grand teton national park {part one} : my mosey by jenny lake and up cascade canyon

labor day weekend i hopped in the car with ceej and his friend, james.

ceej & james had big plans to climb the grand teton {in one day}

while i had big plans of taking my time and soaking in the

trees, the mountains, the rivers, and the lake {and a well-deserved ice cream bar}.

we pulled up late to the parking lot and slept {all three of us!} in the car.

the boys had an early morning wake-up call at 4:00 a.m. and started

their journey in the dark...while i snuggled up in my sleeping bag and slept

for another four hours before i rolled out of bed.

once i was out of bed i took my time eating a simple breakfast {cheese bread & chocolate milk...classy},

and then i slowly drove the small distance to jenny lake to begin my day's hike.

since i sometimes think i'm tough and all i passed up the little ferry across the lake

and decided to hike the extra 2.5 miles around the lake

before i started up cascade canyon. good decision in that it was beautiful.

the hike up cascade canyon was bliss. the further i went, the more time i had

alone with the mountains and the trees. 

i went all the way to the top of the canyon and ate my lunch

on a rock overlooking a lovely rushing river, and looking up at a wonderful peak.

the sad part of the story begins on the way down...

turns out i've had my beloved hiking boots for way too long,

and boy were my feet feeling it!

my toughness soon left me, and all i could think about was that

savior of a ferry that would cut my 11-mile hike down to 9.

hooray for ferries! but oh so sad to retire my ten-year-old boots.

their leather has kept me dry, and those red laces have definitely found a place in my heart

{am thinking my next pair of boots will inherit those red laces}.

after getting off the ferry i went straight to the little lake store

and bought myself an ice cream bar and a gallon of water.

then the waiting began....

i went back to the trailhead where i had left the guys.

their instructions to me before they left were,

"if we're two hours late, don't worry. if we're not back before dark, don't worry."

so i tried not to worry, and settled into my camping chair to read about trees.

i think i did a great job of not worrying...lucky for me they were only 2.5 hours late,

and back before dark! those boys are real champs.

we crowned our long day with burritos in jackson hole

before we drove the 5 hours back to salt lake city.

a beautiful little weekend trip indeed.

{cj's photos of his big day will be following...if i can convince him to let me steal some of his epic photos!}

{p.s. i really do agree with ken burns: national parks are really truly america's best idea, don't you think?}