanner’s car and headed back to the lodge to clean up a bit before going to dinner.

            Leek’s was pretty full when we first got there, but cleared out as it got later. The pizzeria is located right off of the Marina, on the shore of Jackson Lake, and has a beautiful view of the area. We spent quite a while there talking, relaxing, and replenishing calories. It was a perfect way to spend the evening.

            I’m not sure what I’ll do with my other day off tomorrow. Cristina works the earlier shift, so she’ll be done by three. Maybe we’ll go to the pool in the afternoon. Tanner’s team is playing another softball game in the evening, so I told him I’d go to it and be the “team photographer” again, which should be fun. No matter how I spend tomorrow, though, it’s already been an amazing weekend here in Grand Teton National Park.